Allentown Diocese settles Discrimination lawsuit with Muslim bookkeeper

My friend Dave sent me this item.  He lives in the general area served by the newspaper. 

I am on the fence here.  I want to say something about this seemingly nasty hunky priest discriminating against this Muslim American bookkeeper.  But he is no Father Bill Breslin of Boulder Colorado with an issue of Cafeteria Dogma.

I have lived within a dozen blocks of this particular church in Easton and the people of Easton are insular and socially retarded in that backwater corner of the American culture.

The fact that Ms. Omayma Arafa worked for the diocese for two years says a lot about the diocese hiring her in the first place. 

That parish I believe shares its elementary school with another or several parishes and thus the need for the diocese having bookkeepers coming in from outside to do the parish books.

The bottom line is that she probably was the last hired and the first fired.

And the insular socially retarded comments of this priest just comes with everyday living in upstate Pennsylvania.  Get over it.

Whatever.

Diocese of Allentown settles lawsuit with former Muslim bookkeeper

According to court records: 

Arafa, who is an Egyptian Muslim, worked for the diocese from October 2007 until January 2009 when she was fired because her supervisor, Monsignor Edward Zemanik, "had a cold, distant and hostile attitude" toward her. 

Zemanik allegedly made comments about Arafa's religious beliefs. One day Zemanik saw her eating pizza and "hostilely inquired, 'Aren't there things you can't eat?'" When Arafa asked for a week off surrounding Christmas to spend time with her children, who were home, he allegedly asked her, "What do you care?" 

Arafa also made complaints about a volunteer, who harbored an "incredible disrespect" toward Arafa and said she "should not be there," because of her religion. Arafa claims nothing was done about the complaint.

In January 2009, Zemanik told Arafa that "things were going to change around here" and all of the diocesan employees were brought in to meet with managers. When Arafa met with her managers, including Zemanik, she was fired. The diocese told her that it could not afford to employ her and was going to hire an outside agency for bookkeeping. Arafa's job was eventually taken over by a non-Muslim male employee.

Monsignor Zemanik has since been reassigned to Saint Ambrose Church in Schuykill Haven, Pa..






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