Catholic school fires pregnant, unwed teacher

NEW YORK (Reuters) - An unmarried teacher says she was discriminated against and fired from her job at a Roman Catholic school in New York for being pregnant and has filed a federal complaint.
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[Michelle] McCusker, 26, was dismissed from the school after telling school administrators she was pregnant and did not plan to marry.
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In a statement, McCusker said she did not "understand how a religion that prides itself on being forgiving and on valuing life" could fire her for choosing to have a baby.

Source.

This baffles the mind...What kind of example does one wish to set before the children enrolled in a Catholic school? Does one wish to present an example that fornication is not morally wrong, perhaps something to be promoted? Then there is the statement about the Church being forgiving...I must have missed the part where she first asked for forgiveness. Of course, we should always be willing to forgive and we must forgive those who ask for forgivness.

One would have thought that, in order to avoid being a source of scandal to children, she might, at least, have requested a transfer to some other position where the possibility of scandal would have been greatly diminished.

It would have been an inexcusable dereliction of duty had the principal ignored such a violation of the Sixth Commandment. It would have been the epitome of incompetence had the principal made the choice to allow this teacher to continue to teach children who are, one hopes, being educated in the Faith, which include, lest one forgets, morality and virtue. The resulting scandal would be inexcusable.

It's unfortunate that some accomodation could not have been made. Since we may not know enough of the details, we can only speculate. However, there are principles to which the school must adhere. There are also principles to which teachers must adhere. A great responsibility rests on those who choose to educate children and who are, in some measure, accountable to God for the souls of those children.

Based on current available information and if this teacher demanded that she be allowed to continue teaching, I don't see that the principal had any other choice than to terminate her employment.