Benedictine monks split from Benet Academy months after school hired lacrosse coach in same-sex marriage

The controversy surrounding Benet Academy’s decision to hire a lacrosse coach who is in a same-sex marriage has resurfaced.

Benet Chancellor Abbot Austin Murphy on Tuesday announced St. Procopius Abbey’s decision to separate from the school.

“Events in recent months have been an occasion for the Benedictine monks of St. Procopius Abbey to examine their future relationship with Benet Academy. After much deliberation, the monks as a community have discerned that they no longer have the resources needed for the governance and oversight of the Academy,” the letter signed by Murphy and board Chairman Dennis Flynn said.

“Currently, alternatives for the academy’s governance are being studied. In the meantime, the abbey will continue its role in the governance of the high school. The goal is that Benet Academy will continue to operate with an emphasis on academic excellence and Catholic identity within the Benedictine tradition,” the statement continued.

The letter comes three months after the school hired Amanda Kammes, a Benet alum who was the head girls varsity lacrosse coach at Montini Catholic High School in Lombard. Benet rescinded the offer when Kammes’ paperwork included her wife’s name as her emergency contact.

But after a Sept. 20 rally at the school and an outcry on social media, the school reversed course and offered Kammes the job, which she accepted.

St. Procopius Abbey founded the Lisle high school more than 120 years ago.

Also on Tuesday, Benet Academy Head of School Stephen Marth released a statement to the Benet community.

“Contrary to some reports circulating in the media earlier today, know of our steadfast commitment to ensuring that the Academy will maintain its Catholic identity, in the Benedictine tradition, for years to come,” the statement said. “It is expected that a committee composed of representatives from the Diocese of Joliet, the American Cassinese Congregation of Benedictines, the Benet Board of Directors, and the school administration will collaborate on the successful completion of this important process.”

St. Procopius Abbey founded and helps to run the Lisle-based Catholic high school.

The controversy started shortly after Benet hired Amanda Kammes, a Benet alum who was the head girls varsity lacrosse coach at Montini Catholic High School in Lombard. Benet rescinded the offer when Kammes’ paperwork included her wife’s name as her emergency contact.

But after a Sept. 20 rally at the school and an outcry on social media, the school reversed course and offered Kammes the job, which she accepted.

In a statement issued after accepting the position, Kammes said she was proud to be a Benet alumna and pledged allegiance to the LGBTQ+ community.

“It’s been 20 years since I walked the hallways of Benet Academy and yet never in my life have I been prouder to be a Redwing. The past week provided a chance for Benet to rally together in the name of community, sportsmanship and social change, and I’m beyond grateful that Benet reconsidered their decision,” she said.

Shortly after Kammes accepted the position, Murphy said in a statement that the hiring decision raises the question of whether the public lives of Catholic school employees should follow the church’s moral teaching.

“In turn, I want to let everyone know that I am taking this matter to prayer and discerning how to proceed,” Murphy said in the statement.

He added “disagreements about the morality of homosexual acts should not be construed as hate.”