Priest testifies in trial of fired unwed Missouri teacher

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Catholic priest says “fornication” not pregnancy was the problem in the case of a teacher who alleges that she was fired from a Catholic school in Kansas City, Missouri, because she was pregnant and unmarried

The Kansas City Star reports the Rev. Joseph Cisetti testified Wednesday that he “praised” the decision of former St. Therese School teacher Michelle Bolen not to have an abortion but told her she violated her contract. Cisetti said “sexual relations must take place exclusively in marriage.”

Cisetti says he favoured offering Bolen a contract, while the school’s then-principal didn’t. He says he was concerned about dismissing her because it might create an environment that would be conducive to abortion.

Bolen says administrators concocted non-pregnancy-related reasons to justify not renewing her contract in July 2015.

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Information from: The Kansas City Star, http://www.kcstar.com