Priest in lesbian communion controversy no longer works with DC archdiocese

[Ecoclimber]

A priest who denied communion to a lesbian at her mother’s funeral is no longer in ministry with the Archdiocese of Washington, a spokeswoman for the archdiocese said Monday.

Rev. Marcel Guarnizo, who served at St. John Neumann parish in Gaithersburg, Md., was placed on leave in mid-March for engaging in intimidating behavior, NBCWashington.com reported at the time, and now he is leaving for good.

usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/09/12644012-priest-in-lesbian-communion-controversy-no-longer-works-with-dc-archdiocese?lite

 

[Scoobyshme]

I suspect he has been allowed to return to his home diocese. Good for him!

 

[Lochias]

So it goes. There’s always a price for taking a stand, but I’m glad he did.

 

[Usbek_de_Perse]

I am always amazed how quickly the Catholic church plucks out its offending clergy. The guy was wrong, but do years of service not mean anything?

Too politically correct for my tastes.

A priest who denied communion to a lesbian at her mother’s funeral is no longer in ministry with the Archdiocese of Washington, a spokeswoman for the archdiocese said Monday.

Rev. Marcel Guarnizo, who served at St. John Neumann parish in Gaithersburg, Md., was placed on leave in mid-March for engaging in intimidating behavior, NBCWashington.com reported at the time, and now he is leaving for good.

usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/09/12644012-priest-in-lesbian-communion-controversy-no-longer-works-with-dc-archdiocese?lite

 

[St_Francis]

MSNBC: part of the news all the time…

 

[St_Francis]

I am always amazed how quickly the Catholic church plucks out its offending clergy. The guy was wrong, but do years of service not mean anything?

Too politically correct for my tastes.

He is actually from the Diocese of Moscow, Russia. I imagine he returned.

 

[daisybee]

I am always amazed how quickly the Catholic church plucks out its offending clergy. The guy was wrong, but do years of service not mean anything?

I changed my mind about thinking that he was “wrong” after I read the following from the blog of Retired Bishop Emeritus Rene Henry Gracida (scroll down about 1/3 of the way of the blog post to see the overview about the incident that Fr. Guarnizo was subjected to):

abyssum.wordpress.com/2012/04/18/the-only-remedy-for-a-crisis-of-fidelity-is-fidelity/

Apparently the woman "came into the sacristy before Mass, introduced herself as a Buddhist, then introduced a woman accompanying her as her ‘lover.’ " Now really, what is a priest to do in that situation?? I think he did what he should have done. And I hope he would do the same thing if somebody else described different circumstances that had nothing to do with same-sex attraction, but made it evident that the person was completely disregarding Church teaching and morals.

The problem is that we don’t get these details from CNN and mainstream media. I’m really starting to think that we can only trust our Catholic publications to thoroughly report Catholic News, without omissions. (Catholic World Report, National Catholic Register, Our Sunday Visitor, etc., etc.)

 

[Rdunbar123]

way to go. hide priests who molest children, but act promptly to discipline somenone who “offends” a protected class of individuals.

 

[Living_Stats]

Maybe I’m being too sympathetic towards the Gay community, but I’m glad this priest got removed from the Archdiocese. You can’t refute communion to someone just because of their sexual orientation. It is something they can’t control.

 

[Elizium23]

Maybe I’m being too sympathetic towards the Gay community, but I’m glad this priest got removed from the Archdiocese. You can’t refute communion to someone just because of their sexual orientation. It is something they can’t control.

Of course you can’t control your sexual orientation. However, you can control whether or not you take a live-in lesbian lover. And you can certainly control whether or not you are a Buddhist. Face facts. Her sexual orientation was not what excluded her from the worthy reception of Holy Communion. It was her obstinate persistence in grave sin.

 

[SaintPatrick333]

Maybe I’m being too sympathetic towards the Gay community, but I’m glad this priest got removed from the Archdiocese. You can’t refute communion to someone just because of their sexual orientation. It is something they can’t control.

No you can’t. But you “can” and “must” refuse communion to someone who is openly sinning and non repentant. The fact she introduced her lover and called her “lover” to the Priest was openly saying they have a physical relationship, which is where being gay crosses into sin. As such, the Priest was ABSOLUTELY right to refuse her. It’s sad that some parishes will cave to media attention and political correctness. We must ALL stand for the Truth. Even if we ruffle some feathers and cause discomfort that those who live in sin and want to continue doing so. We can’t “make” them live any other way, nor should we. But that does not mean we should quietly go into seclusion with our beliefs simply because it offends those that live in sin.

 

[Annabelle_Marie]

No you can’t. But you “can” and “must” refuse communion to someone who is openly sinning and non repentant. The fact she introduced her lover and called her “lover” to the Priest was openly saying they have a physical relationship, which is where being gay crosses into sin. As such, the Priest was ABSOLUTELY right to refuse her. It’s sad that some parishes will cave to media attention and political correctness. We must ALL stand for the Truth. Even if we ruffle some feathers and cause discomfort that those who live in sin and want to continue doing so. We can’t “make” them live any other way, nor should we. But that does not mean we should quietly go into seclusion with our beliefs simply because it offends those that live in sin.

Exactly! And I think this priest would have done the same thing if she had introduced her male lover…

 

[aicirt]

Maybe I’m being too sympathetic towards the Gay community, but I’m glad this priest got removed from the Archdiocese. You can’t refute communion to someone just because of their sexual orientation. It is something they can’t control.

