Father Gil Martinez celebrates Mass at the Stonewall National Monument on June 17, 2019. / Credit: YouTube/Religion Unplugged 2019
Boston, Mass., Jun 22, 2023 / 12:25 pm (CNA).
A Catholic parish in New York City that planned to have a “Pride Mass” on Thursday at a federal monument with sculptures of two same-sex couples and groups of gay and transgender pride flags has announced a change of location.
The Church of St. Paul the Apostle said in a Wednesday email to parishioners that the National Parks Service informed it that the Stonewall National Monument, which commemorates a June 1969 LGBT uprising against a police raid, “will not be open to the public tomorrow due to concerns over the security of events in the area.”
“Because of this, we will not have access to the park to celebrate our annual Pride Mass scheduled for tomorrow,” the church said in its email.
The Mass will still be held at the Church of St. Paul the Apostle at 6:30 p.m., the email said.
CNA called the Stonewall National Monument to inquire about the security concerns but was unable to reach anyone.
The change of venue comes amid criticism against the parish for its decision to hold a “Pride Mass” and for its choice of location, with some calling it “blasphemous.”
The Church of St. Paul the Apostle is the same church that hosted a controversial art display earlier this year called “God Is Trans,” which also received severe criticism.
Paul Snatchko, a spokesperson for the Paulist Fathers — who run the church — told CNA in June that the point of hosting the “Pride Mass” at Stonewall was to evangelize in the public square by singing hymns and proclaiming the word of God during the liturgy.
The Church of St. Paul the Apostle held a Mass at the Stonewall National Monument in 2019 and a video shows a visiting priest, Father Gil Martinez, celebrating the Mass, saying “Sisters, brothers, siblings, Christ called us here today to this sacred space to commemorate the sacrifice of those who came before us.”
“50 years ago, queers, considered the lowliest of the low, made a stand for their dignity. And though they were beaten by police, they were not broken. Their hope, faith, and rage built the revolution on which we stand. Take a moment to pause and look around you, see their legacy in the faces of those around you. See what God is doing in our world.”
Stonewall National Monument is a 7.7-acre park in the West Village neighborhood of Greenwich Village in Lower Manhattan, New York City, dedicated to “LGBT rights” and history. It was designated as a national monument by President Barack Obama on June 24, 2016.
Father Thomas Petri, OP, a moral theologian and president of the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C., spoke with CNA on June 14 about the parish’s decision, saying that the Mass should not be used to make a political statement.
“Certainly it’s understandable and it’s part of our tradition to celebrate Mass in repentance for our sinfulness, which includes any unjust discrimination against a person or a group,” he said.
“However, it would be inappropriate for any Mass to be celebrated with a political end, and with political flags or campaign posters flying in the sanctuary or among the congregation,” Petri said.
“It would be impious and possibly sacrilegious because it profanes the very purpose of the Mass: The worship of God by the participation in the body and blood of Christ himself.”
Petri said that the Mass is meant to “turn our minds and hearts to things that are above and not to things below.”
“All the more is this the case for the Mass at Stonewall, where the monument, the statues, and the flags carry a meaning that most people rightly identify with a lifestyle, sexual activity, and an ideology that are all contrary both to the Christian understanding of the human person and to a life of chastity and virtue,” he said.
“Insisting upon this is not to say that those who experience same-sex attraction or gender dysphoria are not discriminated against or are unjustified in their pain or anger,” he said.
“Rather, it is to say that reveling in any identity and lifestyle that we know is contrary to living in the freedom of the children of God ultimately damages the soul and can destroy one’s relationship with God,” Petri said.
“It’s not pastoral to facilitate anyone walking that path. There are much better ways to seek justice in the world without abandoning the vocation we all have to grow in holiness,” he said.
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Thousands of pro-life advocates gathered outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 1, 2021, in conjunction with oral arguments in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization abortion case. / Katie Yoder/CNA
Washington D.C., Dec 2, 2021 / 08:04 am (CNA).
Anna Del Duca and daughter, Frances, woke up at 5 a.m. Wednesday morning to brave the 30-degree weather outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. They arrived hours before oral arguments began in the highly-anticipated abortion case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
The case, which involves a Mississippi law restricting most abortions after 15 weeks, challenges two landmark decisions: Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that legalized abortion nationwide, and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which upheld Roe in 1992.
“We’re looking forward to the end of Roe versus Wade in our country,” Anna, who drove from Pittsburgh Tuesday night, told CNA. In her hands, she held a sign reading, “I regret my abortion.”
Anna Del Duca (right) and her daughter, Frances, traveled from Pittsburgh to attend a pro-life rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court on Dec. 1, 2021, in conjunction with oral arguments for the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization abortion case. Katie Yoder/CNA
“I would like to use my testimony to be a blessing to others,” she said, so that “others will choose life or those who have regretted abortion or had an abortion would turn to Jesus.”
Anna remembered having an abortion when she was just 19. Today, she and her daughter run a group called Restorers of Streets to Dwell In Pittsburgh that offers help to women seeking healing after abortion.
