Fired gay church choir director to meet with Cardinal George
The longtime choir director at the Holy Family Parish in Inverness who was fired for announcing his engagement to his male partner on Facebook is trying to get his job back.
According to a news release issued Saturday afternoon, Colin Collette has an appointment with Cardinal Francis George of the Chicago Archdiocese for Tuesday and his supporters will rally Sunday afternoon across the street from Holy Family.
Collette's meeting with Cardinal George is being called a “pastoral meeting.”
“I welcome the opportunity to meet with His Eminence the Cardinal and discuss my desire to return to the position that has meant so much to me,” Collette said in the release.
Jim Mitchell, who wrote the news release on Collette's behalf, said Collette reached out to the archdiocese to arrange the meeting.
The rally, which was organized by Holy Family parishioners, will take place at 3 p.m. Sunday at 2515 W. Palatine Road.
The rally is not designed to be antagonistic, but rather to show the church leaders that the community Collette serves, both at Holy Family and the broader Catholic Church, support him. Event organizers are planning a brief prayer service that will include several short comments by supporters. After the rally, organizers said they expect many people to attend the 4 p.m. Mass at Holy Family.
In August, hundreds of Holy Family parishioners attended a town hall-style meeting in the church's sanctuary so parishioners could offer their comments on his firing. Collette has a press person and a lawyer but has not announced any intention of filing a lawsuit.
“My goal is to simply get my job back,” Collette said in the news release. “I love what I do. I love this parish, and I am a lifelong Catholic who has always been devout in my faith.”