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Churches urge U.S. Supreme Court to act on same-sex marriage
SALT LAKE CITY — The Mormon church and four religious organizations are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene and settle once and for all the question of whether states can outlaw gay marriage. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in a statement Friday, said it joined a friend-of-the-court brief asking the high court to hear Utah’s marriage case.
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N.Y. Catholic Cardinal to lead St. Patrick’s Day parade with 1st gay group
NEW YORK — There is no more natural spot for Roman Catholic Cardinal Timothy Dolan — a proud, ebullient Irish-American — than grand marshal of the city’s historic St. Patrick’s Day Parade. But the honor now has an added significance: Parade organizers said Wednesday they will allow the first gay group to march under its own banner. Dolan was quick to issue a statement…
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Gay teachers asked to resign from Catholic school after marrying in N.Y.
ST. LOUIS — Some graduates of a suburban St. Louis Catholic school are upset the school asked two female teachers to resign after they were married in New York. Olivia Reichert and Christina Gambaro say Cor Jesu Academy officials asked them to quit in late July after the school received a copy of a mortgage application with the couple’s names. The all-girls Catholic high school…
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Lesbian teacher says pregnancy got her fired from Catholic school
BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. — A former chemistry teacher at a suburban Detroit Catholic high school said she was fired for becoming pregnant after marrying her same-sex partner. Barbara Webb, 33, of Madison Heights said she was fired from the all-girls Marian High School in August after working there for nine years. She notified employers of her pregnancy in July.
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Catholic leader in Ohio urges prayer for court to uphold ‘traditional marriage’
CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati-based leader of Roman Catholics in a 19-county archdiocese is urging them to pray that a federal appeals court considering same-sex marriage bans will uphold what he calls “traditional marriage.” Archbishop Dennis Schnurr says Ohio’s bishops strongly supported the voter-approved 2004 state ban. He says traditional marriage …
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Catholic Church fires music director over plans to marry same-sex partner
INVERNESS, Ill. — The longtime music director at a suburban Chicago Roman Catholic church says he was fired after posting on social media plans to marry his same-sex partner. Colin Collette says his partner proposed to him last week in front of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. After leading the music on Sunday …
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Vancouver Catholic school district enacts transgender policy
VANCOUVER, B.C. — A Catholic school district has approved a policy to accommodate transgender children, believed to be the first of its kind by a Catholic school in North America. The Vancouver Archdiocese made the move following a human rights complaint by the family of an 11-year-old transgender girl.
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Catholic worker fired after her same-sex marriage became public sues diocese
A parish food pantry worker who was fired over her marriage to another woman sued the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph on Thursday, the latest in a growing number of clashes over gay rights between Roman Catholic leaders and their employees nationwide. Colleen Simon, 57, said the diocese and the parish where she worked knew she was married …
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Immigrant rights group loses Catholic funds over gay marriage affiliation
PORTLAND, Ore. — A Catholic organization has decided to cut off long-standing funding to a Portland, Oregon, immigrant rights group over its affiliation with an organization that supports same-sex marriage. Voz Workers’ Rights Education lost a $75,000 grant in June from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. The group is the anti-poverty program of …
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Gay teacher fired over plans to marry partner sues Catholic school for gender discrimination
MACON, Ga. — The former band director and music instructor at a Macon, Ga., Catholic school has filed a lawsuit against the school, claiming gender discrimination after he was fired over his plans to marry another man. Flint Dollar says he was fired from Mount de Sales Academy in May, where he has taught since 2010, after announcing on Facebook…