, Ind. (WordNews.org) July 18, 2023 – A federal appeals court unanimously upheld the right of a religious school to make employment decisions with its core religious believes.

A three-judge panel ruled that Roncalli High School, under the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, was entitled to the ministerial exception and was within its right when it fired a guidance counselor who revealed she was in a “same-sex marriage” that was in opposition to the school’s Biblical views on marriage.

“This commonsense ruling protects a fundamental religious liberty of faith-based organizations to employ people who align with their mission,” said Mat Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. “This ministerial exception allows religious institutions to decide who to employ to represent the organization.”

The court wrote “employment discrimination suits [are barred] ‘when the employer is a religious group and the employee is one of the group’s ministers.’ This is what has long ben called ‘the ministerial exception’ …. As the [Supreme] Court explained, ‘[requiring] a church to accept or retain an unwanted minister, or punishing a church for failing to do so, intrudes upon more than a mere employment decision… Such action interferes with the internal governance of the church, depriving the church of control over the selection of those who will personify its beliefs.'”

In short, the Court ruled “a religious school is entitled to limit its staff to people who will be role models by living the life prescribed by the faith.”