Joshua Payne-Elliott, the gay teacher that sued the Archdiocese of Indianapolis after he was fired from a Catholic high school because of his same-sex marriage, is appealing the dismissal of his lawsuit.
An Indiana trial court dismissed the lawsuit two weeks ago. Payne-Elliott filed the appeal Thursday.
“We must continue to courageously show our families, friends, and students how to stand up to bullies,” he said in a press release Thursday. “The loving values of this community stand boldly above the divisive actions taken by the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, and we look forward to a proper review of this case.”
Payne-Elliott had worked as a world language and social studies teacher at Cathedral High School since 2006 when he was fired in June 2019. He is married to Layton Payne-Elliott, a teacher at Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School. They married in 2017. The couple have been at the center of a fight between their schools and the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, which directed the schools to fire both men.
Brebeuf refused to fire Layton Payne-Elliott, so the archdiocese attempted to strip the school of its Catholic status, though the school appealed that decision and is still awaiting a final ruling. Cathedral fired Joshua Payne-Elliott to avoid the same fate.
Want more school news? Sign up for Study Hall, our weekly education newsletter
Joshua Payne-Elliott is one of three former employees who say they’ve been fired from Indianapolis-area Catholic high schools because of their same-sex marriages.
Shelly Fitzgerald was suspended from her job as a guidance counselor at Roncalli High School in 2018 and later fired. Lynn Starkey, who worked in the Roncalli guidance office with Fitzgerald, was also fired because of her same-sex marriage.
Both women have also sued the archdiocese. Their cases, filed in federal court, are pending.
The archdiocese has said that it is not targeting LGBTQ individuals but that it can set whatever rules it wants for its schools and employees, like that they must live according to Catholic church doctrine. It began requiring a morality clause in teacher, administrator and counselor contracts at some of its schools six years ago, and at all Catholic schools four years ago. That included independent schools, like Cathedral and Brebeuf.
In July 2019, Payne-Elliott filed a lawsuit filed in Marion County alleging that the archdiocese illegally interfered with his contractual and employment relationship with Cathedral High School, causing Cathedral to terminate him.
According to the lawsuit, Cathedral renewed Joshua Payne-Elliott’s annual teaching contract in May 2019. That contract did not include the morality clause that a same-sex marriage would violate.
The lawsuit states that one month after Payne-Elliott’s contract was renewed Cathedral’s president, Robert Bridges, told him that the archdiocese had “directed” Cathedral to terminate him and that Cathedral was following that directive.
Winning record:High-powered lawyers defending Indianapolis archdiocese in LGBT suits
The Archdiocese of Indianapolis argued that the lawsuit was barred by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, claiming in court documents that the First Amendment prohibits a secular court from interfering in internal church matters.
“This has always been a very simple case, because the Supreme Court has repeatedly affirmed the freedom of religious schools to choose teachers who support their religious faith,” said Luke Goodrich, vice president and senior counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, in a statement released after the dismissal.
The trial court initially ruled that the lawsuit could move forward, but the Indiana Supreme Court sent the case back down and authorized the trial court to reconsider. The archdiocese sought to have the original judge removed from the case, accusing him of misconduct. The judge later recused himself, citing a number of personal and family health issues.
The new trial court judge assigned to the case, Lance Hamner, dismissed the case in a one-page order that cited two trial court rules but did not include any other explanation for the decision.
Kathleen DeLaney, Payne-Elliott’s lawyer, called the lack of explanation “unusual.”
“The order of dismissal offers no reason, no rationale, and no basis for the decision,” DeLaney said in a press release Thursday. “We have no way to know how the judge got to the decision.
“There are incredibly important constitutional and civil rights issues raised by this case. We look forward to presenting our case to the Indiana Court of Appeals.”
The Archdiocese of Indianapolis directed requests for comment to Becket, which is representing the church in all three lawsuits from former Catholic school employees.
“If the First Amendment means anything, it means the government can’t punish the Catholic Church for asking Catholic educators to support Catholic teaching,” said Becket’s Goodrich, “and we look forward to another ruling affirming this basic principle.”
Call IndyStar education reporter Arika Herron at 317-201-5620 or email her at Arika.Herron@indystar.com. Follow her on Twitter: @ArikaHerron.
