A teacher from Holy Ghost Preparatory School in Pennsylvania was fired on Friday after the school administration learned he applied for a gay marriage license, NBC10 reported.
Michael Griffin, an alumnus of the school who taught Spanish and French for the past 12 years, uploaded a Facebook post about his termination immediately after he was fired.
"Today I applied for a marriage license since NJ now has marriage equality," Griffin wrote. "After 12 years together I was excited to finally be able to marry my partner. Because of that, I was fired from Holy Ghost Preparatory School today. I am an alumnus of the school and have taught there for 12 years. I feel hurt, saddened, betrayed and except for this post, am at a loss for words. If you'd like to share your words with my principal or headmaster, please do. jdanilak@holyghostprep.org or jmccloskey@holyghostprep.org"
Griffin has received a large outpouring of support so far, with more than 500 shares of his post.
He added that his relationship with his partner was known among the school's faculty, even the headmaster.
"I've been with my partner for more than 12 years, the entire time I've been teaching at the school," said Griffin. "He's been to numerous school functions with me, he's even been to McCloskey's house."
In a statement, headmaster Fr. James McCloskey said Griffin's firing was a direct result of his gay marriage license application.
"At a meeting in my office yesterday, teacher Michael Griffin made clear that he obtained a license to marry his same sex partner," McCloskey wrote. "Unfortunately, this decision contradicts the terms of his teaching contract at our school, which requires all faculty and staff to follow the teachings of the Church as a condition of their employment. In discussion with Mr. Griffin, he acknowledged that he was aware of this provision, yet he said that he intended to go ahead with the ceremony. Regretfully, we informed Mr. Griffin that we have no choice but to terminate his contract effective immediately."
By Saturday, Griffin posted a second message on Facebook thanking everyone for their support.
"Thank you to everyone for all of your messages of love and support since yesterday. It is so overwhelming and my heart aches over everything that has happened. Holy Ghost helped form me to be the person that I am today. Even though I am no longer employed there, I wanted to share their mission and philosophy, because I feel like I have tried to make it my life's philosophy as best I can, even now. I am trying to move forward with a peaceful heart and wish nothing but the best to my colleagues and students who mean the world to me."
