Al Fischer, a music teacher at St. Ann
Catholic School outside St. Louis, recently was fired over his plans
to marry his partner in New York, the St.
Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
Fischer told the paper that he was let
go from his job of four years on February 17.
Fischer and Charlie Robin planned to
marry on the day of their 20th anniversary, March 9, in
New York, which legalized gay marriage last summer.
Shortly after a St. Louis Archdiocese
representative overheard Robin talking to co-workers about his
wedding plans, Fischer learned that he would be fired on his wedding
day. The firing was moved up after Robin posted the news on his
Facebook page on February 16, Robin told the paper.
St. Ann's pastor, the Rev. Bill Kempf,
acknowledged in an email that Fischer was relieved of his duties
because of his plans to marry.
The parish was “recently informed by
one of its teachers of this plan to unite in marriage with an
individual of the same sex. With full respect of this individual's
basic human dignity, this same-sex union opposes Roman Catholic
teaching as it cannot realize the full potential a marital
relationship is meant to express. As a violation of the Christian
Witness Statement that all Catholic educators in the Archdiocese of
St. Louis are obliged to uphold, we relieved this teacher of his
duties.”
Robin said the school had previously
shown support for their relationship.
“There's nothing that's been hidden
about our relationship at any point,” he said. “I go to the
staff parties. I show up at the school concerts. … It doesn't
matter until somebody with the Archdiocese is sitting in the room.”
Last
month, a Charlotte, North Carolina Catholic church fired its
openly gay music director after he married his longtime partner in
New York.