Catholic Church Fires Music Director For Marrying Man
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A music director at a Catholic church in Rhode Island says he has been fired because he married a man.
Michael Templeton tells the Providence Journal (http://bit.ly/2dx6gPb ) he was fired last week from his post at the Church of St. Mary in Providence.
He says the Rev. Francesco Francese and a representative of the Diocese of Providence told him he needed to leave because of his 2015 marriage to his partner of five years.
Bishop Thomas Tobin says someone who holds a ministerial position in the church is expected to live in a way that is consistent with church teachings and that the church "had no choice but to respond."
The newspaper reported that 30 members of the parish protested by singing over a prayer during Sunday's service.
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