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A Colorado Catholic school teacher was fired after authorities found out he was in a relationship with a woman and saw a photo of her kissing his girlfriend.
Maggie Barton taught technology and media, and also coached basketball, at All Souls Catholic School in Englewood, Denver, for six years before being fired on January 25.
The decision to fire her came after an investigation by the Archdiocese of Denver found an image of her kissing another woman online.
The religious leaders justified their actions by saying that all teachers must sign a contract guaranteeing that they will live their lives adhering to the teachings of the Catholic Church.
Following her layoff, the mother of a student, Kathy Weisbrod, created a GoFundMe Page to help her make ends meet. As of writing, the page has raised over $25,000.
Maggie Barton said in an interview with CBS Denver that she was raised in Catholic schools and felt comfortable in her faith.
All Souls Catholic School is located in Englewood, a southern suburb of Denver.
Bishop Samuel J. Aquila, head of the Archdiocese of Denver, pictured
Barton spoke about the huge amount of support he has received from the All Souls community saying Colorado Public Radio that it has been ‘incredible’ and ‘overwhelming’.
The educator said in that interview that she used to play the guitar with the school choir during mass. She said: “It’s hard for me right now to figure out how to navigate what my faith looks like because of all this.”
Recently, Pope Francis made headlines when he decreed that although homosexuality remains a sin in Catholic dogma, it should not be considered a ‘crime’.
Barton told the Post that she had been careful not to post photos of herself with her partner on social media even though she had been openly living as an LGBTQ+ person.
During her freshman year at St. Edward’s University in Austin, Barton said she came out to her family.
Barton accepted a teaching position at All Souls in 2017, speaking of her love of teaching in an interview with fox31, Barton said: ‘I absolutely fell in love with him. I thought, “This is what I’m supposed to do.”
She added: ‘It’s discrimination. There is no other word for it. Being fired from a position because of my sexual orientation. That’s discrimination.
Barton says she has been careful not to post photos of herself with her partner on social media even though she had been openly living as an LGBTQ+ person.
In an interview, Barton described her dismissal by saying: ‘It’s discrimination. There is no other word for it. Being fired from a position because of my sexual orientation. That’s discrimination’
Barton said in her interview with the Denver Post that she grew up attending Catholic schools in her home state of Texas. According to her Facebook page, she attended Bishop Lynch High School.
speaking to cbs denver, Barton said, “It’s the faith that I was raised in and I wanted to teach in a Catholic school because I wanted to share those values that I learned and the experience that I had with future students.”
In that interview, Barton emphasized how happy he was in his job at All Saints, adding that he felt he would never leave school.
He also said: “I have a hard time understanding how being in a same-sex relationship or someone’s sexual orientation hinders your ability to do that.”
The day before she found out she was going to be fired, Barton said she received a call from someone in the archdiocese asking her questions about her understanding of the Catholic Church’s position on homosexuality.
The archdiocese statement read in part: “Many families send their children to our schools hoping that their children will receive an education that conforms to Catholic beliefs.”
He continued: ‘This written disclosure of expectations, and teachers signing off and committing to those requirements at the beginning of each school year, is intended to protect the Catholic identity of our schools.
‘It is a promise to our parents that their children will receive an authentic and fully Catholic education. It would be unfair for a school to present itself as a Catholic school and not offer a Catholic education.”
The archdiocese says Barton has broken his agreement with the school by pursuing a same-sex relationship.
Colorado-based LGBTQ advocacy group One Colorado said in a statement that their group supports Barton.
Colorado-based LGBTQ advocacy group One Colorado said in a statement that their group supports Barton.
Spokesperson Nadine Bridges said: ‘We are disappointed to see the Archdiocese of Denver continue to take this damaging stance towards LGBTQ+ Coloradans.
‘Faith communities, including schools, should be a place of love and support. Denying admission to LGBTQ+ students, excluding LGBTQ+ parents from full participation and, in this case, firing LGBTQ+ teachers for no reason other than because of those they love, alienates and discriminates against LGBTQ+ Coloradans of the Catholic faith ”, concluded the press release.
Just this month, Pope Francis said that laws that criminalize LGBT people are a sin and an injustice because God loves and accompanies people with same-sex attractions.
Francis, who made his remarks in response to a question from a reporter aboard the plane returning from a trip to Africa, received full backing for his comments from two other Christian leaders on the plane with him.
“The criminalization of homosexuality is a problem that cannot be ignored,” Francis said, citing anonymous statistics showing that 50 countries criminalize LGBT people “in one way or another” and another 10 have laws that include the penalty. death for them.
‘This is not OK. People with homosexual tendencies are children of God. God loves you. God accompanies them… condemning such a person is a sin. Criminalizing people with homosexual tendencies is an injustice,” Francisco said.