Kenneth Ference, a gay man from Greensburg, Pa., recently received a favorable recommendation from a magistrate judge, urging that a jury hear his case that he was fired as a Catholic school teacher because he’s married to a man.
In August 2021, Ference was hired to teach science, math and social studies to sixth-grade students at Aquinas Academy in Greensburg, Pa., at an annual salary of $22,000.
Greensburg is a city in western Pennsylvania near Pittsburgh. The school has about 237 students in grades K-6.
During his hiring interview, Ference told school officials that he’s Lutheran and arrangements were made for him to not teach any religion classes at the school, according to his lawsuit.
Ference was supposed to teach from the August 23, 2021 – June 10, 2022 school year. But he was fired on Sept. 18, 2021, after school officials learned he’s married to a man. They learned of that fact when Ference said he didn’t need medical coverage from the school’s health-care policy because he gets it from his husband’s employer.
Ference filed suit in June 2022, claiming the school violated his civil rights under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
School officials argued they had a right to fire Ference because he couldn’t represent the school’s faith properly as a someone in a same-sex marriage.
However, Ference argued that his job duties didn’t include teaching religion to students.
In 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court established a broad “ministerial exception” to antibias laws for religious organizations. This exception allows Catholic schools to make employment decisions based on their religious beliefs. But the court ruling also noted that not every employee of a Catholic school plays a ministerial role.
On Feb. 24, 2025, U.S. Magistrate Judge Maureen P. Kelly issued a 25-page report, recommending that Ference be given a chance to plead his case to a jury that he was wrongfully fired. Kelly told U.S. District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan that he shouldn’t dismiss Ference’s case — which school officials want Ranjan to do.
Kelly noted in her report that Aquinas Academy’s principal commented that Ference was an “amazing” teacher. Kelly said school officials wanted to employ Ference until he acknowledged his same-sex marriage, which school officials say is a violation of the teachings of the Catholic church.
“There is no evidence Mr. Ference publicly championed same-sex marriage,” Kelly added in her report.
Both sides disagree on the type of onboarding materials Ference received when hired and the training he received. School officials say those materials and training should have caused Ference to realize he wasn’t suitable for the job. However, Ference said he received no indication from school officials that he wasn’t suitable.
“Defendants assert…Mr. Ference’s employment agreement and the Aquinas Academy Faculty Handbook required him to facilitate prayers. But Mr. Ference contends that he never received the Faculty Handbook and that he was never instructed to pray or facilitate prayer in his classroom,” Kelly wrote.
Kelly said the evidence indicates that Ference was “employed in a secular role with no responsibility for religious faith formation.” For example, he didn’t teach religion classes.
“Mr. Ference argues that his employment was limited to secular classes, with no responsibility to teach or participate in Aquinas Academy’s religious mission. As such, he was not employed in a ministerial role,” Kelly wrote.
In his lawsuit, Ference emphasized it was agreed from the beginning of his employment that another teacher would teach his students religion, since he’s Lutheran.
“Mr. Ference reiterates that Aquinas Academy considered him unqualified to instruct students on the Catholic faith and expressly instructed him that he was not authorized to lead prayer or provide spiritual direction [as a Lutheran],” Kelly continued. “Mr. Ference asserts he was not provided religious-related curriculum and he did not infuse religious content in math, science and social studies lessons.”
Kelly added: “The disputed evidence related to the application of the ministerial exception raises significant material issues of fact for a jury to resolve.”
In concluding her report, Kelly recommended to U.S. District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan that the case should be heard by a jury.
As of presstime, Ranjan hadn’t said whether he’ll follow Kelly’s recommendations but federal judges typically follow recommendations from magistrates whom they seek help to streamline a case.
Ference is seeking an unspecified amount in damages along with payment of his attorney’s legal fees and costs. He’s requested a jury trial.
Neither side had a comment for this story.