WASHINGTON: Fired Catholic School Vice President Mark Zmuda To File Lawsuit

The Seattle-area Catholic high school vice president who was fired for marrying his partner will file a lawsuit today.

Mark Zmuda alleges, in his filing, that the decision to terminate his employment at the Sammamish prep school was made by Catholic Archbishop J. Peter Sartain. The school acknowledges that Eastside Catholic president Sr. Mary Tracy discussed the case with Sartain. “Our attorneys will immediately file a motion to dismiss the compaint,” Tom Padilla and Brad Bastion, acting chairs of the Eastside Catholic board, said in a letter to the school community. The Catholic Church opposes marriage equality and has a provision in educators’ contracts that provides for adherence to church teachings. According to filings from both sides in the case, Eastside Catholic knew in January of 2013 that Zmuda was gay.

According to Zmuda, the school told him that he could keep his job by getting a divorce. Which is also against Catholic teachings. His firing resulted in an outpouring of support from the school's students.