The counselor has no intention to follow the school’s demands.
A staff member at a Catholic school in Indiana was given a difficult choice: either get a divorce or resign her post.[/tweetit] The counselor was presented with this decision after it was revealed that she was married to a woman. The school was alerted to Shelly Fitzgerald’s marriage to her partner after the marriage was revealed on a Facebook post. Since then, the couple’s marriage certificate was found and presented to the Chief Administrator of the school, Joe Hollowell, and finally given to the Archbishop of Indianapolis.
Catholic School Gives Lesbian Staffer A Choice: Resign or Get Divorced[/tweetthis]
The revelation prompted a meeting between Fitzgerald and Principal ChuckWeisenbach along with Hollowell. Apparently, the meeting produced her with three crippling choices. Either she could wait until the end of the year and not return for the following year, she could resign immediately, or the marriage could be dissolved and she would be allowed to keep her post at the school.
The Roncalli High School counselor made it clear that she had no intention of doing any of these three actions because any of them would compromise who she was as a person. She would not dissolve a partnership of 22 years nor would she succumb to pressure to leave her job during such circumstances.
Unfortunately, given the state of her contract with the school, Fitzgerald could simply not have her contract renewed by the Catholic school or have it dismissed immediately. After all, the rules of the contract bind the individual to the rules of the Church, including the open denouncement of same-sex marriage.
Of course, this has led some to question why it is individuals in same-sex marriages who seem to be the target of these crusades for supposed moral righteousness. Rules are broken in the confines of Christian schools all the time, but none seem to be as fervently attacked like same-sex marriage.
Dear @TheEllenShow, PLEASE help Shelly Fitzgerald, my amazing HS guidance counselor. I graduated 10 yrs ago & still keep in contact w/her. They're trying to force her to divorce or resign simply because she married the woman she loves! Read my post here: https://t.co/PInXl4DZDB
— Carly Braverman (@CarlyBraverman) August 13, 2018
For now, it appears Shelly Fitzgerald is receiving some support from the student body and alumni at the school. Some former students have taken to the process of leaving their shirts at the front of the school in shame of the actions that are being taken against a kind and giving counselor by all accounts.
The school has a difficult but highly visible choice to make with regards to Fitzgerald. Only time will tell what outcome they choose to pursue at the administrative level.