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Rev. Warren Hall posted on Twitter that he was fired after posting a pro-LGBT message on Facebook. File photo. (Jessica Mazzola | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
SOUTH ORANGE — A priest claims he lost his job as director of Seton Hall campus ministry because of a pro-LGBT Facebook post he made.
Rev. Warren Hall posted on Twitter Friday afternoon that he was "fired from SHU for posting a pic on FB supporting LGBT 'NO H8.' I'm sorry it was met with this response. I'll miss my work here."
A spokeswoman for the Catholic university said personnel decisions about priests on campus are managed by the Archdiocese of Newark.
"Seton Hall University does not comment on personnel matters," spokeswoman Laurie Pine said in a statement. "The Archbishop of Newark appoints the Director of Campus Ministry, who serves at his discretion."
Jim Goodness, a spokesman for the Archdiocese, declined to comment on the specifics of why Hall was removed from the campus ministry position, but did confirm that Hall's "term as director of campus ministry is ending."
Goodness said Hall will still serve as a priest in the Archdiocese of Newark, but will have a new assignment.
Priests "change from assignment to assignment," he said in a phone interview. "Just as a priest may change (parish assignments)....they change from time to time."
Goodness said he was unsure how long Hall has been in the position.
Current and former students replied to his tweet with angry reactions to the news.
"Unfathomable," user Vito Amato wrote on Twitter. "No better representative of my alma mater than you, Father."
Hall did not immediately respond to a request for an interview, but did post on Twitter that his supporters should use the incident as a reason to have discussions on LGBT issues within Catholic colleges.
Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook.