After 21,000-plus signatures on a petition signed by people all over the country and world were presented to the Archdiocese of Seattle and Eastside Catholic School administration Jan. 15, the office of the Archdiocese responded.

The petition asks Eastside Catholic to reinstate Mark Zmuda, the former vice-principal of EC, who was fired when the school found out he married his gay partner last summer.

“Catholic schools in this archdiocese and around the country have an extraordinary heritage of faithfully handing on the Catholic faith, providing an excellent curriculum, and creating an environment in which young people are educated and formed as disciples of the Lord Jesus and faith-filled citizens. Catholic teaching in all its breadth is the hallmark of Catholic schools and we have a right and responsibility to help them uphold their principles and traditions,” the statement reads.

“Leaders of Catholic schools are charged with the responsibility of both imparting and modeling our teaching. The recent personnel decision by the board and administrators of Eastside Catholic regarding Mr. Zmuda was made after a great deal of prayer and consultation. In no way was their goal to be discriminatory to anyone but to be faithful to their mission as a Catholic school. The Archdiocese supports their decision. The decision has been misunderstood and mischaracterized by some, and we now have an opportunity to help our students learn even more about Catholic teaching.

“Pope Francis has often reminded us of the limitless mercy of God, for Jesus came to bring his Father’s mercy. At the same time, Pope Francis has also reminded us of our responsibility as Catholics to live the timeless truth of church teaching on a wide variety of topics, including the sacredness of traditional marriage.”

The school has said it was the decision of the Archdiocese to fire Zmuda, which contradicts this statement, which puts the onus on Eastside Catholic.