Catholic school fires lesbian teacher who posted same-sex marriage photos to Facebook

A Miami school teacher was fired by the Catholic school she taught at only a day after marrying her partner.

Saints Peter and Paul Catholic School made Jocelyn Morffi redundant on Thursday (8 February), after she married Natasha Hass in the Florida Keys.

The school sent a letter to the parents to inform them of the decision, although it failed to specify why Morffi, who had taught at the school for seven years, had been fired.

In the letter, school principal Carlota Morales, informed parents Morfii was "no longer teaching at our school" after what she described as "difficult and necessary decision" to let go of her.

In a post on social media obtained by the Miami Herald, the teacher claimed the decision was motivated by her decision to marry her partner.

"This weekend I married the love of my life and unfortunately I was terminated from my job as a result," she wrote on Instagram.

"In their eyes I'm not the right kind of Catholic for my choice in partner."

The decision, however, sparked a backlash among the parents, who accused the school of treating Morfii "like a criminal" and of not handling the issue adequately.

"The way they handled this was just unbelievable," Christina Lopez, whose son was one of Morfii's students, was quoted as saying by ABC News.

Another parent, Cintia Cini, added Morfii's sexual orientation was completely irrelevant to her job.

"We were extremely livid. They treated her like a criminal, they didn't even let her get her things out of her classroom.

"Our only concern was the way she was with our children, the way she taught our children and this woman by far was one of the best teachers out there."

However, Mary Ross Agosta, a spokeswoman for the Miami Archdiocese, said Morfii had been fired for breaching her contract.

"As a teacher in a Catholic school their responsibility is partly for the spiritual growth of the children," Agosta was quoted as saying.

"One has to understand that in any corporation, institution or organisation there are policies and procedures and teachings and traditions that are adhered to. If something along the way does not continue to stay within that contract, then we have no other choice."