Settlement between Pennsylvania diocese, Muslim ex-employee

CWN - January 05, 2012

After filing a religious-discrimination lawsuit in federal court, Omayma Arafa, a Muslim employee who was fired from her part-time parish job in 2009, and the Diocese of Allentown have agreed to a settlement, the terms of which have not been disclosed.

Arafa alleged that a newly-assigned parish priest manifested a “cold, distant and hostile attitude” toward her and required her to take a lunch break during Ramadan. After discussing her complaints with the diocesan human resource department, she was fired; according to the diocese, the elimination of her position was a cost-cutting move.

Additional sources for this story
Some links will take you to other sites, in a new window.

An appeal from our founder, Dr. Jeffrey Mirus:

Dear reader: If you found the information on this page helpful in your pursuit of a better Catholic life, please support our work with a donation. Your donation will help us reach five million Truth-seeking readers worldwide this year. Thank you!

Progress toward our June expenses ($15,085 to go):
$30,000.00 $14,914.93
50% 50%
Sound Off! CatholicCulture.org supporters weigh in.

All comments are moderated. To lighten our editing burden, only current donors are allowed to Sound Off. If you are a donor, log in to see the comment form; otherwise please support our work, and Sound Off!

Show 2 Comments? (Hidden)Hide Comments
  • Posted by: hartwood01 - Jan. 09, 2012 5:07 PM ET USA

    I don't know if the monsignor really behaved that hatefully,but I have certainly noticed how oblivious our clergy is to our Muslim community.

  • Posted by: rpp - Jan. 05, 2012 5:07 PM ET USA

    Why on Earth are non-Catholic being hired to work in parish or diocesan jobs to begin with?

Catholic World News Email Newsletter
Donate to Support this Site: Your contribution will be put to good work.
Tour the CatholicCulture.org Site
Shop Amazon to Raise Money for Catholic Culture

Recent Catholic Commentary

Pope Francis the Frank 15 hours ago
“Illegals” are not “Immorals”: A Persistent Immigration Fallacy 17 hours ago
News coverage of the Vatican: the blind leading the blind 22 hours ago
Those Harleys again June 17
Happy Father's Day! June 14

Top Catholic News

Most Important Stories of the Last 30 Days
Vatican document demands governments protect refugees CWN - June 6
Pope acknowledges 'gay lobby' influence in Vatican CWN - June 11
Pope confirms he is completing encyclical on faith begun by Benedict XVI CWN - June 13