Carla Hale teaches, er, used to teach, at Bishop Watterson
High School in Columbus, Ohio. But last month, after taking time off when her
mother passed away, Hale returned to work to find the administrators waiting
for her with a letter from an anonymous parent. This, for lack of a better word, ‘parent’ was apparently
distressed that Carla Hale had listed the name of her female partner in her
mother’s obituary, and decided to write to the Roman Catholic Diocese of
Columbus.
Carlos Hale was fired because she is in a gay relationship.
The story could end there because this was a Catholic school
and the Catholic Church hates The Gays and blame The Gays for everything, but
then the students and other supporters at Bishop Watterson High School created
an online petition at change.org to seek Hale’s reinstatement; as of this
morning there are nearly 8,000 signatures including mine. You can add your name
HERE.
The petition states, in part:
The diocese claims its mission is to teach its students about love, acceptance, and tolerance, and yet it did none of this in the way it treated Ms. Hale. That is why we all have to stand up together and let it be known that this decision is unacceptable. If we do not fight this issue now, it will happen again, and that is not something we can allow.
And there are all kinds of responses from current and former
students of Carla Hale, asking that she be allowed to continue doing the thing
she loves so much. Past and present students say it was known, or at least
suspected, that Carla Hale was gay, but she never discussed her personal life
with her students.
Lindsey Perkins, a 2001 Watterson graduate, called Hale a
“wonderful teacher and amazing role model” whom Watterson should be proud to
have on staff: “It’s just a very poignant time for something like this to
happen, and hopefully for people to start realizing that we need to practice
acceptance and humility to all people.”
Peter Clark, a 2011 Watterson graduate, said Hale was a
compassionate, understanding teacher who was fired for something that “has
nothing to do with education”: “It’s a disgusting display of hypocrisy by the
education system that I was once so proud of.”
Ian James, co-founder of the FreedomOhio, is concerned that
Carla Hale’s privacy had been violated: “But for the fact that she is in a
committed relationship and it’s in her mother’s obit, no one would know. It
seems so inherently wrong and callous ... to say, ‘In addition to losing your
mother, you lose your career.’ ”
For her part Carla Hale is astounded by the support: “It’s amazing that
they’ve come together and rallied around this situation. I’m in awe of them.”
Now, to be fair, the contract between the Columbus Diocese
and the Central Ohio Association of Catholic Educators, does say that teachers
can be terminated for “immorality” or “serious unethical conduct” but,
seriously, in 2013 are we still going to say that being gay is immoral or unethical?
After 19 years on the job, the mention of one name in a newspaper obituary is
enough to erase nearly two decades of service as a teacher?
George Jones, a spokesman for the diocese, has no comment,
other than saying personnel matters are confidential. Not personal lives, mind
you, like Carla Hale’s.
Hale, who is not Catholic, but Methodist, has filed a
grievance under the terms of the contract, seeking her job back and says she
hopes the reaction to her dismissal spurs Catholic leaders to reconsider their
stance on gay relationships.
I’ve a feeling it won’t, but we can always hope.
