New Jersey Supreme Court sides with Catholic school that fired teacher for premarital sex

The New Jersey Supreme Court has sided with a Roman Catholic school that fired a teacher for having premarital sex, in violation of her employment contract.

New Jersey's antidiscrimination law permits religious organizations to make hire personnel using guidelines derived from their faith. The Catholic Church teaches that premarital sex is a sin and the court found that its decision to fire teacher Victoria Cristello for that reason was valid under the law.

"The religious tenets exception allowed St. Theresa’s to require its employees, as a condition of employment, to abide by Catholic law, including that they abstain from premarital sex. Crisitello, a practicing Catholic and graduate of the St. Theresa School, acknowledged that St. Theresa’s required her to abide by the tenets of the Catholic faith, including that she abstain from premarital sex, as a condition of her employment," the court determined.

Victoria Cristello became pregnant out of wedlock and sued St. Theresa School on discrimination grounds, contending she lost her position due to her pregnancy and marital status, The Hill reported. The court found no evidence that the school removed Cristello for any reason other than her having engaged in premarital sex.

Cristello signed an agreement to adhere to Catholic teaching while an employee at the St. Theresa School, which she joined as a part-time art teacher in 2011. She acknowledged her pregnancy during a meting with a school official about bringing her on as a full time teacher. She requested a higher salary in light of her pregnancy. After that meeting, she was later told to either resign or face termination.

Her attorney, Thomas A. McKinney, later told CNN that "[o]f course we are disappointed with the decision because it did not go our way... and we don’t think that going forward a pregnant woman will be treated equally based on these policies of the employment. We would have liked to see this reminded in court but we understand the decision of the Supreme Court justice and we accept it."

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.