A Catholic parish in the US state of Michigan is suing the state attorney general over a redefinition of “sex” discrimination as encompassing sexual orientation and gender identity as it threatens the parish’s ability to hire people who model the Church’s teachings.

“Michigan’s new understanding of ‘sex’ discrimination deems it unlawful for St. Joseph’s to follow the 2,000-year-old teachings of the Catholic Church, including its teaching that marriage is a lifelong commitment between one man and one woman, that sexual relations are limited to marriage, and that human beings are created as either male or female,” a legal filing contends.

“St. Joseph’s religious decisions regarding how to advance its mission and ministry are protected by the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Michigan cannot force the Catholic Church to compromise its religious character simply as a function of its doors being open to all.”