Priest gets heat for denying lesbian Communion at mother's funeral

[Michie]

Barbara Johnson’s Buddhist Catholicism


The story we’ve been covering in recent days about a Maryland priest who refused to give a lesbian Communion at her mother’s funeral has set off many sensitive, complicated subjects for Catholics. Who is eligible for Communion? What are the responsibilities of a priest? What’s the spiritual purpose of a funeral Mass?

Barbara Johnson was denied communion and the priest walked out on her mother's funeral after he found out Johnson was a lesbian. Johnson is photographed outside her home in Washington, D.C. on February 28, 2012. (Marvin Joseph - WASHINGTON POST)

Now the latest issue: Can you be a Catholic and practice Buddhism at the same time?

The interaction between the Rev. Marcel Guarnizo and Barbara Johnson has exploded on the Web. First with news that Guarnizo told Johnson – with her mother’s casket a few feet away – that he couldn’t give her the sacrament of Communion because she lived with her lesbian partner, then Sunday with the decision of the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington to put Guarnizo on leave for some “intimidating behavior toward staff and others.”

Continued- Barbara Johnson’s Buddhist Catholicism - Under God - The Washington Post

 

[Michie]

Gaithersburg Catholic priest placed on leave for ‘intimidating behavior’

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post_now/post/gaithersburg-catholic-priest-suspended-for-intimidating-behavior/2012/03/11/gIQAF4lk5R_blog.html

Diocese reiterates that priest who denied lesbian Communion was suspended for 'other' reasons​

 

[Michie]

*dp*

 

[underheaven]

exactly. and it wasn't okay to accuse Fr Corapi, member that?

But here's the thing... If any person goes to the priest saying they are having sex with their unmarried partner, that should be an issue. Why its so much more horrific that a lesbian does it, doesn't make sense.

Do the members of this forum seriously realize the amount of Catholics who go up, who are having sex outside of wed lock?

But we must keep up appearances and rule out the Lesbians.

If we are going to worry about scandal and what not- then we need to crack down on all sinners who go up.

Just like the lesbian's 5 year old child who was kicked out Kindergarten because of her mom's sins... yeah, okay, everybody else's parents in that school is on the up and up. (sarcasm)

Its the picking and choosing that drives me crazy and I brought an open scandalous situation to a parish priest once and to the archdiocese when he blew it off and I was blown off.

So make no mistake about it. the Church will pick and choose what scandal they find important.

My hats off to the priest for treating scandal seriously, but face it, that priest in one in a million who do and that is my frustration.

That is why it does not mean that to say you area Catholic,or a Christian means nothing ,and why the 'route is narrow'. You can lie to the priest,you can lie to yourself ,but you cannot lie to God.
I think that the Church needs to seriously evaluate what is venial sin,, and what is mortal sin,and be clear about it .For me missing mass on a sunday is Not a mortal sin,but same sex relations,or promiscuity,are .

When it comes to recieving the Eucharist,anyone who is not scrupulous with their conscience is commiting a mortal sin. Better to wait until you are purified before going.One can attend mass without recieving the eucharist,and there should be no pressure on an individual who goes to mass to always recieve communion. Attending and participating, is in itself
an act of 'grace'.
I have been a great sinner ,but would never go to communion in a state of 'mortal sin'. I simply did not recieve communion until I felt good enough to do so.

 

[underheaven]

Sorry. You actually do make me feel ill. Your posts are reminders of the state of humanity, of the types of people that populate the wold my children will grow up in. You claim Christ. You should be one of the good ones. The type of supposing and judging is exactly what we are called not to do. You don't know beans about the situation at hand, but that doesn't stop you from speaking as if you know the real story, who was right, who was wrong, who told who what and when, who's sleeping with who. I don't expect much of athiests. I expect better from Catholics.

Well so do I but there you have it .What I expect is compassion mixed with a CLEAR REALITY.
This reality is that 'gayness 'is not an accident,nor is it created by God. It is an outlook on
life that is very unhealthy .So you might say, and correctly, that many other sins like
prostitution and so on are unhealthy.So why is it you accept that one be promoted, worldwide,
but not the other .What is it in Homosexuality, that made it common in Germany of the 30's?
What is there in it ,that the Father of Fascism who wrote the ''AntiChrist'' ,Friedriche Nietzche,
was not only ''one of the fiercest anti christians and atheists but a homosexual? who hated
women ?
There is a difference between how one treats individuals as we find them, with compassion
,but you are bordering on being a 'confuser',a moral confuser,and your attitude to W. A. is dangerous .
I am sure that like me in private life she treats all people with respect, but this is a war of ideas,
which must be won without 'false sentiment'. It is clear that you have no sense of the reality
of this 'human rights' movement worldwide, led by homosexuals and atheists which has as it's
goal the destruction of the human race made in the image of God,for another image .
The European Union at it's centre has 'stonewall ' and other atheists .When it wrote the history
of each country it left out Christianity,just left it out ...AND in the diary of 2011 for schools
in Europe, there was listed All the holidays for all the religions from Islam to Hinduism, but
no mention of Christian holiday dates .
Just an accident I suppose.

 

[Rhamiel]

I think we can all agree that homosexual actions are sinful, right?

 

[Miss Shelby]

Barbara Johnson’s Buddhist Catholicism


The story we’ve been covering in recent days about a Maryland priest who refused to give a lesbian Communion at her mother’s funeral has set off many sensitive, complicated subjects for Catholics. Who is eligible for Communion? What are the responsibilities of a priest? What’s the spiritual purpose of a funeral Mass?

Barbara Johnson was denied communion and the priest walked out on her mother's funeral after he found out Johnson was a lesbian. Johnson is photographed outside her home in Washington, D.C. on February 28, 2012. (Marvin Joseph - WASHINGTON POST)

Now the latest issue: Can you be a Catholic and practice Buddhism at the same time?



