Relatio Post Disceptationem: An "Earthquake" or Nothing New?

Image courtesy of Catholic Herald

Commentator John Thavis has called this document a "pastoral earthquake" (see <here>) while others have described the Synod as a "coven of perversion and perversity" (see <here>). However the media headlines have all focused on the Church to adopting a more positive stance on homosexuality.

This document is only part way through the meeting of Church leaders called by Pope Francis. The preliminary report written by bishops said homosexuals had "gifts and qualities to offer" and should not be turned away.

The Catholic Herald reports:

The document calls on the Church to build on the “positive aspects” of relationships that are deemed irregular – such as between remarried couples or same-sex partners – and keep the “doors always wide open” to people in those relationships.

The relatio says that the Church reaching out to divorced Catholics does not represent a “weakening of its faith” but an exercise of charity.

The document asks the questions:

Are we capable of welcoming these people [homosexuals], guaranteeing to them a fraternal space in our communities? Often they wish to encounter a church that offers them a welcoming home. Are our communities capable of providing that, accepting and valuing their sexual orientation, without compromising Catholic doctrine on the family and matrimony?

This links to the emphasis of  the “principle of graduality”, This is the idea that Catholics move towards full acceptance of Church teaching in steps, and that the Church needs to accompany them with patience and understanding. 

Joshua McElwee, writing <here>, a Vatican correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter, said that the synod’s interim document has “a decidedly different tone” from many Church statements in recent years.

Cardinal Cardinal Wilfrid F. Napier summed up some of the controversy by saying, “Individual things that were said by individuals, may have been repeated a couple of times, are put in here as if they really do reflect the feeling of the whole synod. They've been picked up by the media then and made to be the message of the synod. I think that’s where the upset is.” (see <here>)

The Vatican Press Office has also made this very clear: "The General Secretariat of the Synod … reiterates that it is a working document, which summarizes the interventions and debate of the first week" (see <here>).

Perhaps the trouble is that the media have latched upon some messages of the document and are putting forward a different tone of message from what the Bishops hoped for?

However the end result appears to be one of charity and understanding, recognising good in all, and working towards better relationships with one another and with the Church. The next week will be interesting, as will the Synod in 2015 on the The Family. This document has created hope for many, despite the reservation from others.

Do you think it is right that Church looks at these teachings? Do you think there is anything new here, or should Catholics have always been looking for good in everyone? Why do you think some people are not happy with this?

Read more <here> and <here> and <here>

Synod on the Family (2014)

Image courtesy of Time

This weekend saw the start of an "extraordinary Synod" in the Vatican. It will be a two-week meeting by over 200 leaders of the Catholic Church, including the Pope to discuss marriage, divorce, homosexuality, abortion, contraception and all other matters connecting to family life.

The agenda was set after an opinion survey of Catholics world-wide ordered by Pope Francis last year. Many have claimed it was aimed at looking at to what extent Catholic teaching is being rejected or ignored by the faithful.

Even strongly Roman Catholic countries, have legalised abortion, divorce and same-sex marriages. Many Roman Catholics use birth control and a significant number have divorced (and potentially remarried).

There has been much made of Pope Francis' own views on sexuality which have been conditioned by years of working in the slums of Buenos Aires. He continues to stress the importance of understanding the problems faced by the poor, rather than focussing only on obedience to unbending rules.

"We cannot insist only upon issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraception,.. The dogmatic and moral teachings of the church are not all equivalent,.. The church's pastoral ministry cannot be obsessed with the transmission of a disjointed multitude of doctrines… We have to find a new balance, otherwise even the moral edifice of the church is likely to fall like a house of cards."

The world will be listening very carefully to what this Synod has to say...

What do you think the Church leaders will have to say? Will it change much? 

Read more <here>

Full Vatican briefings <here>

Excellent blog post with all the info you need <here>

Same-Sex Marraige: Potential Implications

On 5th February 2013, MPs voted in favour of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill by 400 to 175, a majority of 225. In now moves towards the House of Lords where it will meet strong opposition. However in all likelihood, the UK will have same-sex marriage in place at some point over the next few years.

This blog has already posted about the same-sex marriage <see here> and in particular the Catholic Church's view on it.

