An Irish teacher at the center of a controversy over his use of a transgender pronoun was jailed for the third time on Monday after defying a court order asking him to stay away from the school that fired him.
The diary Irish Times reported that the High Court in Dublin (Ireland) ordered the imprisonment of Enoch Burke for contempt, after he insisted on appearing at Wilson’s Hospital School, in County Westmeath, violating a court order that prohibited him from accessing the school facilities .
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Burke is an evangelical Christian. He was suspended in August 2022 for refusing to use the transgender pronoun preferred by a person in his class. Although he was later fired, he has appealed the termination of the contract and — according to various media outlets — remains on the school’s payroll, which is awaiting the outcome of the process.
Judge Michael Quinn ruled on September 2 that Burke had been in “continuous contempt” of previous court decisions and must remain incarcerated at Mountjoy Prison until he agrees to comply, the newspaper said.
According Sky NewsBurke accused the court of failing to respect his religious rights during Monday’s proceedings. “This is a mockery of justice,” he told Judge Quinn, noting that his Christian beliefs about gender were being penalized.
The professor has already spent more than 400 days in prison in two previous periods for similar rulings. Burke’s last release came in June, when the school closed for summer vacation, he said. RTÉ.
On that occasion and in a video statement, Burke shared what he is experiencing in this legal battle: “I have been here for 400 consecutive days and they have taken two years of my life.”
“Mountjoy prison is a sad place. “There are many very genuine people who have been discarded, I would say, by the State, by the government and in some cases, by the courts.”
He Wilson’s Hospital School is a boarding school, located about 88 kilometers west of Dublin, which claims to be proud of its Church in Ireland heritage and to “encourage Christian practice and teaching”.
The board of directors of the coeducational school requested Burke’s arrest after he returned to the facilities at the start of the new school year on August 22.
Burke highlights that his dismissal is invalid, referring to the pending appeal. According to the Irish Independentthe center’s management maintains that its presence disturbs staff and students.
A review of the case before the courts is scheduled for October 11.
Translated and adapted by the ACI Prensa team. Originally published in CNA
Anian Christoph Wimmer
Anian Christoph Wimmer, a multilingual Australian with Bavarian roots, is the editor-in-chief of CNA Deutsch. He held senior positions at Australia’s SBS and was editor-in-chief of the historic Münchner Kirchenzeitung. Graduated in Philosophy and Chinese Studies from the University of Melbourne, Anian Christoph Wimmer was on the jury for the Catholic Media Prize of the German Bishops’ Conference and was an honorary researcher in Communications at the University of Melbourne. He has served on the Board of Directors of Caritas in Munich.