Sydney's bishop wants to protect church schools from discrimination lawsuits © Manuel Lopez
Sydney's Archbishop Fisher warns of possible discrimination lawsuits against church schools. He made his comments in light of the lawsuit filed by a teacher who was fired for her advocacy of gay marriage.
Lawsuits by "activists" for same-sex marriage "directly threaten the future of faith-based schooling in this country," Sydney Archbishop Anthony Fisher, chairman of the bishops' commission on Catholic education, told The Australian news portal this Tuesday.
School does not belong to any denomination
The chairman of the bishops' Commission on Catholic Education made the following comments in light of the lawsuit filed by a teacher who was fired from Ballarat Christian College for her advocacy of gay marriage. The school northwest of Melbourne does not belong to any particular denomination.
Proponents of gay marriage had ared people two years ago before the referendum that there would be "no negative consequences for opponents," Fisher said. Just two years later, activist groups would admit that arance was 'wrong'. Fisher called on Attorney General Christian Porter to "urgently clarify" that religious schools "will be protected from similar lawsuits".
"Affirmative action" not in bill
Australia's government had promised churches in 2017 that it would introduce laws to protect religious freedom before legalizing marriage for same-sex couples. The bill, introduced in August, allows employers to prohibit employees from expressing their personal religious beliefs if they could financially harm companies and their brands.
"Affirmative action," which churches have called for, is not included in the bill. Affirmative action is the right of employers and religious institutions, such as schools and hospitals, to terminate employees or expel students whose lifestyle or sexual orientation does not conform to the precepts of their respective religions.