The Archbishop of Seattle has asked the president of Kennedy Catholic High School to take a leave of absence until the end of the school year, in the wake of protests over the forced resignations of two gay teachers.
The two teachers resigned under pressure after telling school administrators last fall that they're both engaged to same-sex partners. But that led to days of protests by families and students, who held signs outside the Archdiocese office that said "You can't pray the gay away" and "Closets are for clothes."
Now Archbishop Paul Etienne announced that Kennedy's president, Michael Prato, will take a leave of absence. And the Archbishop said he's forming a task force to examine "how we remain faithful to our mission in a dramatically changing world."
Attorney Shannon McMinimee represents the two teachers and said it's heartening to see that church leaders are listening to the public outcry.
"If that means that the diocese is truly looking at change, that's an amazing sign, and I think that addresses the requests that students, staff, alumni and the community have been asking of them," she said. "At the end of the day, that is what my clients wanted."
Students had urged that the teachers get their jobs back, but the statement from the Archbishop does not mention that possibility.
