In a decision that became available today, Lazor v. Catholic Elementary School Sys. of Diocese of Bridgeport, 2005 Conn. Super. LEXIS 1145 (April 29, 2005), the court rejected a Catholic school's claim that the First Amendment precludes the court from proceeding with a teacher's breach of contract and wrongful termination claim. When the Pope requested that Catholics fast and pray for peace, teachers were asked to have their students write President Bush to support a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Iraq. Teacher Bonnie Lazor refused to assign this unless students had parental consent. She was fired.
Defendants invoke the "ministerial exception": where the reason for a discharge implicates religious teachings of the employer, the First Amendment precludes courts from interfering. The court held that while it cannot become entangled in theological disputes, here the dispute would not involve the court in determining the validity of religious principles. Instead the question is what was the real basis for Lazor's dismissal and whether proper procedures were followed in dismissing her.
