Catholic school fires teacher for planning his same-sex wedding

A Catholic school in northern St. Louis recently fired its music teacher after learning of his plans to marry his male partner in New York, according to The St. Louis Post-Dispatch Wednesday morning.

Al Fischer, a music teacher at St. Ann Catholic School for four years, received termination in mid-February after a representative of the St. Louis Archdiocese overhead his plans to marry his partner of over 20 years.

A spokesperson for the local Archdiocese supported St. Ann's pastor Bill Kempf's decision, citing Fischer's decision to marry violated the Christian Witness Statement.

The statement requires that all Catholic education employees sign a contact to "not take a public position contrary to the Catholic Church" and "demonstrate a public life consistent with the teachings of the Catholic Church."

Many parents were upset over Fischer's firing and stated that it was well known that he was gay. Fischer wrote a letter to parents that declined to blame "St. Ann or its leadership" for his firing, but urged them to have a conversation with their children "about whether or not justice was served here."

The LGBT Center of St. Louis told The Raw Story that they plan to release a statement condemning St.Ann's decision to fire Fischer at a later time.