Posted: May 22, 2024
Karen Pala, a kindergarten teacher at St. Luke School in Shoreline, WA, was dismissed from her position at the Catholic school earlier this month because she is marrying the woman she loves.
A lifelong Catholic, Karen taught at St. Luke for four years and had hoped to spend the next several decades of her career teaching there. But with her wedding day approaching, Father Brad Hagelin arrogantly decided she was not "fully living" her faith by getting married -- and refused to renew her contract.
Here's the hopeful part: Pala's local community -- including many St. Luke's parishioners -- is rallying around her. Guided by their faith, they've started a campaign to amend the archdiocesan personnel handbook to include "marital status" in its anti-discrimination policy, to make sure that no Catholic school teacher in Seattle ever goes through this again.
As grassroots Catholics and ecumenical allies, let's stand with Karen Pala and tell local Catholic leadership that it's time to embrace change, follow Christ's example of including the excluded, and end this intolerant policy now.
Sign the petition:
Love thy neighbor.