Teacher at Pa. Catholic high school fired after obtaining license for gay wedding in NJ

PHILADELPHIA – A gay teacher at a suburban Philadelphia Catholic high school has been fired after he applied for a New Jersey marriage license.

Michael Griffin was fired from Holy Ghost Preparatory School on Friday after administrators said his obtaining a license to marry his same-sex partner was a violation of the school's teaching terms and Griffin's contract.

NBC Philadelphia reports (http://bit.ly/J1dnME) that Holy Ghost headmaster Father James McCloskey said in a statement that faculty at the school are required to follow Church teachings. He says Griffin acknowledged that he was aware of the provision, but that he intended to go ahead with the wedding.

Griffin says that his relationship with his partner of more than 12 years wasn't a secret and that he had been to numerous school functions and McCloskey's house.