A statue of Mary near the U.S. flag a first grade classroom during former U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ visit to Sacred Heart Academy in Grand Rapids in 2020. The parish and school are suing the state over the inclusion of LGBTQ protections into the state civil rights act. (Cory Morse | MLive.com) Cory Morse | MLive.com A Grand Rapids parish is suing the state because it contends it cannot operate consistent with its Catholic beliefs since the Michigan Supreme Court interpreted civil rights law to include protections for LGBTQ people. The state has forced Sacred Heart of Jesus and its school, Sacred Heart Academy, to make an “unconstitutional and unconscionable choice” to either cease teaching and practicing the Catholic faith or “close its doors forever,” read the 227-page complaint filed Thursday, Dec. 22, in U.S. District Court. Sacred Heart would have to hire faculty and staff who oppose the faith, speak messages that violate doctrine and refrain from articulating beliefs in teaching and advertising to prospective students or job applicants, it contends. “Rather than defy Catholic doctrine in these ways, Sacred Heart would shut down.” The lawsuit alleges alleges the recent reinterpretation of the Michigan Elliot Larsen Civil […]