There will be much discourse, including celebration and outrage over the next few days. Here I will aim to collect some of the possible implications:

•  Michael Gove has expressed fears that the Government will be powerless to prevent primary school teachers from being sacked, if they refuse to teach children about gay marriage. <link>
• This will ultimately be an EU decision, and despite ministers claiming that "Teachers are able to, and entitled to, express their views about same-sex marriage and there’s no requirement at all for them to promote it but, obviously, we wouldn’t expect teachers to be offensive or discriminate in any way about anybody.". This confusion is not helpful, and the Government need to set out clear guidelines as to what is appropriate and what is not, with provision made for teachers conscience.
• Bishop Egan suggested that the legalisation of same-sex marriage "would in time have catastrophic consequences" for marriage and family life and could lead to the Catholic Church being forced to withdraw from the civil registration of marriages. <link>
• The result in this being, that to get married in a Catholic Church will purely be a sacramental procedure. To be legally wed, a couple will also need to visit a registry office.

Gay Mass: BANNED (?)

Back in March 2012, after several complaints, Archbishop Vincent Nichols reassured homosexual Catholics that the 'Soho' Masses would be continuing as long as they didn't "confuse" Church teaching.

At the time complaints were made because, "bidding prayers read by [a] transgendered person ... referred to celebrating 'diverse sexual orientations'" as well as claims that, "before the bidding prayers the priest said they celebrated 'being proudly lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered and proudly Catholic.'" (see here)

The Masses have been a hot topic of debate in the Church, with traditionalists trying to ban them. According to an in-depth BBC article, a group prayed the rosary, kneeling in the road outside the church where these services took place (read more here).

However it seems those who wanted the Masses banned have succeeded with Archbishop Nichols announcing that not only were the celebrations of the Eucharist to stop, but that the church where they took place being is being handed over to the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, the body set up by Rome to cater for those who have defected from the Church of England to the Catholic church.

A service, but not Mass, would take place for the homosexual community but the Archbishop is said to believe that the pastoral care of the lesbian and gay church community should now be uncoupled from the sacrament of Mass, and that the community should not be singled out to have "special" masses.

Some have claimed that it has caused a major division with the Church in Rome and this is the end result.

However a statement from the Soho Masses Pastoral Council indicates that the move in location offers even greater opportunities to minister to this particular community (read it here). As such the debate may well run...

Do you think homosexuals should be allowed their 'own' Mass? Why do you think homosexuals found comfort in this Mass? What issues can you see with homosexuals having their own Masses? How do you think this reflects upon the Church?

Read more: The Guardian and  The Catholic Herald

A Christian Walks In Gay Man's Shoes

Kurek, centre

Timothy Kurek has just published his book, The Cross in the Closet. In it, he details a year spent as a homosexual living in the US.

This is particularly surprising as he went to a right-wing church, saw himself as a soldier for Christ and attended Liberty University, the "evangelical West Point".

After speaking to a lesbian friend who has been ostracised from her family, he decided to challenge his own views and beliefs.

He said, "In order to walk in their shoes, I had to have the experience of being gay. I had to come out to my friends and family and the world as a gay man."

The Observer newspaper said: "Kurek's account of his year being gay is an emotional, honest and at times hilarious account of a journey that begins with him as a strait-laced yet questioning conservative, and ends up with him reaffirming his faith while also embracing the cause of gay equality."

Naturally many of his friends from Liberty were not impressed. Many wrote him emails after he came out, asking that he repent of his sins and warning that he faced damnation. Likewise, his mother's initial  response was, "I'd rather have found out from a doctor that I had terminal cancer than I have a gay son.".

However, eventually she too was won over and changed her views. "My mom went from being a very conservative Christian to being an ally to the gay community. I am very proud of her," he said.

In one gay bar, Kurek said he was stunned to discover gay Christians discussing their belief in creationism, "I found gay Christians more devout than me!".

Kurek's journey ended when he revealed his secret and "came out" again, but this time as a straight Christian.

He says that one of the most surprising elements of his journey was that it renewed his religious faith rather than undermined it, "Being gay for a year saved my faith". Kurek also said his experience not only should show conservative Christians that gay people need equal rights and can be devout too.

Was Kurek right to go undercover? How do you think he new gays friends felt? How do you think his family felt? Do you think this experience and the book will have a positive long lasting effect on Kurek? How about the conservative Christians in America?

See original article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/oct/13/bible-belt-conservative-year-gay?mobile-redirect=false

Gaga: The Pope's Irrelevant

Last weekend the newspapers were full of Lady Gaga's claim on European radio that: “What the Pope thinks of being gay does not matter to the world. It matters to the people who like the Pope and follow the Pope. It is not a reflection of all religious people.”

