An Illinois Catholic church fired its
openly gay music director on Monday after he got engaged to his
longtime partner.
Colin Collette and William got engaged
last week in Rome. But after Collette announced the big news to his
work family, he was quickly dismissed by administrators at the Holy
Family Church in the Chicago suburb of Inverness.
In a statement, the Archdiocese of
Chicago said it would not comment on the specifics of the case.
“Pastors hire and dismiss all parish
personnel and govern according to the teachings of the Church and the
Archdiocese policies. This is a matter of personal integrity on
their part,” the archdiocese said. “Those that serve as
Ministers of the Church, including worship ministers, are expected to
conform their lives publicly with the teachings of the Church.”
Collette told NBC
Chicago that he did not hide his relationship with his future
husband from co-workers because Holy Family Church positioned itself
as “welcoming to all.”
“Everybody was welcome. That was our
hallmark. All are welcome. Well, that's all changed now. That's
become a lie,” Collette said.