Queering the Church towards a reality based theology

There has been strong, and encouraging, reaction to Fr Guarnizo’s refusal of communion to a woman at her mother’s funeral. First, and most important, is the official reaction of the Archdiocese. In a short statement, they said they would look into the incident as a personnel issue – and made a clear statement of diocesan policy, showing clearly that the priest’s action contravened policy.

 D.C. archdiocese: Denying Communion to lesbian at funeral was against ‘policy’

“When questions arise about whether or not an individual should present themselves for communion, it is not the policy of the Archdiocese of Washington to publicly reprimand the person,” the statement said. “Any issues regarding the suitability of an individual to receive communion should be addressed by the priest with that person in a private, pastoral setting.”

Messages for Guarnizo and other parish staff were not returned. Neither he nor other parish leaders were at the church or the rectory Tuesday night.

Active Catholics in the Greater Washington region said they could not recall another recent occasion when a priest had refused to administer the sacrament to a gay Catholic. Guarnizo’s refusal, they said, seemed at odds with the strong stand against denial of Communion to Catholics enunciated by the archbishop of Washington, Cardinal Donald Wuerl.

Wuerl said he did not believe in denying Communion because it is impossible to know what is in another person’s heart. The issue took off during the 2004 presidential campaign, when some conservative Catholic leaders said that Sen. John Kerry, the Democratic candidate, should be denied Communion because of his pro-choice views.

- The Washington Post.

It is encouraging to have this confirmation that his actions were contrary to policy, and that they are “looking into the matter”, but that is not enough. The cardinal needs to make clear to this man that he was not merely in contravention of policy, but in contravention of the Catechism itself, as I described yesterday. It follows, by his own logic, that he is the one in a state of sin, for which he needs to repent, and make reparation by an act of sincere apology.

Since seeing the original reports yesterday, I have seen more of the detail, from the perspective of the woman, Barbara Johnson and her family. I grieve deeply for her, thinking of my own mother’s funeral 15 months ago, and how sharply her experience diverged from my own.  On that occasion, I vividly remember the pain and anguish of the funeral, when I was privileged to mount the pulpit and fighting back the tears, proclaim the reading from Paul – a reading that I had helped to choose. Had I not done the reading, I would have not simply received communion, I would have distributed the communion wine, as Eucharistic Minister, to my family and Mom’s friends.

The Post has an extract from a letter that Johnson wrote to the priest after the funeral, and comment from her brother:

“You brought your politics, not your God into that Church yesterday, and you will pay dearly on the day of judgment for judging me,” she wrote in a letter to Guarnizo. “I will pray for your soul, but first I will do everything in my power to see that you are removed from parish life so that you will not be permitted to harm any more families.”

Here’s the brother:

“We agreed this is not a discussion about gay rights or about the teachings of the Catholic Church,” Larry Johnson said. “We’re not in this to Catholic-bash.” That’s the farthest thing from our minds.”

But since Saturday, other Catholics have told him that the experience has shaken their faith. “You have serious questions about how American Catholics in particular practice their faith. How many divorced people live in a technical state of sin? How many people practice some form of artificial birth control in a state of sin?” he said. “If the church will now have these ‘state of grace’ police, you know, how can that be? That’s the most personal thing in the world — between a person and God.”

Reaction from the wider world has also been encouraging. The Post notes that

The Post observes that

The priest’s action has also triggered an uproar among gay rights activists and enlivened some religious conservatives. 

“Fr. Marcel Guarnizo has been thrown under the bus for following Canon Law 915!” wrote one Catholic blogger in the archdiocese. “The issue here is not the priest but Barbara Johnson.”

This is misleading, suggesting that it is only gay rights activists who have been angered, and only the religious conservatives who have been “enlivened”. But the anger goes way beyond gay rights activists, and includes many moderate Catholics and others. Defenders of Fr Guarnizo are isolated. I followed the link to the “Catholic blogger” who lamented that the priest had been thrown under the bus – and was delighted to find that on his own blog, many of the comments were hostile to the views in his post:

Good! Under a bus with tire marks on his evil face is exactly where Fr Guarnizo deserves to be! What a horrible, pathetic excuse for a spiritual leader. What a pathetic attempt at political grandstanding. He should be ashamed of himself for turning a funeral into a showcase for his own political agenda. He reminds me of those Westboro Baptist Church crazies. Using a families loss and grief as a way to turn a funeral about himself. Terrible. Sinners in church! GASP! Of course, sinners are in church- that is where Jesus calls them to be. How many other people receiving communion that day had sinned? Premarital sex, birth control, greed, envy, materialism- all those sins people go to church to try strengthen their bond to Jesus. This attitude is exactly why I would drive a longer distance to go to St Rose of Lima and not the geographically closer Neuman. They are a cold and unwelcoming and judgmental church that makes me embarrassed to be a MD Catholic.