Interestingly, she was raised a Catholic, but during her career been controversial in dressing as a nun, swallowing rosaries and using religious symbols in her act. Her song Judas contained references to Mary Magdalene being in love with the disciple who betrayed Jesus.

By definition a Catholic is someone who does follow the Pope. The 2010 “Annuario Pontificio,” or Pontifical Yearbook claimed there was nearly 1.7 billion Roman Catholics, making it still the largest religion in the world.

However Lady Gaga is an avid campaigned for gay rights and her comment was in reference to the comment made by Pope Benedict XVI on Friday. He told French bishops: “Marriage and the family are institutions that must be promoted and defended from every possible misrepresentation of their true nature, since whatever is injurious to them is injurious to society itself.”

Lady Gaga's response on French radio was: “I think that gay marriage is going to happen. It must. We are not actually equal—humanity—if we are not allowed to freely love one another."
The question of Catholics following all the Church's teaching has always been a much debated one. Do all Catholics fully subscribe to all Catholic teaching? Of course not. Should Catholics retain their own conscience on these issues? However is it fair to say the Pope is irrelevant? Are Gaga's views a reflection of many Catholics or not?

Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/4555921/lady-gaga-pope-gay-marriage.html

Jesus vs Hateful Anti-Gay Pastors

I saw this video: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/19/jesus-vs-hateful-anti-gay_n_1606621.html

It contains the Beatitudes from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount set against various soundbites from American pastors preaching against homosexuals.

Different Christians have different views about homosexuality, what do you make of this conservative Christian view? How can we interpret Jesus' message for today?

Love or Economic Growth?

Victoria Coren writes in the Guardian that the government have told us that they are going to focus on "the things that really matter" and forget about issues such as 'gay marraige' for the time being.

She quotes defence secretary Philip Hammond who said: "Clearly [gay marriage] is not the number one priority. If you stop people in the street and ask them what their concerns are, they'll talk to you about jobs and economic growth… The government has got to show that it is focused on the things that really matter."

She then highlights the fact George Osborne said something very similar; that gay marriage is "not a priority of the government" because the government is "focused on the really important issues that matter to people".

Coren suggests that the gay marriage debate is conveniently being sidelined by Tory ministers not in favour of it. It is easier to say that economics needs to be a priority than saying you don't agree with same-sex marriages.

She avoids the debate on whether gay marriage is right or wrong, but highlights the real question here, is love more or less important that the economy?

Coren says:

"The economy in this country – the basic, central core of what an economy is – is extremely healthy. We have an abundant climate, hardy British labour for building and farming and crafting, and brilliant inventive minds at work. If those gambling international speculators, who create nothing and build nothing, with their massive fantasy "derivatives market" and their mind-blowing "trillions of debt", all disappeared tomorrow, we'd still have an economy. We might not have flat-screen TVs with 200 channels – and City traders might not have private jets – but we'd still have food and coal and tables and new ideas."

Very true.

She then goes on to make clear that:

"We'd also still have love. Stripped of our credit cards, our electronic goods, our super-fast broadband, our international travel – and even of our welfare system based on cash and paperwork rather than simple sharing – we'd still have men and women, and men and men, and women and women, who felt joy and safety and hope, making promises and planning futures, because of this free and powerful human instinct alone."

Coren makes it very clear that people may well want to oppose gay marriage and have some valid reasons for it, but that to trivialise the feelings of love and desire for marriage is totally wrong.

She concludes:

I have a new daydream, of a parallel world, where our democratic leaders say: "We'll do our best for economic growth, but our priority is to concentrate on the things that really matter to people."

Should Cameron and Osbourne be sidelining issues such as gay marriage? Is it economic growth really more important than love? What is it that really does make us get up each morning? A safe job and a decent income, or having a loving partner?

Read full article here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/may/20/victoria-coren-love-beats-business

How would you best describe Christianity?

A group of Christian anti-gay activists line up to protest against the London gay pride parade at the Pall Mall. A young homosexual man reads the Bible in front of them. - July 2011

According to Americans aged 16 to 29, the answer is: "anti-homosexual". This was the response of 91% of non-Christians, and even 80% of churchgoers in the same age category.

In a piece of research conducted by The Barna Group, young people were asked what first comes to mind when asked about Christian faith. Interestingly, other things that ranked highly were: “judgmental,” “hypocritical,” and “too involved in politics.”.

