For the second time in almost as many months, a Totino-Grace High School faculty member has been fired for being gay. Kristen Ostendorf, 43, who teaches English and ministers at the Fridley, Minnesota Catholic high school, announced during a peer-based conference that she is lesbian and living in a happy same-sex relationship; a fact, she adds, that her colleagues already knew.
Ostendorf, who at 43 remains a lifelong Catholic, said that though she loves the school, she had mixed feelings about starting this school year after the school’s president, William Hudson, was pressured into resigning after revealing that he has lived in a committed relationship with a male partner for 18 years, with two children.
In an exclusive interview with the Minneapolis Post, Ostendorf discussed the circumstances surrounding her dismissal. “[W]e had a conversation about what the repercussions [of] not resigning would have on my future employment, and what Totino-Grace would be able to say to a future employer. And I just said, ‘I want to be very clear about this: I’m not embarrassed about what I said. I will not dance around it. I will tell every future employer precisely why I left. And if that’s a problem, I don’t want to work there. I can’t do it anymore.’”
The 18-year veteran was also asked about her faith and how she aligns it with the teachings of the Catholic Church which expressly condemns act of homosexuality. “That’s a tough one. That’s a really hard one. I think there’s a difference between the church that’s run by people and the church that’s revealed by God. I’m not naming myself as an interpreter of that; all I can say is what I understand and what I believe to be true. I don’t believe there’s anything strange about me, I don’t believe there’s anything quote wrong about being gay. I also don’t believe there’s anything wrong with loving someone who I really love.”
