Students and alumni at a private Catholic high school in DuPage County rallied Monday in defense of a girls lacrosse coach they say allegedly lost her position after officials learned she was married to a woman.

       Tim Jacklich, a 2016 graduate of Benet Academy, said about 40 alumni, parents and students gathered outside the school in support of a woman who had been offered the job of head coach of the girls lacrosse team, only to see the opportunity rescinded when she listed her wife as an emergency contact in her onboarding paperwork.

       Supporters presented Benet officials with a petition from roughly 2,200 students, parents, alumni and friends, decrying the high school’s decision to withdraw their job offer to the coach, who they described as “eminently qualified.”

       “We write to express our dismay and anger at the news that Benet Academy recently declined employment to an otherwise qualified candidate on the basis of her marriage to another woman,” the petition said.

       “By rejecting a talented potential staff member on the basis of whom she loves, you have utterly failed to uphold the principles of dignity and charity that you purport to practice as Christian institution,” the petition said. “We are ashamed of your narrow interpretation of Christian morality.”

       Benet officials said the high school’s board of directors was meeting Monday and was expected to issue a statement on the matter Tuesday. The coach whose job offer at Benet was rescinded declined to comment.

       Officials declined to comment last week on the reason for the coach’s dismissal, instead issuing a statement saying, “Benet Academy respects the dignity of all human beings to follow their conscience and to live lives of their choosing.”

       “Likewise, as a Catholic school, we employ individuals whose lives manifest the essential teachings of the Church in order to provide the education and faith formation of the young people entrusted to our care,” Benet spokesperson Jamie Moss said.

       Colleen Savell, an assistant lacrosse coach at Benet, said the head coach applicant has a distinguished resume, including two state titles with a team she coached in Pennsylvania.

       “The girls look up to her,” she said. “She would just be an outstanding person to be a high school coach here.”

       Jacklich said he saw students entering the school Monday morning with rainbow symbols meant as a show of support for the would-be coach. He said the petition and demonstration were meant not only to change the minds of Benet officials but affirm the school’s LGBT students.

       “We are concerned about the message today’s decision will send about them not being welcome at Benet,” he said. “We want to send the opposite message, so even if the policy doesn’t change, we will tell them they’re valued and will have successful lives full of love and authenticity of who they are.”

       A spokeswoman for the Diocese of Joliet, which covers Lisle, said Benet Academy is operated by the Order of St. Benedict. The school’s chancellor, Abbot Austin Murphy of St. Procopius Abbey, did not immediately return a request for comment.

       A similar situation to the one at Benet unfolded in 2014 at a northwest suburban Catholic school, when a longtime music director, Colin Collette, said he was fired from his job after he announced he was engaged to his male partner.

       The Archdiocese of Chicago released a statement at the time saying it had consulted on the decision, and while it didn’t comment on personnel issues, “those that serve as ministers of the Church, including worship ministers, are expected to conform their lives publicly with the teachings of the Church.”

       kcullotta@chicagotribune.com

       jkeilman@chicagotribune.com

       Twitter @kcullotta

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