She went into the sacristy, announced to him who she was, told him what she was doing by introducing her friend as her lesbian lover. She wanted the blow-up. He had no choice.
She was commiting a mortal sin and had no intension of confessing it.

No difference if your or I went in and said I’m committing adultery and I’ll see you out front when I come up to receive communion. I would not get a pass.

 

[The_Scott]

I live in the Archdiocese of Washington (well, on the cusp of Washington and Baltimore, but I’m registered for Washington). While I generally like Cardinal Wuerl, I sometimes wonder if he’s more of a politician than a pastor. Of course, being in Washington it is almost impossible not to be a politician… and almost impossible not to cave in to poltical pressure.

Cardinal Wuerl is a nice guy, truly. His book on the Mass is very good. But he’s a politician, unfortunately. A good politician, yes, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he is a good pastor.

EDIT: I should also say that the Cardinal exceeds in many fields of Catholic teaching; this instance doesn’t make me lose hope in him, at all.

 

[Hmgbrd]

Of course you can’t control your sexual orientation. However, you can control whether or not you take a live-in lesbian lover. And you can certainly control whether or not you are a Buddhist. Face facts. Her sexual orientation was not what excluded her from the worthy reception of Holy Communion. It was her obstinate persistence in grave sin.

Since when are Buddhists worthy of reception of the Eucharist??? Would this not prevent her from receiving? Many seem to have overlooked that fact.

 

[Iaamiccwint]

I tend to have a bi-partician approach to many things. I personally believe, all Christians regardless of sin or sexual orientation should recieve Holy Communion, no questions asked. I don’t trust the evidence that says she is a Buddhist. One can “embrace” the philosophy of Eastern Religion, but still be a good standing Christian. However, on the other hand, if you’re a Catholic you should know all the rules and regulations of the Church. If you’re going up to communion, you should know what the hell you’re doing and what the hell is going on. Don’t priests usually make a statement before distributing the Eucharist? I’m a Church volunteer and when I preside at funerals, I see people freeze in the communion line when they reach the priest. I also distribute communion, and when people come up to me, they don’t even know what to do. What needs to be done is to give more information and guidelines to both Catholics and non-Catholics. The problem here is misinformation. That’s my take.

Peace.

 

[Mrs_Sally]

The priest is not from DC. He belongs to a diocese in Moscow Russia. It maybe that his own bishop recalled him. Priests usually aren’t sent around the world on unlimited stays. Even if this incident hadn’t happened, he may have been going home now anyway.

Since we don’t know, let’s assume the best about everyone involved - and pray for that crazy woman!

 

[daisybee]

Why don’t you trust evidence?

One can “embrace” the philosophy of Eastern Religion, but still be a good standing Christian.

How?

 

[MichaelTDoyle]

… I personally believe, all Christians regardless of sin or sexual orientation should recieve Holy Communion, no questions asked…

Peace.

That you believe “all Christians regardless of sin or sexual orientation should recieve Holy Communion, no questions asked” means you do not believe in the teaching charism of our Holy Church. Our Church was instituted by Christ himself to be a guardian and rock of the truth for when the Good Shepherd ascended to the Father. You separate yourself from the truth by holding a belief contrary to fundamental and authentic Church teaching. Please study and pray on this. I wish I could put it more humbly, but its not easy even to communicate these ideas.

We take communion because we are in communion with Christ and obedient to His teachings and those teachings he gave through the Holy Spirit to his Church.

The Catholic church is not just an ecclesial community; She is the Church and a mystical body with “all its members being guided and directed by Christ the head”

The teaching charism itself and its consistent message for 2,000 years is a proof of the God of the living.

edit–stumbled on to the The Mystic Bride of Christ Nicely done and uplifting.

 

[Iaamiccwint]

That you believe “all Christians regardless of sin or sexual orientation should recieve Holy Communion, no questions asked” means you do not believe in the teaching charism of our Holy Church. Our Church was instituted by Christ himself to be a guardian and rock of the truth for when the Good Shepherd ascended to the Father. You separate yourself from the truth by holding a belief contrary to fundamental and authentic Church teaching. Please study and pray on this. I wish I could put it more humbly, but its not easy even to communicate these ideas.

We take communion because we are in communion with Christ and obedient to His teachings and those teachings he gave through the Holy Spirit to his Church.

The Catholic church is not just an ecclesial community; She is the Church and a mystical body with “all its members being guided and directed by Christ the head”

The teaching charism itself and its consistent message for 2,000 years is a proof of the God of the living.

Religious fundamentalism is the number one cause of atheism in the West in my personal opinion. I respect your comments, opinions, and views. However, I respectfully disagree with you. Jesus never mentioned homesexuality nor did he discuss birth control or abortion. Jesus told us to love on another and to treat others as you would like to be treated. He told us to do good to others. Do you think Jesus would reject himself to a homosexual? Jesus my Lord and Savior sat with the sinners and the social rejects. He hung out with the skum bags of Jewish society. Our Lord would never reject a homosexual. Is rejecting gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and trangenders a part of Christ’s teaching? Jesus loves all, and he came to die for all. To say I’m seperating myself from truth is silly and ridiculous. What is absoloute truth? Only God is absoloute truth, no man or organization can claim absoloute truth, only God. I believe Jesus would open up his arms to a Lesbian. It’s sad Christians don’t realize that.

However, I respect you and your beliefs as a conservative Christian. I expect the same from you as well.

Peace and blessings.

¡a Dios sea toda la Gloria!