A secondary school teacher in Ireland, teaching history and German, He entered prison last Monday for contempt, after the Dublin High Court banned him from teaching for refusing to call a student by the pronouns of his choice.
Teacher Enoch Burke had long been in a confrontation with the management of Wilson’s Hospital School, a mixed boarding school of the Protestant Church of Ireland located in the town of Multyfarnham, in Westmeath County, in the center of the country.
Burke alleged conscientious reasons for refusing to accept the wishes of a transgender student “in the process of transition”, who asked the school to call him by a different name and the pronoun “they”, which in English is neutral and serves both for “them or them”, instead of “he” (“he “), as explained by several local media.
The center management suspended the teacher, but he continued to attend the classrooms, reason why the lawyers of Wilson’s Hospital School requested a judicial order that, the now imprisoned, ignored in repeated occasions.
Thus, The Irish Police (Garda) arrested Burke last Monday morning, who at that time “was in an empty class”according to the lawyers of the school.
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Christian teacher Enoch Burke who was suspended from an Irish school for refusing to use pronouns in the classroom has today said in court that even if he remains in prison ‘for the next 100 years’, he will not compromise his religious beliefs. pic.twitter.com/i7h6pyOBjY
— Sachin Jose (@Sachinettiyil) September 7, 2022
Burke’s statements in court
Burke insisted that it was “impossible” for him to comply with the court order that prohibited him from teaching because it was “a violation of his conscience” as a teaching professional.
Likewise, he stressed that he did not agree with transgenderism and He considered it unfair that he was before a judge for refusing to “call a boy a girl”, as the school director had asked him last May.
In addition, he assured that this issue goes against his “beliefs, the (sacred) scriptures and against the ethics of the school, the (Protestant) Church of Ireland and the teachings of all the main religions”, according to the Irish public broadcaster ‘RTE’.
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If so determined by this court, I will never be released from Mountjoy Prison if by leaving the prison I violate my well-informed conscience and religious beliefs and deny my God
In fact, Burke has spent three days in prison and said: “I can be a Christian in Mountjoy prison or I can be a pagan who accepts transsexualism outside of it.”
For now, the teacher will remain in the prison and stated that he does not intend to abide by the orders imposed by the authorities.
“If this court so determines, I will never get out of Mountjoy Prison if by leaving the prison I violate my well-informed conscience and my religious beliefs and deny my God,” he told the Court.
Meanwhile, the teacher points out that justice is making a mistake by depriving him of his freedom when defending his beliefs.
“I have had plenty of time to consider my actions and behavior that led me to that place and far from finding instances of misconduct, let alone serious misconduct, I only found my actions to be commendable and that I had the courage to respond to the director telling her that transgender was child abuse and a violation of my constitutional rights to free expression of religious beliefs,” the Daily Mail reported.
Furthermore, he added: “every hour of every day for the next 100 years, I would answer the question the same way.”
Teacher Enoch Burke has been sent to Mountjoy Prison for contemplation of court.
“I love my school. I am here today because I would not call a boy a girl.”
He told Justice Michael Quinn:
“It is not something I will do. It is in violation of my conscience.”https://t.co/ignOqwdlGh pic.twitter.com/WjIYAnCAMv— Special Branch 🎭 (@Retardcommit_E) September 5, 2022
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The Burke family and the legal matters they have been involved in
As reported by the ‘Daily Mail’ newspaper, The Burkes are a notable Protestant family that has been implicated in different legal matters for “religious discrimination”.
Members of this family have protested against abortion, same-sex marriage and the Castlebar Gay Pride parade.
In fact, in 2021, four members lost a lawsuit against the University of Galway because they had been banned from their societies after distributing flyers against same-sex marriage.
According to the local media outlet ‘Irish Independent’, Mrs. Burke even described LGBT+ training for school leaders as ‘amoral’.
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*With EFE information
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