Lesbian Teacher at Ohio School Won't Get Job Back

A lesbian teacher challenging her firing by a Roman Catholic school in Ohio will not get her job back as part of a settlement reached with the Diocese of Columbus.

The attorneys for Carla Hale and the diocese on Thursday announced that as part of the agreement, she will receive "acknowledgement" for her years of service at Bishop Watterson High School. Both parties declined to give details of the settlement.

Hale is a physical education teacher. She had argued she was fired after her mother's obituary included the name of Hale's partner and someone complained.

Bishop Frederick Campbell had said Hale was fired not because of sexual orientation but because she violated the church's moral teaching by having what he described as a "quasi-spousal relationship" with a woman.