Court upholds firing of church music director who announced he was having a GAY wedding

Churches have special leeway to defend the integrity of their mission.

A federal judge has upheld a court ruling against a homosexual man who says he was fired by the Church after announcing he would marry another man. The Church successfully defended its actions since the man who was dismissed was critical to the mission of the Church.

LOS ANGELES, CA (California Network) - Churches are not like any other organization. They do not exist to make money and pay shareholders. Instead, they exist to point people towards salvation. They perform many other functions as well, but all this work is to direct people toward God. This singular purpose comes from sincere religious belief.

Because of their uniqueness, churches are permitted to be more selective about who they hire and who they retain. To maintain credibility and to perform their duties, churches often mandate employees agree to morality clauses and other special rules. Employees often know this up front. Despite this, some employees test the strength of this clause anyway.

This is exactly what Colin Collette did. He tested the strength of his employer's rules by announcing in 2014 that he was engaged to his same-sex lover.

He was fired by the Archdiocese shortly after making his announcement. Collette was formerly the music director for the Holy Family parish church in Inverness.

US District Judge, Charles Kocoras correctly pointed out that religious employers have more leeway to dismiss people who do not conform to their standards of moral conduct. Religious organizations have the right to control their internal affairs, and that applies to lay employees as well as clergy.

This is especially true when the employee in question is key to conveying the church's essential message.

A man on payroll who also practices a lifestyle contradictory to the Church's instruction and the sincere religious beliefs of others could cause confusion for people.

It is rumored that a significant number of people who are employed by the Church, and who serve as clergy, struggle with same-sex attraction. This fact alone is insufficient for termination from employment. Instead, it is the behavior of such people, which they engage in behavior that directly contradicts the teaching of the Church, that creates the problem.

The Church teaches how people who struggle with same-sex attraction ought to be. It does not condone same-sex marriage. A church's entire purpose is its message. If someone deliberately chooses to undermine that message, no matter what their sex or orientation is, then the Church cannot fulfill its mission.