Pro-"Gay Marriage" Speakers at Boston Catholic Church

As if a Mass to celebrate Gay Pride wasn’t enough for St. Cecilia’s in Boston, now we get word that the pastor, Fr. John Unni, promoted in his parish bulletin talks by speakers who worked in favor of “gay marriage.”  He also promoted a talk by a gay activist who disrupted a Catholic Mass over the Church’s campaign against gay marriage. When will the scandal end?

Here’s a low-down on what’s happened up to now, but it’s getting more concerning literally by the minute:

1. First there was the Mass to planned to celebrate and commemorate Boston Pride Month, which was to be celebrated by the pastor, Fr. John Unni tonight at 6pm.
2. Then after Catholics complained, the Archdiocese said the Mass had to be canceled/postponed, and it was replaced by a sidewalk prayer service. Meanwhile back at the ranch, diocesan spokesman, Terry Donilon said the pastor has “the full confidence and support of the Cardinal and the archdiocese” and “is a great pastor.”
3. Next, on Friday night Cardinal O’Malley posted on his blog a reminder about not wanting homosexuals to be the “object of discrimination or violence,” and also about the need to rally behind the Church’s teaching that marriage is between a man and a woman. He also reminded us “If we tell people that sex outside of marriage is not a sin, we are deceiving people. If they believe this untruth, a life of virtue becomes all but impossible.”

As the late Paul Harvey used to say, “Now, the rest of the story.”  But it’s not even the rest–it’s just a little bit more of the story.

We first learned here that in 2009 St. Cecilia’s promoted several speakers in a talk about “Gay Marriage” who worked to promote gay marriage–in direct opposition to the Church’s teachings on marriage. Here’s the listing from their June 28, 2009 bulletin:

I repeat, the evening’s presenters were Rabbi Lerner, who worked with the Religious Coalition for the Freedom to Marry to increase the number of Massachusetts clergy voicing their support of “gay marriage,” and Charles Martel, who worked in support of “gay marriage” to coordinate the efforts of Roman Catholics for the Freedom to Marry in Massachusetts.

What Catholic who supports the teachings of the Catholic Church could possibly justify St. Cecilia’s sponsoring and promoting a talk by people who publicly worked in opposition to the Church’s teachings on marriage?

There’s one more thing still.

On October 25, 2010, St. Cecilia’s sponsored a talk by Chuck Colbert on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Chuck in objective terms is a “gay activist.” His bio in the bulletin says, “Locally, he contributes to Boston Spirit Magazine, a gay and lesbian lifestyle magazine.” What the bio didn’t mention is what a simple Google search told us when Chuck posted a comment a few days ago here–back in 2004 he reportedly stood up in the middle of a Catholic Mass in Canton, MA to protest the Church’s defense of marriage efforts. Here’s a 2004 Globe report we found on Chuck’s protest:

On the day before state lawmakers were scheduled to continue considering a proposed amendment to the Massachusetts Constitution that would outlaw same-sex marriage, some parishioners spoke out against him, and ushers asked him to leave. Church officials called the police.

“The law is that there is no disrupting a worship service,” said the Rev. Michael Doyle, the church’s pastor… “Mass isn’t a time for people to voice their opinions about what they agree with or disagree with.”

At the 9 a.m. Mass at St. John’s in Canton, the presiding priest, Father Hal Obayashi, delivered a sermon about adultery and then showed the video, which he introduced by discussing how Christians should be tolerant of others but not avoid speaking the truth,

Note: be tolerant of others, but not avoid speaking the truth. Here’s another 2004 AP report we found on Chuck Colbert’s disruption of the Mass:

Man Disturbs Mass to Defend Gay Marriage

CANTON, Mass. – A gay man interrupted a church Mass on Sunday when he told congregants he objected to a video opposing same-sex marriage that was shown moments earlier.

Chuck Colbert created a brief disturbance when he stood up after the eight-minute video, identified himself as a Catholic and said he objected to the video, said the Rev. Michael Doyle of St. John the Evangelist church.

“We called police to maintain order,” Doyle said. “We had no interest in pressing charges against anyone.” Canton police said they went to the church but made no arrests.

Archdiocese spokesman the Rev. Christopher Coyne said it was appropriate to show the video and said only Colbert objected.

“He’s not even a member of that parish,” he said. “He doesn’t even worship in Canton. He was obviously alerted and decided to disrupt that Mass.”

So, let’s get this straight. Fr. John Unni and St. Cecilia’s think it’s OK to promote a talk on “Gay Marriage” featuring two people as speakers who worked against the Church by promoting “gay marriage.” Chuck to disrupt a Catholic Mass when the truth about Church teachings on marriage was presented and then promote him as a speaker. Then it’s OK for St. Cecilia promote as a speaker, a man who had disrupted a Catholic Mass when the truth about Church teachings on marriage was presented. Then Fr. Unni and St. Cecilia think it’s OK to plan a Mass to celebrate Gay Pride, but  it’s “hate” and bigoted and intolerant for me and other Catholics to say there’s something wrong going on over there with the Gay Pride Mass and merely defend what the Catholic Church teaches on sexual morality?

Who knew?

What’s the Boston archdiocese say about all that?  Spokesman, Terry Donilon, said a week ago that the pastor has “the full confidence and support of the Cardinal and the archdiocese” and “is a great pastor.” I wonder if they’ll still say the same thing tomorrow after having to acknowledge the above.

Tonight the prayer service took place at 6pm.  Latest update in the news: according to this report tonight by WCVB Channel 5, at tonight’s prayer service St. Cecilia’s parishioners said “the Mass honoring Gay Pride” has been been rescheduled to July 11. The archdiocese put out a statement tonight saying, “We respect the desire of those individuals participating in the prayer service.  We know that the postponement of the June 19th mass has been disappointing to them. Our hope and prayer is that we can come together as one community of Catholics sharing in the Lord’s divine love for each of us.”

If that next Mass is still intended to honor Gay Pride, then that next one should be canceled. The Rainbow Ministry should be canceled.  The employment agreement of the diocesan spokesman who said Fr. Unni is “a great pastor” should be canceled. Whoever is responsible for these programs or knew about them and approved them probably needs to be removed.

This isn’t hate.  This isn’t bigotry.  This isn’t intolerance.

This is about obeying God’s commands (Cardinal O’Malley’s words), fidelity to the Word of God, and fidelity to the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church which are intended to help us live a life of virtue and holiness: “The roadmap for a meaningful human life that allows us to draw near to God and to one another.“