Fired gay Roncalli counselor, Shelly Fitzgerald, files appeal to federal court
Shelly Fitzgerald, the former Roncalli High School guidance counselor who was suspended and eventually fired over her same-sex marriage, filed an appeal to a U.S. federal court Friday after an Indiana district court dismissed her case.
The group defending Fitzgerald, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said in a statement that the lower court that dismissed her case in Sept. 2022 erred on the grounds of the First Amendment.
“The First Amendment rightly gives religious employers special solicitude to choose important religious figures to teach and preach the faith,” the brief notes. “It does not give them the power to choose what laws apply to them and when.”
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Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United, also said in a statement that the attorneys who represented the Archdiocese of Indianapolis should not have been able to use “ministerial exception” given Fitzgerald’s position at the school as a guidance counselor, not a minister.
“This case is part of a dangerous trend: The school’s attorneys and religious employers are urging courts to adopt an ever-broader interpretation of the ministerial exception, which was meant to ensure that houses of worship could freely choose their clergy,” Laser said.
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Luke Goodrich, the vice president and senior counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty which represents the high school and archdiocese on this case, said in a statement that they are confident that the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals will rule in their favor as they did last year in a similar case with another Roncalli guidance counselor.
"The Seventh Circuit just decided an identical appeal a few months ago--involving the same leadership role at the same school--and unanimously upheld the Archdiocese’s freedom to choose leaders who are fully committed to their religious mission,” Goodrich said. “We anticipate another ruling affirming this core constitutional right and ensuring that the Archdiocese can continue providing an authentic Catholic education rooted in the dignity of every human person.”
Fitzgerald first filed a federal lawsuit in 2019 alleging she was discriminated against, the victim of retaliation and subject to a hostile work environment because of sex – hers and her spouse’s – and because of her sexual orientation.
The suit also alleges that the archdiocese interfered with contractual and business relationships between Fitzgerald and Roncalli.
Fitzgerald, a Roncalli graduate, had worked for the school for 15 years before she was placed on administrative leave and banned from campus at the start of the last school year. She was fired at the end of the school year when her contract expired because of her same-sex marriage.
Fitzgerald was the first of several gay employees fired by the Indianapolis Archdiocese, drawing national attention to the issue of LGBTQ employment protections.
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Lynn Starkey, who was the co-director of guidance with Fitzgerald at Roncalli, was also fired because of her same-sex marriage. Her appeal was denied last summer by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
Joshua Payne-Elliott, a world language and social studies teacher, was fired in 2019 from Cathedral High School. The Indiana Supreme Court upheld the archdiocese's decision to fire him in Aug. 2022.
IndyStar reporter Arika Herron contributed to this reporting.
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Former Roncalli counselor who was fired for being gay files appeal
