Unwed Catholic school teacher fired over pregnancy

From the Associated Press: 

An unmarried teacher at a Roman Catholic middle school in Montana has been fired after getting pregnant, the Diocese of Helena confirmed.

Patrick Haggarty, the superintendent of Catholic schools for the diocese, said Tuesday that Butte Central teacher Shaela Evenson “made a willful decision to violate the terms of her contract,” which requires her to respect the moral and religious teachings of the Catholic Church in both her professional and personal life.

“The Catholic moral teaching is that the sacrament of marriage is a holy union between a man and a woman,” Haggarty said. “And we certainly believe and we teach our children who attend our schools about the sacrament of marriage. That’s as old as our church. Not only do we teach that to the children kindergarten through 12th grade, but we’re held to that standard as well.”

Evenson told The Montana Standard that she is pursuing legal action, but deferred other questions to her lawyer. An e-mail from her attorney, Brian Butler of Cincinnati, said he was not available to answer questions until Wednesday.