Christians, such as myself, would hope it would be words like 'love', 'hope', 'charity', 'forgiveness' or 'justice'. Yet in America, it seems the biggest feature of Christians has become 'anti-homosexual'.

In the book that documents these findings, titled unChristian, David Kinnaman writes:

 

 

“The gay issue has become the ‘big one, the negative image most likely to be intertwined with Christianity’s reputation. It is also the dimensions that most clearly demonstrates the unchristian faith to young people today, surfacing in a spate of negative perceptions: judgemental, bigoted, sheltered, right-wingers, hypocritical, insincere, and uncaring. Outsiders say [Christian] hostility toward gays...has become virtually synonymous with the Christian faith.”

More recent research, documented in Kinnaman’s You Lost Me, claims that one of the top reasons 59% of young adults with a Christian background have left their churches is because they perceive the church to be too exclusive, particularly regarding their LGBT friends. This number, he claims, totals 8 million twenty-somethings have left their various Christian churches.

The article highlighting this information (http://rachelheldevans.com/win-culture-war-lose-generation-amendment-one-north-carolina) was posted in response to North Carolina's democratic vote this week to ban same sex marriage:

From the CharlotteObserver.com

On Tuesday 8th May 2012, North Carolina officially passed an amendment to the State Law that says that marriage can only be defined as the joining of man and woman. 

However gay marriage was already banned in the state, so the effects will be small. The controversy arose more from that fact that so many people were ready and willing to go out and vote to further reduce the legal rights of homosexuals in the state; 61% voted to ban gay marriage.

Many Christian groups have campaigned hard to get this vote and change the law here. They have also been very vocal in their celebrations and vow to now continue to fight in further reducing the rights of homosexual couples in various states.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/05/08/3227621/nc-approves-amendment-on-gay-marriage.html

Is there a danger that Christians in the UK will feel, or already do feel, alienated from their Christian churches? The political atmosphere of the US is very different to the UK, but is there a danger that by the Catholic Church getting very involved in the current gay marriage legislation that their could be similar effects here? Is the law change in NC something to be celebrated by Catholics? Should Catholics be taking a lead from fellow-Christians in America in their campaigning?

Rachel Held Evans concludes her blog with this reflection:

So my question for those evangelicals leading the charge in the culture wars is this: Is it worth it?

• Is a political “victory” really worth losing millions more young people to cynicism regarding the Church?
• Is a political “victory” worth further alienating people who identify as LGBT?
• Is a political “victory” worth perpetuating the idea that evangelical Christians are at war with gays and lesbians?
• And is a political “victory” worth drowning out that quiet but persistent internal voice that asks—what if we get this wrong?

Too many Christian leaders seem to think the answer to that question is “yes,” and it's costing them.

• Because young Christians are ready for peace.
• We are ready to lay down our arms.
• We are ready to start washing feet instead of waging war.

And if we cannot find that sort of peace within the Church, I fear we will look for it elsewhere.

From: http://rachelheldevans.com/win-culture-war-lose-generation-amendment-one-north-carolina

Catholic school teaching Catholic ideas?!?

Stop the press! Catholic schools teach Catholic ideas about gay marriage!  

There has been much in the press over the last week about how Catholic schools are wrong in their promotion of the conventional and traditional form of marriage. Some schools have taken up the Bishops' request to promote a petition against the change in law that would allow same-sex couples to call their legal union a 'marraige'. This issue has been discussed on TalkingDonkeyRE before, here and here.

However this weekend, the Daily Telegraph published a blog which got a lot of online interest. It basically said, in a slightly tongue-in-cheek fashion:

"What is the world coming to when, in the 21st century, in daylight hours, in an educational institution, the offspring of Catholics can openly be taught Catholic values? This madness must end!"

It goes on to urge a sense of calm, and non-sensationalism... is this really a surprise to the general public?

"This open-mouthed alarm at Catholic schools for promoting the virtues of traditional marriage is a bit like being shocked to discover that a Friends of the Earth summer camp teaches children BS about the eco-End of Days or that a Jewish school says the Torah is a good read."

However the section which got a lot of criticism, particularly from the secular and atheist readers was this one:

"Catholic schools have a certain amount of leeway to teach the Catholic view on life, sex and relationships. If they didn't, then they wouldn't be "Catholic schools" – they'd just be "schools". Maybe that's what the Catholic-bashing set wants – the evacuation of every smidgen of Catholic ideology from Catholic schools, so that they end up being indistinguishable from your average state school, and so that Catholic parents are denied the fundamental liberty to send their children to a school that embodies their values."

