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.”
The government should completely get out of the marriage issue. Every instance of the word "marriage" should be removed from the law, and replaced with civil union.
Let the government issue licenses for civil union and let any couple apply for a license and be granted a license without regard for their gender preference.
let the churches, and only the churches, cover marriage. Any church can then allow or or renounce gay marriage. The church has no say on the issue of civil unions.
Everybody gets what they want and no one is excluded.
Churches can set their own standards for marriage and may require a civil union license to have their marriage ceremony.
Then this law change wouldn't be required.
Bob Kastigar
IBEW Local 1220, Chicago
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