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Mark Richards (left) and St. Francis Xavier School
It’s just a stab in the back,” the 63-year-old band director told local media.
A Catholic school in Louisiana fired a gay teacher after his late husband’s obituary listed him as a spouse.
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Mark Richards said St. Francis Xavier School, in Metairie, Louisiana, terminated him from his job after a “disgruntled” parent contacted the school after reading the obituary.
“It’s just a stab in the back,” the 63-year-old band director told New Orleans' NBC affiliate WDSU. “It’s just time for this to stop. The rest of the free world does not think homosexuality is a big deal.”
Richard told members of the community about his firing in an email reported on by The Guardian.
“The reason for this termination is that I am a gay man,” Richards wrote.
Since the teacher’s termination, a petition supporting Richards has more than 1,500 signatures from members of the community, according to the NBC affiliate.
However, officials at St. Francis Xavier sent an email making clear the decision to fire Richards was “final and will not be revisited.”
Richards’ sexual identity apparently violates a “morality clause” in the contract for the school, a document he said he signed with “a wink and a nudge since it was no big secret that I am gay.”
The June 25 firing came after 21 years working at St. Francis Xavier as a music teacher, and two years after husband John Messinger’s death. The long-term relationship predates his employment at the school, Richards wrote in his email. Richard and Messinger married in 2014.
“I have not been in violation of the morality clause for the last two years, and no one can find any incident of my acting inappropriately with anyone – let alone a student,” he wrote.
According to the NBC affiliate, the contract still specifically outlines that any engagement “in homosexual activity” violates the morality clause, as does obtaining an abortion or fathering a child out of wedlock.
The Archdiocese of New Orleans told Richards that despite marriage being legal in the state of Louisiana, he and Messinger “weren't married in the eyes of God.” That's the same archdiocese at the center of a massive sexual abuse scandal that involves more than 600 victims of alleged abuse going back decades.
The school informed parents that the band and music programs will continue at the school without Richards.
"Please know we strive to always make decisions that uphold the teachings of the Catholic faith that are in the best interest of our school,” the email from the school reads. "Please join us in prayer for our St. Francis school community and for Mr. Mark."
Parents of students called out the decision.
“I would like to see the morality clause change. I would like the line regarding homosexuality in the morality clause that educators sign to be removed,” Katheryn Lee told WDSU. “Your identity is not your morality. I hope we have a voice in this.”
As for Richards, he told local reporters he hopes the next generation of teachers feels the courage to be out at the workplace and classroom.
“I hope somewhere a young teacher who is gay — male or female — and scared to come out has the courage to do this," Richards told the NBC affiliate. "I am 63 and as of yesterday, I was still worried about people finding out I was gay when I sent that email. It was liberating. There is no doubt I am saying it here on TV."