Many would like to see the closure of Catholic schools, in fact all faith-based schools. They perhaps forget that it was Christians who first started free schooling for the British population, or that over the last 150 years Christians have built schools, funded schools, supported schools... They also forget that it would be impossible to purchase all the land, buildings etc that Christians have donated for the use of education. Never mind fund the 10% of budgets that faith-based schools have to pay themselves.

There was also great issue with the fact that this 'fundamental liberty' of parents, is in fact some kind of abuse of parents to their children. I'd suggest that students of faith-schools get a wide ranging education of their parents' faith and can then decide whether or not they choose to believe. A reader that comments that in France, faith-schools are illegal and that this is a better way. France a country that continues to have rising tensions, particularly in ethnically diverse and economically poor areas.

It concludes by highlighting the irony of the secularists:

The irony is that while secularists accuse Catholic schools of "politically indoctrinating" their pupils, the real political indoctrination taking place here is the never ending attempt to prevent Catholic schools from imparting their values to their pupils. It is this intolerant desire to force Catholic schools to bend their knee to every mainstream political idea – whether it's on "safe sex" or "same-sex marriage" – which smacks of indoctrination, of attempting to cleanse institutions of the "wrong" way of thinking and make them repeat chattering-class catechisms.

As discussed on here before, I'm still undecided on the campaign against same-sex marriage. However, one thing I am sure of , is that Catholic schools increasingly need to fight for their identify under increasing pressure.

Is it really that shocking that Catholic schools are teaching Catholic ideas? Do you think Catholic schools should be reduced to just schools? Is Gove right to start investigating?

Read original article: http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/brendanoneill2/100153623/stop-the-press-catholic-schools-teach-catholic-ideas-about-gay-marriage/
Read subsequent story: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/apr/29/gay-marriage-catholic-schools-petition?newsfeed=true

Same-Sex Marraige: The Reaction (Part 2)

Since my last post on gay marriage (5th March - http://talkingdonkeyre.blogspot.com/2012/03/catholics-called-to-oppose-gay-marraige.html), the Catholic Church and discussion around this topic have been constantly in the news.

The full pastoral letter read out in Catholic churches across England and Wales can be read here: http://www.catholic-ew.org.uk/content/download/28460/194403/file/abps-letter-marriage-march-2012.pdf

 A petition website has also been started here: http://c4m.org.uk/

 Many Catholics and non-Catholics alike have struggled with this campaign and are unclear why it is such an issue for the Church and why they should be involved.

 The Church is very clear on its teaching on homosexuality, that it is not a sin to be homosexual, but that such feelings should not be acted upon and the celibate life must be followed. It's also very clear on its teaching on marriage that it is a sacramental act that brings together in union, man and woman, in a relationship that is open to procreation.

 The government's proposal is one of law change, to define legally that same-sex couples can enjoy the same title of marriage as a heterosexual couple. It is not saying that these marriages would have to happen in Catholic Churches, nor challenging the Church's teaching on the issue.

 Therefore for many, it seems that the Catholic Church is involving itself in a secular issue and trying to impose its definition of marriage on to society. Many of those who get married in a registry office are already challenging the Church's view on marriage, as are Catholic couples who are married but using contraception. Many would argue that 'marriage' was redefined a long time ago.

 The news reporting has enabled opposition to the Catholic Church to label them further out of date and out of touch. However organisations such as Catholic Voices (http://www.catholicvoices.org.uk) have been very outspoken in their defence of the Church's position. Their website includes links to several media appearances including this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2iOxPW6N3M

This open letter has been written by a friend of mine (and old Campion boy) Simon Darvill (@simondarvill) and published yesterday. Already it has been widely circulated via Facebook and Twitter: http://simondarvill.wordpress.com/2012/03/12/an-open-letter-to-rev-vincent-nichols-archbishop-of-westminster/

 The conclusion is particularly strong:

"As stated, I am proud to be a young Catholic and proud that my Church stands up to governments when it disagrees. I may not always agree with the Church’s’ leadership on some issues but I am still, and always will be a loyal follower of the Catholic Church and respectful of its leadership.

 At a time when the poor are at risk I am asking you to stand up against the Governments attacks on the poor and vulnerable in our society and support a more equal society, including supporting a change in the legal definition of marriage to support same-sex partners."

