30,000+ sign 2 petitions in 24 hours to protest Omaha Catholic school's defacto firing of gay speech coach

Eledge

One petition got 20,000 signatures in about 12 hours. It now has more than 26,000. Another petition, with more than 8,000 signatures, has been started by Skutt alumni to protest the Archdiocese's refusal to renew the teaching contract of Matthew Eledge who informed the school he is gay and wants to marry his partner. The Archdiocese issued a statement, saying:

All elementary and secondary teachers sign one-year contracts.  Contracts include a code of conduct, in addition to a clause whereby teachers agree to uphold the teachings of the Church.

The 20,000+ signature petition at change.org notes:

Under his leadership, the students have won five consecutive conference and district titles and capped another successful year with its fourth straight state championship this past March. Unfortunately, this legacy will be coming to an end. Mr. Eledge is being fired from Skutt Catholic for being in a gay relationship.

The Omaha World-Herald, as well as Omaha's KMTV (CBS), WOWT (NBC) and KETV (ABC) affiliates have covered the story. The Herald interviewed Dave Gottschalk, a 2010 Skutt graduate who it said helped draft the petition and who said he loves the school but feels its actions contradict one of the institution's core beliefs:

Omaha Archbishop George Lucas

Skutt Catholic’s curriculum is centered not only around theology (but also) social justice and embracing diversity in those that are marginalized by society,” said Gottschalk, who graduated from UNL in 2014. “And here we are watching the institution that instilled these social justice values in us turn around and discriminate against the marginalized.