Judge allows lawsuit over Cathedral HS teacher firing to proceed
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A Marion County judge says a former teacher’s lawsuit against the Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis can proceed.
The judge Friday rejected the Catholic Archdiocese’s request to dismiss the lawsuit filed by Joshua Payne-Elliott.
Payne-Elliott has sued the archdiocese, saying it ordered Cathedral High School to fire him from his teaching job because he is in a same-sex marriage.
Church leaders have argued courts cannot review the firing.
In the ruling, Judge Stephen Heimann said Payne-Elliott’s firing may not have come from “the highest authority in the ecclesiastical body of Cathedral or of the Roman Catholic Church.“
Payne-Elliott’s husband works as a teacher at Brebeuf High School. Brebeuf publicly rejected the archdiocese’s demand to fire him.
The Vatican has temporarily blocked the archdiocese’s attempt to cut ties with Brebeuf while it reviews the case.