Posted on 07/10/2012 8:31:31 AM PDT by marshmallow
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, NBC Washington.com reported at the time, and now he is leaving for good.
“Fr. Marcel Guarnizo is a priest of the Archdiocese of Moscow, Russia, who was given a temporary assignment at St. John Neumann parish,” Chieko Noguchi Scheve, director of media and public relations at the Archdiocese of Washington, wrote in an email to msnbc.com. “That assignment period has ended and Father Guarnizo is no longer in ministry in the Archdiocese of Washington.”
When reached by telephone, Scheve declined further comment on the matter.
Barbara Johnson, the woman who was refused communion, had been asking the archdiocese to remove the priest. A Washington Post reporter first noted on Twitter that Guarnizo’s assignment was over.
Johnson, a 51-year-old founding director of a small art center, attended her mom's funeral with her partner of nearly 20 years at St. John Neumann on Feb. 25. When it came time for communion, Guarnizo “issued a strong admonition that only Catholics in a state of grace can receive communion,” Johnson told msnbc.com.
“I went up. I was standing next to my mother’s casket and he covered the bowl, and said, ‘I cannot give you communion because you are with a woman, and in the eyes of the church, that is a sin.’ I stood there with my mouth open in a state of shock for -- I don’t know how long,” she said.
Guarnizo also didn’t attend her mother’s burial, Johnson said. She told msnbc.com on Monday that she was relieved..........
(Excerpt) Read more at usnews.msnbc.msn.com ...
lesbians 1, Catholic church 0
There is a lot of this story missing from this account
Like the report she pulled the priest aside before the funeral to introduce her homosexual lover and he advised her not to seek communion without repentance
lesbians 1, Catholic church 0
There is a lot of this story missing from this account
Like the report she pulled the priest aside before the funeral to introduce her homosexual lover and he advised her not to seek communion without repentance
Wow. Lemme get this straight. An non-Catholic lesbian has more power within the Church than an ordained Priest? She wanted him gone and the Church got rid of him. Well, at least he now knows who does and doesn’t have his back. Simply amazing!
Source: MSNBC
‘Nuff said...
But bugger little boys, and it’s perfectly okiley-dokiley.
Do you work for MSNBC?
she cared about Church authority- she chose her mother’s funeral as an occasion to challenge Church authority
and apparently she won
I agree, and the missing parts tell a different story than the woman presented. At least the priest's response was included where he defended his actions.
“Knowing that he will not be able to visit such pain on another family in the Washington archdiocese gives me and my family a lot of comfort.”
She may find God's 'pain' far superior.
“Our primary job is to teach and try to convince people. The tradition in our country has not been in the direction of refusing Communion, and I think it’s served us well.”
—Archbishop Wuerl
You have to hand it to him, the last 40 years really highlight this winning strategery. I mean it has served us all well, like he says. Someone should let him manage the all star game. Trying to convince without public discipline is maybe the best way to convince, like he says.
Freegards
@dfwgator: How about you keep your predilections to yourself?
You deny they canned this priest a heck of a lot quicker than those accused of molestation?
Excuse me? Sez who?
Barbara Johnson and her family are not members of the parish and they are not Catholics. In fact, they are bigoted anti-Catholics who have recently made several hateful statements about Catholics. However, when it was requested that the parish provide a funeral for the family the parish graciously did. Father Marcel officiated though he was sick that day.
Neither Barbara Johnson or her lesbian lover showed any appreciation for the people of the parish and father providing a service for her mother. They entered the church in a confrontational attitude, were very rude and tried to provoke Father.
Father quietly counseled her that Holy Communion was only for Catholics in the state of grace. So quietly that the lay Eucharistic minister standing close by did not hear him. Ms. Johnson took communion from the Eucharistic minister. Father was accused of walking out on the eulogy. This was a lie. Father was accused of not attending the burial. The burial was held many miles from the church. Father arranged for another priest to preside at the burial because he was not feeling well.
Barbara Johnson immediately went to the media and lied repeatedly about what happened. The TV news and the Washington Post printed her story without checking the facts.
The parish and pastor received hundreds of abusive, insulting and obscene phone calls and emails in the weeks following the incident. Father Marcel was asked to leave the parish.
Now the lies are repeated again by the media.
Who asked him to leave? You don't fire a priest based on false accusations.
I know someone who was present at the funeral, knows Ms. Johnson and her family, and I can pretty much confirm everything you have posted.
sitetest
Father was not fired. He was officially part of the Diocese of Moscow and visiting the Diocese of Washington. He took a short leave from duties after the incident but remained in the parish. A couple of weeks later he left the parish. It was not said who asked him to leave. It was said he was relieved of responsibilities while an investigation was ongoing. It was said this was no reflection on his performance at the funeral.
You do fire him if you are a spineless weasel more afraid of unrepentant sinners than of following God’s Word.
Sadly, in today’s America ,the perverts are celebrated while the righteoous are punished.
The laws that attempted to force business owners to treat blacks well are used to force everyone to accept perverts.
As the song says”Satan is laughing in delight...”
56
Message to anyone who believes the lies of this article or who uses it as a pretext for piling on — think twice cause they’ll get around to trashing your church soon
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