The Bishopric of the Canary Islands has expelled a gay teacher who married his partner two years ago and taught religion in two institutes in Lanzarote. Luis Alberto González, who was previously a priest, received a statement indicating that "for reasons of doctrine and morality and under the protection of canon law, his suitability as a religion teacher is withdrawn," according to the newspaper El País.
The Deputy Minister of Education of the Government of the Canary Islands, Manuela Armas, has indicated to La Voz that the Ministry had already ratified the position of this teacher for the coming year. They have been working with him for "years" and have "never" had any problems. "We didn't know about his personal situation, because we don't get involved in that," she indicated. According to El País, this teacher had already informed the Bishopric of his situation when he got married in 2012, but no measures had been taken until now.
Just a few weeks before informing him that he was being removed from his position, specifically on July 28, this teacher sent an opinion letter to the newspaper El País, in which he reported on his situation.
This teacher had moved from the provisional list to the definitive one, despite the fact that the Bishopric of the Canary Islands does not consider him "suitable" to teach Religion. Armas has not been able to clarify whether the Bishopric sent the Ministry the "well-founded justification of why this person cannot be hired and why he is no longer suitable".
"If we received it, which I don't know, two things could have happened: that they sent it late or that they didn't justify it enough," the Deputy Minister indicated. Therefore, the appointment of Luis Alberto González was ratified by the Department of Education.
"Contracts are renewed every year if there are no inconveniences"
Armas has explained that religion teachers must have a certificate of suitability "depending on what the Bishopric considers". "They send us a list of teachers suitable for hiring. We organize and those contracts are renewed every year, if there are no inconveniences," she indicated.
The Deputy Minister of Education has acknowledged that she "doesn't understand" this story, since there is a Law on Homosexual Marriage that protects the marriage of this teacher. Furthermore, she recalled that the Bishopric's justification regarding the suitability of this teacher can never "clash with the fundamental rights of the individual".
However, Armas has also pointed out that this teacher has already stated that he will abide by the decision of the Bishopric. In the newspaper El País, they include statements from this teacher, where he affirms that "he knew it could happen", so he asks that his contract be terminated in a "justified" manner so that he can be entitled to unemployment benefits.
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