Same-sex marriage activists who planned to recite the rosary inside the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Springfield after Tuesday's massive rally and march called off their action after Bishop Thomas John Paprocki said anyone wearing a rainbow sash would not be allowed to enter the church.

Paprocki, the head of the Springfield Catholic Diocese, sent out a statement saying those with the Rainbow Sash Movement would be barred from the church, because their planned action was "blasphemous."

“It is blasphemy to show disrespect or irreverence to God or to something holy," Paprocki wrote in the statement. "Since Jesus clearly taught that marriage as created by God is a sacred institution between a man and a woman (see Matthew 19:4-6 and Mark 10:6-9), praying for same-sex marriage should be seen as blasphemous and as such will not be permitted in the cathedral."

Rick Garcia with Civil Rights Agenda was not wearing a multi-colored sash and was able to go inside the cathedral without a problem prior to the Cathedral's 5:15 p.m. Mass, the State Journal-Register reported. In an interview with the newspaper, Garcia pushed back against Paprocki's statement, saying it was the bishop's comments that were blasphemous. Garcia said Paprocki's statements were not in line with Pope Francis' recent call for the Catholic Church to become more inclusive. The Pope also recently said that the church should not take part in condemnation of those who are gay.

“This is the first time in all of my years of coming here that I see police officers in front of this church,” Garcia told the newspaper. “It angers me because I’m a life-long Catholic. That a bishop would say this about me or my people is outrageous.”