Posted on 05/31/2005 4:16:22 PM PDT by NYer
Most of you have seen the picture of a priest baptizing a naked baby by dipping its butt into a baptismal "pool". It constituted a thread here on FR and we all wondered where this had taken place.
The full story appeared today in The Wanderer. Here it is, hand transcribed.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. - The Diocese of Rochester’s Sacred Heart Cathedral, which Bishop Matthew Clark insists is the model for Catholic worship for the entire diocese, was the setting for a bizarre baptismal ritual of questionable validity on Pentecost Sunday, as Rainbow Sashers received Communion.
Sometimes known as The Coalition in Defense of Church Teaching, the Ushers of the Eucharist, Rochester chapter, encountered more than they bargained for.
Members of the Rainbow Sash had warned the nation that they were storming the cathedrals and churches to protest the “homophobic” Pope Benedict XVI, to defy Catholic doctrine, and to commit sacrilege in the process. However, Rochester’s local chapter was very low key this year, although members had been welcomed at Sacred Heart Cathedral for the last four years with their red, blue, green, yellow, and orange sashes wrapped around their shoulders and waists.
Upon entry to the cathedral atrium prior to the 9:30am Mass, an Usher of the Eucharist, Rochester encountered the head usher, Mr. Stevenson (city councilman), and Fr. Murphy and stated he was looking for Rainbow Sashers. He was promptly told they had not been seen nor heard from.
Curiously, Charled Mudge, leader of the Rochester Chapter of Rainbow Sash (as well as Dignity), was sitting in a chair (chairs replaced all pews during the “wreckovation” designed by Albany priest Richard Vosko) in the cathedral with his sash proudly displayed.
Mudge pops up every year at this time to exhibit his talents for defying Church teaching with the blessing of Bishop Clark and the priests and staff of Sacred Heart Cathedral, and so lay Catholic observers were ready with their cameras and video-recorders to document the event.
Fr. Joseph Marcoux, a recent graduate of the American College at Louvain, the diocese’s “poster boy” for vocations, as well as an activist for gay rights in the Church, was in front of the new baptismal font with three families preparing them for the Baptisms of their infants.
Some kind of preparatory liturgy was performed at 9:30am, when Mass was scheduled to start. It was a joyous gathering with much inclusion of those observing from their chairs.
Mass began and after the offertory, Fr. Marcoux marched to the large baptismal font (which looks like an overdone sauna) near the front doors, and proceeded to start a strange baptismal ritual for three infants.
Fr. Marcoux took each of the naked babies from each mother’s arms and carried the infants naked one after another to the “pools of living waters”.
At that point, individually, each one of the naked infants’ backsides was dipped into the water three times, while Fr. Marcoux called out in sequence to each dip of the backside, “Father, Son and Holy Spirit.”
It appears the “forward-looking” Diocese of Rochester has invented its own form of Baptism.
This reporter turned to an off duty priest who happened to be standing near and said: “Father, that is not a valid Baptism.” The priest responded: “Yes it is, it is an immersion, how do we know how Jesus was baptized?”
I followed up laughing, saying that what we had just witnessed was not an immersion; we had witnessed the dipping of infants’ bottoms.
Fr. Marcoux then proceeded to read further from a book he had with him related to the scenario we had just witnessed. He then went to each infant and poured an excessive amount of water over their heads (they were in their mother’s arms at this point, naked but wrapped in a white towel). However, Fr. Marcoux said absolutely nothing while doing this, which is confirmed by the video-audiotape.
He then massaged the water into their heads and then kissed the infants individually.
A “liturgy” followed which included some illicit rubrics by Fr. Marcoux, including lifting a four inch diameter host high over his head and breaking it in two for crumbs to spill everywhere, and adding at the end of the Agnus Dei, “Welcome to the banquet of love.”
At Communion time, Mudge, in his Rainbow Sash, left his chair to proceed to the Communion line. This reporter approached him and stated: “Mr. Mudge, you should not do this. It is an insult to the Holy Father, a sacrilege and a political attack on Church teaching.”
Immediately, Tom Riley (a local ferryboat entrepreneur, whose business involved shttling gay cruises from Rochester to Toronto), and his wife Barbara Kelly (a PR specialist with Bausch & Lomb, and leader of the cathedral wreckovation committees), rose and pushed me aside, and stepped in front of Mudge. I did not push back but continued in the Communion line.
Fr. Marcoux was giving Communion on the right and a female extraordinary minister next to him was giving Communion for our line. We were all in the middle aisle. Fr. Marcoux leaned over to the extraordinary minister and advised her as we were approaching them. I raised my arms and informed the extraordinary minister and Fr. Marcoux that a “political protest and attack on Church teaching was behind me. Don’t give Communion to Rainbow Sash.”
Fr. Marcoux ignored me and the extraordinary minister blinked and her eyes went blank.
I moved aside to take pictures if necessary, but was blocked by staff and Riley.
Tom and his wife, Barbara, left the Communion line in front of Mudge, but positioned themselved fore and aft of Charles as they walked to their seats; nevertheless, I was able to photograph Charlie in his sash, Barbara in front of him and Tom following as they moved away after receiving Communion. However, the staff and the husband/wife team were paying so much attention to me that our video camera man got the whole scenario from the “Baptisms” to the reception of Communion by Mudge with his sash clearly wrapped around him.
LOL!!!
I didn't expect the Spanish Inquisition!!!
(looking toward the door, awaiting the arrival of the men in red....)
(drum roll...............)
Thank you for posting that thread listing the "gay friendly" churches. I printed the California list. I was nodding as I read the parish names. Yep, they all fit the bill.
47 posted on 06/01/2005 10:02:58 AM EDT by GipperGal
That is just plain weird!!
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