(ConservativeJournal.org) – A teacher with deeply held Christian beliefs was arrested and held behind bars for time totaling over a year for his refusal to accept the use of transgender ideology and refer to a boy student with female pronouns and a new name at the school where he worked.
Enoch Burke taught German language and history at Wilson’s Hospital School in Multyfarnham, Ireland. The school was based in Christian philosophy which typically resists modern conceptions of transgenderism or the belief that someone can be born in the wrong body requiring chemical and surgical modifications to be happy.
Burke’s staunch refusal to obey the new ideology at school resulted in his suspension in August 2022, but Burke refused to stay home. A court order to stay home followed, which he violated resulting in his imprisonment in September. Burke refused to plead in response to his contempt of court charge and a judge with the High Court in Dublin released him after 108 days behind bars.
The judge oddly suggested that Burke was using his imprisonment for his own self-aggrandizement as he seemingly couldn’t understand how someone could endure that much state-sponsored punishment when he could just cooperate with the regime.
Burke continued to appear at the school after being fired in January 2023. The judge then ordered a daily fine of 700 euros ($756) and ultimately sent Burke back to jail in September 2023. He was held there for over 400 days when Justice Mark Sanfey of the High Court ordered him released on June 28. He also banned Burke from reappearing at the school and threatened him with additional jail time, should he do so.
The case highlights the ongoing battle between conservative religious views and modern conceptions of transgenderism. The Irish state is pushing the ideology on a populace that is traditionally very conservative; the Irish are well-known for being devout Catholics.
Champions of tradition hailed Burke as a cultural icon and hero on social media. Whether or not he returns to jail remains to be seen.
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