 Another friend of mine, Alex Higgins, has written a blog post explaining how actually it was Catholics who first suggested same-sex marriage in the 1980's: http://liberalconspiracy.org/2012/03/12/a-catholic-writes-gay-marriage-was-our-idea-bishops-should-embrace-it/

 Andrew Sullivan a conservative, Catholic writer said that gay marriage would ensure:

“lower rates of promiscuity among gay men, more stable homes for the children of gay parents, less trauma in families with gay offspring, lower rates of disease transmission, [and] more independent and self-reliant members of society”.

 A gay Buddhist friend of mine concluded his views on this issue by saying: "How many gays does God have to keep making before people realise He wants them around...?"

 What do you feel? Were you in support of the letter read out last Sunday? Was it something you have struggled with? What would Jesus of Nazareth do?

NB - any opinions expressed here, or in links, are personal ones.

Catholics called to oppose gay marraige plans

The Roman Catholic Church is planning to enlist the support of more than a million regular worshippers in opposition to Government plans for same-sex marriage.

Senior bishops are preparing to draw up a letter to be read at Masses across England and Wales when the Government consultation on plans to redefine marriage gets under way later this month, it is understood.

It would be only the second time in recent history that a joint pastoral letter on behalf of all Catholic bishops in England and Wales has been issued on an issue of political importance.

The move is being proposed as the debate over extending marriage to homosexual couples gathers momentum. At the weekend Cardinal Keith O’Brien, the most senior Catholic cleric in Britain, accused the Coalition of trying to “redefine reality” and branded the proposals a “grotesque subversion of a universally accepted human right”.

Although the proposals would not extend to Scotland, he argued that they would nevertheless “shame the UK in the eyes of the world”.

Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9122677/Catholics-will-be-called-to-oppose-gay-marriage.html

The more controversial first reporting of this came from a letter written to the Telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/9121424/We-cannot-afford-to-indulge-this-madness.html

Do you think Catholics Bishops are right to get politically involved in this issue? Do you think the term 'marraige' should be used by homosexual couples? What difficulties can you see arising? WHy do you think Cardinal O'Brien came in for such fierce criticism? Do you think some Catholics will find this difficult to agree with?

Priest Denies Communion To Lesbian Parishioner At Her Mother's Funeral

A Maryland-based priest is garnering heat in the blogosphere today after allegedly denying communion to a lesbian parishioner attending her mother's funeral.

As The New Civil Rights Movement blogger David Badash is reporting, Father Marcel Guarnizo of Gaithersburg's Saint John Neumann Catholic Church reportedly covered the bowl containing the Eucharist as the woman, who is identified only as Barbara, approached him.

“I cannot give you communion because you live with a woman and that is a sin according to the church," he is quoted as saying.

Badash quotes from an Addicting Info blog written by Ann Werner, who also notes, "To add insult to injury, Fr. Guarnizo left the altar when she delivered her eulogy to her mother. When the funeral was finished he informed the funeral director that he could not go to the gravesite to deliver the final blessing because he was sick."

Werner also notes, "I will tell you a little about the woman who drove that priest from the altar. She is kind, she is smart, she is funny and she works hard promoting the arts. She pays her bills, she cares deeply for her family and she loved her mother and her mother loved her right back. And now she will never set foot in a Catholic church again and who can blame her?"

Ann Werner went on to write:

"It is time for Christians of all stripes to stop and think about the teachings of the Jesus they proclaim to love so deeply and revere so much. I spent twelve years in Catholic school and the Jesus I was told about would never have turned away anyone for any reason and certainly not on the occasion of burying a parent. Fr. Guarnizo has a lot to learn about Christianity and the Catholic Church has a lot to learn about the teachings of Jesus if behavior of this sort is tolerated."

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/27/maryland-priest-communion-lesbian-denial-_n_1304910.html and http://thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/lesbian-denied-communion-by-priest-who-quits-in-middle-of-mothers-funeral/discrimination/2012/02/27/35412

UPDATE (1/3): More on this news story: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-shore/father-marcel-guarnizo-not-the-whole-story_b_1311289.html
Who do you think is right? Essentially Fr Guarnizo is simply upholding the teaching of the Catholic Church. Do you think that Ann Werner is correct in her assesment? How could this situation have been avoided? What do you think would have been a better way for the priest to have handled this?