Lesbian couple in Wyo. denied communion

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When your sin is being broadcast to the world you can expect to be chastised by your priest or bishop.
 
Riley259 said:
This sort of thing needs to happen more…courage!

comcast.net/news/national/index.jsp?cat=DOMESTIC&fn=/2007/04/05/628944.html&cvqh=itn_lesbiancommunion
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I don’t exactly agree with this diocese/parish. Not concerning the denial of communion, but the fact that it didn’t act earlier, and that people at the diocese (such as the music director???) knew. Also the way the priest talked about contraception, etc. didn’t seem quite right. It seemed to say “we don’t know so its okay”.

Catholig
 
Amen. I just posted this in “Catholic News.” Didn’t know it was over here. I was very dismayed by the priest and “music director.”

“As long as they didn’t tell anyone…” :rolleyes:😦
 
:hmmm:
Catholig said:
I don’t exactly agree with this diocese/parish. Not concerning the denial of communion, but the fact that it didn’t act earlier, and that people at the diocese (such as the music director???) knew. Also the way the priest talked about contraception, etc. didn’t seem quite right. It seemed to say “we don’t know so its okay”.

Catholig
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Little by little Priests and Bishops are being forced to act, that’s good. We may fail to act on our own, but it shows that God is in control and He humbles us all.:hmmm:
 
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Catholig:
I don’t exactly agree with this diocese/parish. Not concerning the denial of communion, but the fact that it didn’t act earlier, and that people at the diocese (such as the music director???) knew. Also the way the priest talked about contraception, etc. didn’t seem quite right. It seemed to say “we don’t know so its okay”.
Catholig
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Huskinson questioned why Catholics having premarital sex and using birth control are not barred from receiving Communion, too. But the parish priest said the difference is this: The other Catholics are “not going around broadcasting, Hey I'm having sex outside of marriage' or I’m using birth control.’”
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I read it as, since this couple went public, every one knew. They were broadcasting it.

The Church does not know who is using birth control. Couples generally don’t go up to the news paper and tell them that they are Catholic and using birth control. Or that they are having sex outside of marriage.
“I told my wife in good conscience that **if **I had known those ladies, and we’d have been having a beer, I’d have just told them to keep everything to themselves,” parish music director John Chick said. He added that once news like this hits the papers, “someone’s forced to deal with it now, aren’t they?”
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And the music director didn’t know. It stated that if he knew. The music director is not the Priest or Bishop. It could be just some guy that is good with music. He may not even be Catholic.
 
maryjk said:
I read it as, since this couple went public, every one knew. They were broadcasting it.

The Church does not know who is using birth control. Couples generally don’t go up to the news paper and tell them that they are Catholic and using birth control. Or that they are having sex outside of marriage.

And the music director didn’t know. It stated that if he knew. The music director is not the Priest or Bishop. It could be just some guy that is good with music. He may not even be Catholic.
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valid points I conceed, especially the “if” which I missed, however what about the Church sending them mail at the same address? I mean, yeah it could be handled by a secretary, or there could be some legitimate reason why one women would be living with another, however I don’t think that either of these are very good arguments…in any case I could be wrong.

Catholig
 
Mortal sinners denied to house the Precious Body and Blood of Jesus? gasp

I do think the individual church involved needs to step up its denial of Communion. Just because a sinner is a private sinner doesn’t mean they aren’t sinning. I think that more works with doubt about the faith. You can have involuntary doubt, yes, but you should try to correct it and keep it private. If you spout your involuntary doubt and tell others things are right which aren’t in the eyes of the Church, then you are giving scandal and sinning. Anyway, private mortal sin isn’t any less mortal sin. That church should issue a “if you are in mortal sin, you shouldn’t receive Communion” statement at the beginning of Mass. Then when those who are in mortal sin(in public’s eye and out of) come to receive, they should refuse to give them Communion.
 
“if you are in mortal sin, you shouldn’t receive Communion” statement at the beginning of Mass. Then when those who are in mortal sin(in public’s eye and out of) come to receive, they should refuse to give them Communion.
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Why? Are we Catholics mentally defective? It’s basic not to receive if you are in mortal sin. How could anyone go up not knowing this? How could a Catholic not know this?

If a Priests has an inkling this needs to be done, then make it a homily; it’s about 2 sentences, but I fail to see why it needs to be said. The homilies need to be more catechetical in a parish that has a problem like this.

Good grief.
 
Well, with most of our private sins no priest can assume we are committing such-and-such and mortal sin, no matter how it may appear. I think that would be a sin on his part in some way, presumption or something. There is also no way for each and every priest to know if the parishoner did not sincerely repent right before approaching the Eucharist, or if they went to confession the day before with another priest.
It is very dangerous to have priests start assuming you are not worthy, or that you are worthy, based on how he perceives your lifestyle to be.
As a mother of 7, daily Mass attendee, etc, one might never think (by outward appearance) that I could be in mortal sin. But, there have been times that I have come dangerously close (not often, praise God). No priest has the power to see ones heart, so we are left with the public dissention from the Church.
 
TheApologist said:
Anyway, private mortal sin isn’t any less mortal sin. That church should issue a “if you are in mortal sin, you shouldn’t receive Communion” statement at the beginning of Mass. Then when those who are in mortal sin(in public’s eye and out of) come to receive, they should refuse to give them Communion.
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And how would the priest know that someone was in the state of mortal sin, if the sin has not been in the public eye?

I have been married for 15 years, to a non-Catholic, and we have one child. Must be in mortal sin. No one knows if I was married in the Church, unless they check with my baptismal church. No one knows why we have only one child, unless you ask. So at a glance, I am in mortal sin. I should be refused.
 
exiled said:
Well, with most of our private sins no priest can assume we are committing such-and-such and mortal sin, no matter how it may appear. I think that would be a sin on his part in some way, presumption or something.
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“Presumption” is when we sin securw in the knowledge that we’ll be forgiven anyway.

