Mobile UPI  |   About UPI  |   UPI en Español  |   UPI Arabic  |   UPIU  |   My Account
Search:
Go

Church fires transgender choirmaster

|
|
 
  
Published: Sept. 10, 2009 at 1:54 PM

LECCE, Italy, Sept. 10 (UPI) -- A Catholic choirmaster in Italy who switched genders last year said she was fired from Lecce Cathedral after 18 years of service.

Luana Ricci, who changed her name from Marco Della Gatta last year and is awaiting an operation to complete her sex change, said she was fired Aug. 31 with no explanation from the cathedral, the Italian news agency ANSA reported Thursday.

"They gave me the boot without any explanation, beating about the bush without coming out with the real reason," Ricci said.

Ricci, who married and had two children, ages 15 and 18, during her life as a man, said her family supports her.

"Both they and my wife love me for what I am," she said of her children. "I never would have thought that my condition would have caused problems in the workplace."

A spokesman for the cathedral said officials hope "dialogue can clear up the various aspects of this complex matter."

Recommended Stories
© 2009 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

Order reprints
  
Join the conversation
Most Popular Collections
Cheerleaders of 2012 Tibetan pilgrims celebrate New Years Oscar nominations 2012
2011: The year in space The Most Desirable Women of 2012 The best kisses
Additional Odd News Stories
Your Daily Horoscope
The almanac
1 of 15
Rose McGowan at The Heart Truth's Red Dress Fall 2012 Collections at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week In New York
View Caption
fark
According to the United States Census Bureau, when a child is being watched by his father, that's...
You put a guy named Skeeter in charge of your charitable fund, of COURSE he's going to blow your...
Subby, for one, welcomes our new Pennsylvania Purple Squirrel overlords (with purple-pic)
The toughest place to be a train driver
"Can a man be 'slut-shamed?'" Well...yeah
Problem: You have a city full of people who have no ability whatsoever to parallel park. Solution:...