A Catholic organisation cannot simply terminate an employee because the person has left the Church. The European Court of Justice ruled that a dismissal on those grounds is only justified if the requirement to remain a member is “essential, lawful and justified”. The court also stressed that the type of work and the ethos of the institution must be taken into account.
In the specific case, a consultant at Germany’s Catholic Pregnancy Advice Centre resigned from the Church. The centre subsequently fired her, even though it also employs non‑Catholic staff in similar roles. The Luxembourg courts held that a membership requirement cannot be deemed essential when the organisation already hires non‑Catholics for the same position.
Now the German Federal Labour Court must decide whether the dismissal was lawful. The European Court indicated that the Catholic Pregnancy Advice Centre must demonstrate that the risk of compromising its ethos or its right to autonomy is both likely and significant for the requirement to be considered necessary and proportionate (C‑258/24).