NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — A former music teacher at a Queens Catholic school claims he was recently fired by the Brooklyn Diocese after marrying a man over the summer.
In a YouTube video, Matthew LaBanca, a former music teacher at St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy in Astoria and music director at Corpus Christi Roman Catholic Church, said he was fired from his positions after somebody informed the Diocese that he had gotten married to a man in August.
“I’m stripped of both of my jobs,” LaBanca said. “And most importantly, stripped of the communities, the daily community life that has meant so much to me – not because of more work performance, not in the slightest, but because I’m gay.”
LaBanca noted that a Diocesan committee met for nearly six weeks to discuss the question, “Should Matthew be allowed to remain at his jobs?”
“The answer turned out to be, ‘no,’” said LaBanca.
The former teacher noted that discrimination based on sexual orientation is illegal in the state of New York, but “the First Amendment says that a religious institution is allowed to legally discriminate.”
LaBanca noted that the principal at St. Joseph’s fiercely advocated for him to keep his positions, but the ultimate decision regarding his employment came from Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, the head of the Dioceses overseeing parishes in Brooklyn and Queens.
“I was offered a severance package with a gag order that was almost 10 pages long – 10 pages, which is a lot of ways to say, ‘Shut up, don’t talk about this,’” LaBanca said. “Obviously, I have not signed it because I realize that no price can be placed on my personal integrity.”
In a statement to the Daily News, the Brooklyn Diocese did not deny LaBanca’s claims, saying he was fired because he violated a clause in his contract that stated teachers must “support and exemplify by his/her public conduct Catholic doctrine and morality.”
“Despite changes to New York State law in 2011 legalizing same-sex marriage, Church law is clear,” the Diocese said. “In his case, it has been determined that he can no longer fulfill his obligations as a minister of the faith at either the school or the parish.”
While LaBanca acknowledged that the church was within its rights to terminate him, he added that “just because something is legal doesn’t make it right.”
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