Chestnut Hill Reaches Settlement With Gay Priest

Rev. James St. George, a gay priest, on Monday announced that he had reached "an amicable resolution" with Chestnut Hill College that will end the controversy over its decision to end his work teaching as an adjunct. "This resolution is consistent with each party's respective religious beliefs and was arrived at over this past weekend," said his statement. "Chestnut Hill College and I have expressed our respect for each other's churches, however different our religious principles may be. We are committed to moving forward and tending to our respective ministries." Chestnut Hill is a Roman Catholic college, and it revoked contracts with Father St. George after senior officials received a complaint about his being a gay priest. Father St. George is part of the Old Catholic Apostolic Church of the Americas, which split from the Roman Catholic Church in the 1870s over a number of issues. Today it practices many Catholic rituals and shares some Catholic theology, but also permits priests to be married or gay. A college spokeswoman said that Father St. George's statement was consistent with Chestnut Hill's views on the settlement.