Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/19pdf/19-267_1an2.pdf
Page Number: 54.0

18 

OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE SCHOOL v. 
MORRISSEY-BERRU 
SOTOMAYOR, J., dissenting 

other words, both Biel and Morrissey-Berru had almost ex-
clusively  secular  duties,  making  it  especially  improper  to
deprive them of all legal protection when their employers 
have  not  offered  any  religious  reason  for  the  alleged  dis-
crimination. 

Nor is it dispositive that both teachers prayed with their
students.  Biel  did  not  lead  devotionals  in  her  classroom, 
did not teach prayers, and had a minor role in monitoring
student  behavior  during  a  once-a-month  mass.  App. 79, 
252–253,  256–259.  Morrissey-Berru  did  lead  classroom
prayers, bring her students to a cathedral once a year, di-
rect  the  school  Easter  play,  and  sign  a  contract  directing
her to “assist with Liturgy Planning.”  App. to Pet. for Cert.
in No. 19–267, at 42a, 68a–69a, 95a–96a.  But these occa-
sional tasks should not trigger as a matter of law the min-
isterial exception.  Morrissey-Berru did not lead mass, de-
liver sermons, or select hymns.  Id., at 89a.  And unlike the 
teacher in Hosanna-Tabor, there is no evidence that Mor-
rissey-Berru led devotional exercises.  App. to Pet. for Cert. 
in No. 19–267, at 89a.  Her limited religious role does not 
fit Hosanna-Tabor’s description of a “minister to the faith-
ful.”  565 U. S., at 189. 

Nevertheless, the Court insists that the teachers are min-
isters  because  “implicit  in  our  decision  in  Hosanna-Tabor 
was  a  recognition  that  educating  young  people  in  their 
faith,  inculcating  its  teachings,  and  training  them  to  live 
their faith are responsibilities that lie at the very core of the
mission  of  a  private  religious  school.”  Ante,  at  18.  But 
teaching religion in school alone cannot dictate ministerial 
status. 
If  it  did,  then  Hosanna-Tabor  wasted  precious
pages discussing titles, training, and other objective indicia
to examine whether Cheryl Perich was a minister.  Not sur-
prisingly, the Government made this same point earlier in 
Biel’s  case:  “If  teaching  religion  to  elementary  school  stu-
dents for a half-hour each day, praying with them daily, and
accompanying them to weekly or monthly religious services