Last Friday, two football players from Archbishop Shaw High School in Marrero, Louisiana were arrested and charged with one count of attempted simple rape of a 15-year-old girl. The two students, Doug King and Jared King, were immediately suspended by Shaw principal Father Richard Rosin. But the suspension was overturned just as quickly by Judge Robert A. Pitre, Jr. of the 24th Judicial District Court Division G of Jefferson Parish.
On November 7, Judge Pitre issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the Archdiocese of New Orleans, Archbishop Shaw High School and Father Rosin. The order, filed by an attorney for the players (they are cousins), restrains the New Orleans suburban school not only from suspending the students, but from barring them from playing football. As a result, Doug King played in a football game that day; Jared King has left the team.
William Donohue, Catholic League president, announced the league’s position today:
“On November 12, Judge Jo Ellen Grant of the 24th Judicial District Court Division I of Jefferson Parish will sit in judgment over the status of the temporary restraining order. Unless she is as incompetent as Judge Pitre, she will drop the order without delay.
“If separation of church and state means anything, it means that the government has no business dictating the internal procedures of religious institutions. This is not a difficult issue, and indeed the case law provides no constitutional basis for issuing a TRO against a parochial school for implementing its disciplinary policies.
“The Catholic League advises the attorneys for Archbishop Shaw to brook no compromise: we will offer our resources, if it is necessary.”