Continued- Barbara Johnson’s Buddhist Catholicism - Under God - The Washington Post

Is that Bobby Darin's brother?

 

[MikeK]

I think we can all agree that homosexual actions are sinful, right?

They are grave matter and, as such, can be sinfull. No doubt about it.

 

[JacktheCatholic]

They are grave matter and, as such, can be sinfull. No doubt about it.

In all aspects these actions are sinful, whether venial or grave, as is dependent on culpability.

 

[Angeldove97]

Good job for the priest to refuse a lady communion for the sake of protecting the holiness of the Eucharist. I agree that if this lady is a lesbian but not doing anything sexual, she's not sinning, but the priest has to make sure of that before giving a person communion.

I wish more priests would get involved in knowing who their sheep are and whether or not a person should be receiving.

 

[JacktheCatholic]

Good job for the priest to refuse a lady communion for the sake of protecting the holiness of the Eucharist. I agree that if this lady is a lesbian but not doing anything sexual, she's not sinning, but the priest has to make sure of that before giving a person communion.

I wish more priests would get involved in knowing who their sheep are and whether or not a person should be receiving.

I think the priest knew that either she was a practicing lesbian in grave sin and/or a budhist and not allowed to receive communion for that reason alone. So, I agree with you that the priest was correct in this decision.

However, I am curious as to what actions have place him on leave of his duties, or suspension?

 

[MikeK]

Good job for the priest to refuse a lady communion for the sake of protecting the holiness of the Eucharist. I agree that if this lady is a lesbian but not doing anything sexual, she's not sinning, but the priest has to make sure of that before giving a person communion.

I wish more priests would get involved in knowing who their sheep are and whether or not a person should be receiving.

What you advocate is contrary to the instructions that have been handed down by the Church. Priests are explicitely told to assume that persons lining up to recive the Eucharist are in a state of grace unless they know otherwise.

 

[MikeK]

In all aspects these actions are sinful, whether venial or grave, as is dependent on culpability.

Nope. In all occasions of homosexual actions are gravely wrong. Sin, even venial sin, requires more than just wrongdoing. A person must be aware, even nominally so, that what they are doing is wrong for it to be a sin. There are still tribes that speak their native tongues that have never had interactions with the outside world. Yes, natural law is supposed to be written on our hearts, but sometimes for whatever reason it just isn't. Maybe due to mental illness, maybe ignorance, maybe lots of things. At any rate, a person does not sin if they commit a wrongful action without knowing, or at least supposing, it to be wrong. Sin is what can result from wrongful actions being performed with knowledge and freedom - sin is not the action itself. We sometimes say "such-and-such activity is a sin", but that's only for convinience, it isn't explicitely true. What we really mean is "such-and-such an activity will result in sin if perfomred with some level of knowledge and freedom."

 

[Erose]

I think the problem we all have here is that we do not have all of the information and as such we shouldn't be judging anyone involved in this matter until all information on the subject is supplied.

 

[EDB]

Priest: removal from ministry was tied to communion incident :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

If a Quaker, a Lutheran or a Buddhist, desiring communion had introduced himself as such, before Mass, a priest would be obligated to withhold communion. If someone had shown up in my sacristy drunk, or high on drugs, no communion would have been possible either. If a Catholic, divorced and remarried (without an annulment) would make that known in my sacristy, they too according to Catholic doctrine, would be impeded from receiving communion. This has nothing to do with canon 915. Ms. Johnson’s circumstances are precisely one of those relations which impede her access to communion according to Catholic teaching. Ms. Johnson was a guest in our parish, not the arbitrer of how sacraments are dispensed in the Catholic Church.

 

[Rhamiel]

Nope. In all occasions of homosexual actions are gravely wrong. Sin, even venial sin, requires more than just wrongdoing. A person must be aware, even nominally so, that what they are doing is wrong for it to be a sin. There are still tribes that speak their native tongues that have never had interactions with the outside world. Yes, natural law is supposed to be written on our hearts, but sometimes for whatever reason it just isn't. Maybe due to mental illness, maybe ignorance, maybe lots of things. At any rate, a person does not sin if they commit a wrongful action without knowing, or at least supposing, it to be wrong. Sin is what can result from wrongful actions being performed with knowledge and freedom - sin is not the action itself. We sometimes say "such-and-such activity is a sin", but that's only for convinience, it isn't explicitely true. What we really mean is "such-and-such an activity will result in sin if perfomred with some level of knowledge and freedom."

first off, since the law of God is written on our hearts, no one is really ignorant without something keeping them back, like insanity or indoctrination.
I think the Eastern Church has a slightly differant understanding of sin, that ignorance might lessen the culpability, but sin is always sin

 

[Chany]

Priest: removal from ministry was tied to communion incident :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

And so he finally speaks...

Can't wait to see everyone's reply.

 

[Miss Shelby]

And so he finally speaks...

Can't wait to see everyone's reply.

sounds to me like the woman provoked the priest, then looked for a reason to be mad. If anyone was dishonoring the mother's memory, it was the woman who went to the press and made a huge stink over this-- this fiasco.

 

[isshinwhat]

first off, since the law of God is written on our hearts, no one is really ignorant without something keeping them back, like insanity or indoctrination.
I think the Eastern Church has a slightly differant understanding of sin, that ignorance might lessen the culpability, but sin is always sin

That is my understanding, as well... I'll ask around...

 

[MikeK]

Wrongful acts are always wrong, but thy may or may not result in a sin being committed. Sin is the stain on the conscience, not the activity.

Eating meat in Friday can result in a sin. A sin is not committed every time someone eats meat on a Friday in Lent.

I'm pretty much just making things up as I go, but it makes sense to me.