As the days go by, more background details are emerging of the story behind the story of the priest who denied communion to a woman at her mother’s funeral. At Huffington Post, John Shore adds some background to show that the full story was even more appalling than the basic facts in the early reports (yes, I know that’s hard to believe, but it’s true). I’m not going to lay it on any further – the basics are quite bad enough. It’s the other side of Shore’s post that interests me here, because it’s such an important reminder that the headline stories about Catholic villains seldom represent the real Catholic Church (remember the Boulder Catholic school that insisted the child with two moms be removed from the school? That’s just one incident, but it is statistically likely that the majority of all Catholic schools have at least one child with same-sex parents. One child victimized, out of how many thousand? But it’s the bad news that gets the headlines).
In the same way, there must be many thousands of Catholic funerals every year, where queer families are treated with all the compassion and sensitivity due to any bereaved person. (I have already reported on how my own treatment at my mother’s funeral was markedly different from that of Barbara Johnson). In this particular example, the priest taking the funeral behaved abominably – but countless other Catholics have behaved very differently, from complete strangers who have reacted with anger and compassion, to those on the spot, at the day. Shore gives the details:
But there’s meat on this steak upon which so far no one’s been chewing. (Wow. Best metaphor ever!) And that meat is this: While there’s no question that Father No Communion For You! picked a spectacularly horrendous time to bare his bigoted fangs, he is also the sole villainous Catholic in a story starring a great many Catholic heroes.
Yes, Fr. Guarnizo denied Barbara communion. But almost immediately thereafter a layperson acting as the service’s Eucharistic Minister did lovingly serve Barbara communion.
Yes, Fr. Guarnizo essentially shunned Barbara. But directly following the service (and to a necessarily lesser degree during the service), Barbara was also surrounded and hugged by fellow Catholics who made a point of telling her that Fr. Marcel in no way represented the love of the Church.
Yes, Fr. Guarnizo shamelessly refused to go to the cemetery. But immediately thereupon the funeral director (“an angel,” says Barbara) comforted Barbara with assurances that he would quickly secure a priest to perform the burial. He then turned to Fr. Peter Sweeney, who wasted no time at all stepping right out of his retirement, and right into the Johnson funeral service.
“Father Sweeney was perfect,” says Barbara. “We couldn’t have asked for a kinder, more loving priest. Both Father Sweeney and the funeral director acted as soothing balms on our very scarred hearts.”
When the head of Saint John Neumann’s, Fr. LaHood, was made aware of what had happened at the Johnson funeral, he phoned Barbara to apologize. Barbara played for me Fr. LaHood’s message. It left nothing on the table: his apology was sincere, obviously heartfelt and accompanied by every last means to reach him, including his personal cell and home phone number.
After Barbara later met with Fr. LaHood, she reported that, “He was very kind, compassionate and apologetic.”
While we quite properly condemn the flagrant prejudice, homophobia and disregard of Catholic teaching displayed by one rogue priest, let us remember and give thanks that the real Catholic Church is far more compassionate to us as sexual minorities, than the headlines might suggest.
Related articles
- In Denying Communion at Mother’s Funeral, Priest Contravened the Catechism (queeringthechurch.com)
- Reaction to Communion Denial (queeringthechurch.com)
