Madrid, Spain, Aug 2, 2021 / 16:23 pm
Spain’s Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that a religion teacher whose declaration of suitability to teach religion was withdrawn by the Archdiocese of Valladolid because her life “was not in accordance with the postulates of Christian life” must be reinstated.
The teacher was married in the Church and had two daughters by in vitro fertilization. She subsequently attempted to contract a second marriage without having sought a declaration of nullity. At the time of her dismissal, the teacher was living with a third partner, a divorced man with three children.
In 2018, several parents of students at the school where the teacher taught complained to the archbishop about the teacher's way of life.
According to an agreement between the Spanish state and the Holy See, in order to be a religion teacher in Spain the candidate must receive a “ecclesiastical declaration of suitability” from the local bishop, who can withdraw this permission for legitimate reasons.