The sin you’re talking about is called “rash judgment”.
 
I agree with exiled and maryjk.

Somehow I was not able to read the link to the article on the lesbians, but I wonder if they are repentant Catholics now living together platonically, or have they admitted to an on-going sexual relationship?

Father Benedict Groeschel wrote an awesome book on chastity entitled “The Courage to be Chaste.” One section of the book deals with gay couples who want to return to Communion and live a chaste life, even while still living in the same household.

There do exist repentant gay couples like this, and I think we need to support them. While it might be scandalous in this type of case to see the priest giving such a couple Communion, only the priest would know if the couple is sexually active or not, and maybe even he would not know (if they confessed in another parish, for example).

The same with a heterosexual couple who aren’t married, but are in a long-term relationship. People don’t know if they are having sex together or not, no matter how long they have been together, and should not assume that the couple cannot receive communion.

As I said, I couldn’t access the article on this lesbian couple but I would be very interested to know if they have said they are living together chastely or not.

Peace,
Meeshy
 
maryjk said:
And how would the priest know that someone was in the state of mortal sin, if the sin has not been in the public eye?

I have been married for 15 years, to a non-Catholic, and we have one child. Must be in mortal sin. No one knows if I was married in the Church, unless they check with my baptismal church. No one knows why we have only one child, unless you ask. So at a glance, I am in mortal sin. I should be refused.
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In the article it was clear that the priest knew they were sinning. He knew they were “together.” That’s what I was referring to. I agree, you can’t tell in your situation or that kind of situation. It’s just that the priest made it clear that he knew about them before hand, and somehow it was only a mortal sin when it was in public.

Well it could be that he didn’t want to judge that they had relations and so he couldn’t be sure if they were in mortal sin. And then he knew they were when they gave scandal. So giving scandal about homosexuality was mortal sin…who knows.
 
Just now I was able to read the article, and to me it was clear that they were a “married” gay couple, advocating same-sex marriage.

The bishop’s letter to the couple stated,“because of your union and your public advocacy of same-sex unions, you are unable to receive Communion.”

This prompts me to ammend my previous response a bit. As the priest said, it’s one thing to sin, but it’s another thing to publicly promote this type of sinful lifestyle. These ladies even lobbied Congress in support of same-sex marriages.

This behavior would indicate that they’re either ignorant of their Faith, or they don’t want to follow their Faith. I hope they educate themselves and come back to the Church. I’m going to pray for them.

Peace,
Meeshy
 
I applaud the Catholic Church for doing this! Now if only it would do this in every case and also in cases where politicians are in clear violation of Catholic Church teaching. Why this is not a standard throughout the Catholic Church I’ll probably never know. 🤷
 
meeshy said:
Just now I was able to read the article, and to me it was clear that they were a “married” gay couple, advocating same-sex marriage.

The bishop’s letter to the couple stated,“because of your union and your public advocacy of same-sex unions, you are unable to receive Communion.”

This prompts me to ammend my previous response a bit. As the priest said, it’s one thing to sin, but it’s another thing to publicly promote this type of sinful lifestyle. These ladies even lobbied Congress in support of same-sex marriages.

This behavior would indicate that they’re either ignorant of their Faith, or they don’t want to follow their Faith. I hope they educate themselves and come back to the Church. I’m going to pray for them.

Peace,
Meeshy
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:amen:
 
Catholig said:
what about the Church sending them mail at the same address? I mean, yeah it could be handled by a secretary, or there could be some legitimate reason why one women would be living with another, however I don’t think that either of these are very good arguments…

Catholig
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Forgive me if I offend, but there is a terrible amount of judgment, I think, in your comment. I am a single mom, a result of my sinful past, of which I have repented through God’s grace. I may soon need to sell my home or get a housemate to cover bills. Should I ask a man to be my housemate so no one assumes I am a lesbian? Adult men or adult women share housing all the time to cut expenses, to bolster each other’s faith, and for community. To assume they are all engaging in homosexual activity is unreasonable and unkind.
meeshy said:
I hope they educate themselves and come back to the Church. I’m going to pray for them.

Peace,
Meeshy
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A perfect response. I will join you in praying for them and so many others.

Gertie
 
Agreeably the bishop needed to make a stand in defense of the catechism of the church.

It’s easy to say I want to be Catholic, but to expect the church to change its doctrines based on Jesus to suit your individual lifestyles is not even a consideration to make. No one condemns them as people. However, the church needs to defend the sanctity of our sacraments.

The church make welcome sinners…thank goodness for that. But it does not welcome sins…Leave them in the confessional and reconcile & work at not repeating your sins so that we are all worthy to receive Christ in Holy Communion.

This bishop is doing this gay couple a major favor in explaining the seriousness of their choice in living as they do. His actions hopefully will save their soul and ultimately isn’t that his job?
 
Catholic said:
valid points I concede, especially the “if” which I missed, however what about the Church sending them mail at the same address? I mean, yeah it could be handled by a secretary, or there could be some legitimate reason why one women would be living with another, however I don’t think that either of these are very good arguments…in any case I could be wrong.

Catholig
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I can think of many reasons persons of the same sex and different names live together:

sisters, half sisters, aunts, mother & daughter, grandmother & grandchild, shared home for the rent, small apartment with no separate address and the list can go on and on. The couple declaired their sexuality to the world not the other way around.

The same goes for men. The assumption that someone is “g**” because they live together is no now always correct just as it has not been in the past.
 
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