Fired Gay Chicago Catholic Music Director Files Discrimination Complaint

A Chicago music director who was fired from his job at a Catholic church the day after he was engaged to his partner, filed a federal discrimination complaint Thursday, the Chicago Tribune reports.

Colin Collette worked at Holy Family Catholic Community in Inverness, Ill., for 17 years before he was let go from his job in July after he revealed he was engaged via Facebook.

Collette said at the time, Rev. Terence Keehan told him that his same-sex relationship violated the views of the Roman Catholic Church. But on Thursday, Collette filed a complaint against Keehan and the parish's manager, alleging discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation and marital status.

"It is with deep regret that I have had to pursue this course of action," Collette said at a press conference Thursday. "I have chosen to enter into a marriage, as is my right under Illinois law, and perhaps I can open the door to other men and women who the Church has chosen to exclude from the community."

Though the parish's officials did not comment, the Archdiocese of Chicago's spokeswoman made a statement about the discrimination claim.

"The Archdiocese of Chicago has not seen the complaints that Mr. Collette has filed with the civil authorities and so we are unable to comment on them," said Susan Burritt. "We will respond to the complaints in the forums in which they are filed at the appropriate time."

Collette's claim was filed with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Cook County Commission on Human Rights, the local body that handles discrimination claims. The Chicago Tribune writes:

"A federal discrimination complaint generally has to be filed and reviewed before a person can sue a former employer over alleged discrimination. The EEOC can issue an aggrieved employee a notice of the right to sue the employer or, in rare cases, the agency can sue the employer on the employee's behalf."

Collette's firing upset many local churchgoers at the Holy Family, sparking many people to attend a meeting in August. Most supported the music director and a church cantor announced his resignation over Collette's firing.

The newspaper notes that Collette claims other church members and leaders knew he was gay before announcing his engagement on Facebook.

Collette isn't the first gay music director to be fired from a Catholic church. In 2012, Steav Bates-Congdon said he was fired from St. Gabriel Church in North Carolina after he married his partner in New York.

Additionally, Flint Dollar, a former band director and music instructor at Mount de Sales Academy Catholic school in Macon, Ga., filed a lawsuit k against the school in July, claiming gender discrimination, stating he was fired after he revealed he was going to marry his partner.