(LifeSiteNews) — A Christian schoolteacher in Ireland has been returned to prison after refusing to comply with a court injunction that he says violates his religious faith.
Enoch Burke – who has already spent more than 500 days in custody over the same dispute – will remain jailed indefinitely unless he agrees to stop entering the school which originally employed him. High Court Justice Brian Cregan ruled in November that Burke and his family had engaged in what he described as “a deliberate, sustained and concerted attack” on the courts. The judge said that Burke’s most recent visit to the school justified his ongoing detention for contempt.
Burke maintains that complying with the court’s directive would violate his Christian convictions.
Wilson’s Hospital School suspended the teacher in August 2022 after he refused instructions to refer to a gender-confused pupil by “they/them” pronouns and to address the child by a new name. After violating a court injunction to stay away from the school while suspended, Burke was sent to prison that September. He was dismissed from his teaching post in January 2023 following a disciplinary hearing.
The latest imprisonment followed Burke’s most recent appearance at Wilson’s Hospital School. He is still under an injunction prohibiting him from entering or approaching the grounds.
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Burke insists upon attending the school and his empty classroom, as he did before his dismissal. When he does so, he is frequently met at the gates by supportive students. He has complained that the school, which is formally affiliated with the (Protestant, Anglican) Church of Ireland, is contravening its own principles.
In his latest appearance, he was subject to unusually sharp language for an Irish courtroom. Cregan described Burke as “a baleful and malign presence – an intruder, stalking the school, its teachers and its pupils.”
Burke objected to the wording, noting that “stalking” is a criminal offense and challenging the definition of “baleful,” which he claimed implied intent to harm. The judge rejected the complaint, saying Burke had found his definition “by googling,” whereas the court relied on the Oxford English Dictionary.
Unlike previous years, when Burke was typically released during school holidays, the judge ordered that he remain in prison through Christmas, stating that stepping back from the injunction during the holiday period had been a mistake. Cregan said Burke would remain in custody until he purges his contempt.
The judge argued that the legal proceedings were not about transgenderism, stating that the court was not directing Burke to use the pronouns but only to stay away from school property.
While the court insists the matter revolves solely around trespass, prominent right wing commentator Eva Vlaardingerbroek argues the situation is inseparable from Burke’s religious objection.
“Anyone claiming that Enoch Burke hasn’t been sentenced to life for refusing to submit to gender ideology, but simply for ‘contempt of court,’ is dishonest,” she wrote.
“Technically speaking contempt of court is indeed the ground the High Court used to lock him up, but this whole case is about him being a Christian teacher refusing to forsake his beliefs by calling students by the pronouns of a sex that they simply are not….,” ” Vlaardingerbroek continued. “Mr. Burke’s refusal to accept the school’s decision and showing up to work anyway, makes him a hero with a backbone.”
She added that Burke’s continued imprisonment illustrates “that just because something is ‘legally’ justifiable… doesn’t mean that it’s right.”
Burke’s family members may face potential criminal contempt proceedings related to their courtroom conduct, though the Attorney General has not yet determined whether to pursue charges.
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Meanwhile, the Department of Education is scheduled to convene a Disciplinary Appeals Panel on December 13 to address Burke’s challenge to his 2023 dismissal. Burke argues that the appeal should not proceed until he completes further legal action, citing what he describes as “diametrically opposed” judicial conclusions about whether he was punished for belief or for behavior.
Burke has repeatedly stated that compliance is not an option. Regarding his first imprisonment, he told the court: “It is insanity that I will be led from this courtroom to a place of incarceration, but I will not give up my Christian beliefs.”
British writer Andrew Doyle at UnHerd argues that “the school is guilty of promoting highly contested theories as fact, endangering pupil welfare, and compelling the speech of its staff.”
For now, Burke remains in prison with no release date.
