Attention

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not represent our advertisers

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Priest Who Denied Communion Placed On Leave

A Catholic priest who denied a lesbian Holy Communion at her mother’s funeral Mass was put on administrative leave for engaging in “intimidating behavior,” officials from the Archdiocese of Washington said.

According to a statement from the archdiocese, the Rev. Marcel Guarnizo, a parochial vicar with Saint John Neumann Church in Gaithersburg, is suspended from celebrating Mass, performing weddings and funerals or other priestly duties within the archdiocese until an investigation is completed.

More

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm not Catholic but if they can restrict a Protestant from taking communion because they are not Catholic, why can't they do this for a practicing lesbian, that is in direct violation of their faith? This world has gone upside down. I'm tired of the entitlements and the "in your face" ignorance of the 1% to force tolerance over faith and normal, yes normal civilization definitions.

Anonymous said...

I think the broader point is that communion is not the place to address this. If the priest wants to have a discussion with the woman privately, he sould do so then.

I think your analogy is a bit weak. If you are a protestanct attending a catholic chrurch, why would you go up for communion? The woman is catholic. She can take communion.

Should the priest also not give communion to any parishoner practicing birth control? Pre-marital sex? To one who has had an abortion? Why did the priest single out this woman on this issue when (odds are) most of his parish is not being true to the Catholic belief system? His choice of venue was wrong in this regard. Cast stones at everyone, or keep you hands in your pockets.

Perhaps the woman would be better served by changing churches, or leaving Catholicism for a protestant denomination. That decision resides with her, but she did nothing wrong. Nothing was "in your face" until the priest put it there. Obviously, leadership of the church agrees.

Anonymous said...

3:22 -- I think the only 1% here is the percentage of your brain you used in that idiotic post. No one is shoving anything down your throat, or anyone else's. Perhaps we, the majority, have become so compacent with our rights to marry and live however we want that we forget there are actually people in the US, in 2012, that can't. I don't know about you, 3:22, but that's why the world is upside down. Now kindly remove your head from your anus.