A Catholic minister says he was fired
over liking a gay friend's wedding post on Facebook.
According to ABC affiliate WEWS, Keith
Kozak, a campus minister with the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland who
was stationed at Cleveland State University, is out of a job after he
liked a gay friend's post celebrating his 5 year wedding anniversary.
Kozak believes that a post
congratulating another gay couple on their nuptials with a photo of
himself at their wedding also contributed to his firing.
When asked to attend a meeting with his
supervisor and a person from human resources, Kozak believed it was
good news regarding a promotion.
Instead, they asked him about his
social media posts.
“The very next day, I received a
letter that said I was terminated,” said
Kozak.
Kozak added that he did not disclose to
the Diocese that he's gay. “I didn't feel comfortable doing it,
but I also thought it wasn't important at the time,” he said.
“It's a wake-up call for me. It's a
wake-up call that I didn't really realize the Catholic Church would
act like this,” he added.
The Catholic Diocese of Cleveland said
in a statement that it's confident that the termination was
appropriate.