Students rally around gay teacher fired from Catholic school
Skutt Catholic School in Omaha, Nebraska decided not to renew the contract of teacher and speech coach, Matt Eledge after he told school officials about his engagement to a man.
An online petition, which started in the beginning of April to support Eledge, already has nearly 95,000 signatures.
At the school's Annual Hawk Walk to raise money for financial aid, many students wore shirts that read, "I support Mr. Eledge." The student who created the t-shirt told KMTV that "it's about showing love" for their teacher.
Despite the overwhelming support from the community, school officials stand firm on their decision, saying:
"If a staff member cannot commit to Catholic church teachings and doctrines, he or she cannot continue to be on staff at Skutt Catholic."
Jon McMahon, President of Skutt Catholic School
Although school officials are not standing behind the teacher, he can look to hire church officials to be in his corner. Pope Francis, the leader of the Catholic church, famously showed support for gay Catholics back in 2013 saying, "Who am I to judge people?" More recently, during a trip to Naples, Italy earlier this year, the Pope had lunch with a group of transgender and gay inmates.
The community wants the school officials to take a more progressive approach, stating:
"We demand the administration embrace diversity and stand up for justice by not discriminating against a teacher that has inspired hundreds of students and future leaders in the community."
Friends, students, and media outlets took to Twitter to voice their opinions on the matter:
After all, who are we to judge?
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