1) There was simply no justification for the priest to refuse to say the final blessings at the burial. Is it part of Canon Law that if your daughter sins then you cannot receive a blessing at your burial once you are dead? One doubts so.

2) Does this priest also deny communion to the >90% of his parishioners who present themselves for communion but are almost certainly using contraception, or who have otherwise engaged in non-procreative sex acts? Again, one doubts so.

Perhaps Catholicism isn’t the faith for those of you who think leaving a funeral mass and denying the deceased daughter communion during mass is the right thing to do. 

If you can’t show compassion there are ministries enough and ample room in the aisles of Protestant right-wing evangelical churches. 

Guarnizo is an embarrassment to the priesthood and to Catholicism.

HER MOTHER was obviously allowed a full communion church service funeral, and that is what the MOTHER wanted, the daughter, regardless of faith has more important things on her mind than pomp and circumstance of the church ceremonies regarding herself. This wasn’t any other Sunday service. This wasn’t the time to punish or segregate. Isn’t your goal to bring people ”further from god in your eyes” to your faith, beliefs, and way of life? How do you think this act of absolute cruelty brought her closer to God on the day her mother was buried and showed her that it’s somewhere she would want to change her life to be? You defeat your own purposes and alienate people from any walk of life from wanting to congregate under the burning blanket of bigotry you call your religion. You should be ashamed of yourselves. This is not about God or religion. Even murders in prison are offered communion before EXECUTION. Stop pretending.

And, most pertinently

I went to Catholic school from preschool through college, and all throughout my education, I was taught that God (the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit) are forgiving, compassionate, and LOVING. I was also taught that God gave us each a moral compass and the right to make our own decisions. I was also taught that no matter what anyone tells you, if you, in your heart of hearts know that what you are doing is the right thing to do, then you must do what it is your heart of hearts is telling you. Loving someone seems to me to always be the right thing to do. Father Guarnizo, choosing to exercise your disgusting beliefs of prejudice, bigotry, and what I believe to be, a truly un-Christian act, is your choice. You could have chosen to do so prior to this woman’s mother’s passing. You could have warned her what your stance was, but no. You chose to take this woman’s moment of grief, when she is losing her mother, a time when she is at her most vulnerable, to do what you did. Shame on you. Thankfully Jesus preaches forgiveness because you, sir, will need to ask for it.

When I have calmed down enough to do so with courtesy and restraint, I shall be writing to Cardinal Wuerl, suggesting that he have a quiet discussion with this misguided priest, explaining the full teaching of the Catechism – and suggesting that apology for his own possible sin would be appropriate. As Frances DeBernardo did at New Ways/Bondings yesterday, I urge that you too, do the same.

Here’s the address

Cardinal Donald Wuerl                                                                                                                                                      Archdiocese of Washington                                                                                                                                                               P.O. Box 29260                                                                                                                                                                        Washington, DC 20017-0260  

and a reminder of DeBernardo’s suggestions on what to write:

Tell Cardinal Wuerl that as a Catholic you oppose such blatant discrimination and pastoral incompetence.  Let him know that you consider the action offensive and insensitive.  Explain that you support free and equal access to communion of all Catholics, especially at such a pastorally critical moment as a funeral.  Let him know of your love and support of LGBT people.  Request that he instruct all his priests and pastoral ministers not to repeat such an action.  Call on him to provide pastoral training on LGBT issues for his priests and pastoral ministers. Ask him to call for an apology from Fr. Guarnizo, and to offer pastoral mediation between this priest, Ms. Johnson, and her family.  Speak from your heart and from your faith.

Related articles

• In Denying Communion at Mother’s Funeral, Priest Contravened the Catechism (queeringthechurch.com)
• Communion Denied to Lesbian Woman at Her Mother’s Funeral (newwaysministryblog.wordpress.com)
• Gaithersburg Priest Faces Backlash After Denying Communion (washington.cbslocal.com)
• Maryland priest reprimanded for denying communion to lesbian at funeral (patheos.com)