Anna and Frances were among thousands of Americans who rallied outside the Supreme Court before, during, and after the oral arguments. To accommodate them, law enforcement closed the street in front of the court. Capitol police also placed fencing in the space in front of the building in an attempt to physically separate rallies held by abortion supporters and pro-lifers.
At 21-weeks pregnant, pro-life speaker Alison Centofante emceed the pro-life rally, called, “Empower Women Promote Life.” The event featured a slew of pro-life women of diverse backgrounds and numerous politicians.
“It’s funny, there were so many diverse speakers today that the only unifying thread was that we want to protect preborn children,” Centofante told CNA. They included Democrats, Republicans, Christians, Catholics, agnostics, atheists, women who chose life, and women who regretted their abortions, she said.
She recognized women there, including Aimee Murphy, as people who are not the typical “cookie cutter pro-lifer.”
Aimee Murphy, 32, founder of pro-life group Rehumanize International, arrived at the Supreme Court around 6:30 a.m. She drove from Pittsburgh the night before. Her sign read, “Queer Latina feminist rape survivor against abortion.”“At Rehumanize International, we oppose all forms of aggressive violence,” she told CNA. “Even as a secular and non-partisan organization, we understand that abortion is the most urgent cause that we must stand against in our modern day and age because it takes on average over 800,000 lives a year.”
She also had a personal reason for attending.
“When I was 16 years old, I was raped and my rapist then threatened to kill me if I didn’t have an abortion,” she revealed.
“It was when he threatened me that I felt finally a solidarity with unborn children and I understood then that, yeah, the science told me that a life begins at conception, but that I couldn’t be like my abusive ex and pass on the violence and oppression of abortion to another human being — that all that I would be doing in having an abortion would be telling my child, ‘You are an inconvenience to me and to my future, therefore I’m going to kill you,’ which is exactly the same thing that my rapist was telling me when he threatened to kill me.”
On the other side of the police fence, the Center for Reproductive Rights and the National Abortion Access Coalition and NARAL Pro-Choice America participated in another rally. Yellow balloons printed with the words “BANS OFF OUR BODIES” escaped into the sky. Several pro-choice demonstrators declined to speak with CNA.
Voices clashed in the air as people, the majority of whom were women, spoke into their respective microphones at both rallies. Abortion supporters stressed bodily autonomy, while pro-lifers recognized the humanity of the unborn child. Chants arose from both sides at different points, from “Whose choice? My choice!” to “Hey hey, ho ho, Roe v. Wade has got to go!”
At 10 a.m., the pro-life crowd sudddenly went silent as the oral arguments began and the rally paused temporarily as live audio played through speakers.
Hundreds of students from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, traveled to Washington, D.C. for a pro-life rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court on Dec. 1, 2021, in conjunction with oral arguments in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization abortion case. Katie Yoder/CNA
During the oral arguments, students from Liberty University knelt in prayer. One student estimated that more than a thousand students from the school made the more than 3-hour trip from Lynchburg, Virginia.
“Talking about our faith is one thing, but actually acting upon it is another,” he said. “We have to be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ. So to me this is part of doing that.”
Sister Mary Karen, who has been with the Sisters of Life for 21 years, also stressed the importance of prayer. She drove from New York earlier that morning because, she said, she felt drawn to attend. She came, she said, to pray for the country and promote the dignity of a human person.
“Our culture is post-abortive,” she explained. “So many people have suffered and the loss of human life is so detrimental, just not knowing that we have value and are precious and sacred.”
Theresa Bonopartis, of Harrison, New York, was among the pro-life demonstrators outside the U.S. Supreme Court on Dec. 1, 2021. She runs a nonprofit group called Entering Canaan that ministers to women and others wounded by abortion. Katie Yoder/CNA
She stood next to Theresa Bonopartis, who traveled from Harrison, New York, and ministers to women and others wounded by abortion.
“I’ve been fighting abortion for 30 years at least,” she told CNA.
Her ministry, called Entering Canaan, began with the Sisters of Life and is observing its 25th anniversary this year. It provides retreats for women, men, and even siblings of aborted babies.
Abortion is personal for Bonopartis, who said she had a coerced abortion when she was just 17.
“I was kicked out of the house by my father and then coerced into getting an abortion,” she said. “Pretty much cut me off from everything, and that’s something people don’t really talk about … they make it try to seem like it’s a woman’s right, it’s a free choice. It’s all this other stuff, but many women are coerced in one way or another.”
She guessed that she was 14 or 15 weeks pregnant at the time.
“I saw my son. I had a saline abortion, so I saw him, which I always considered a blessing because it never allowed me to deny what abortion was,” she said. Afterward, she said she struggled with self-esteem issues, hating herself, guilt, shame, and more. Then, she found healing.
“I know what that pain is like, I know what that experience is like, and you know that you can get past it,” she said. “You just want to be able to give that message to other people, that they’re able to heal.”
Residents of Mississippi, where the Dobbs v. Jackson case originated, also attended.
Marion, who declined to provide her last name, drove from Mississippi to stand outside the Supreme Court. She said she was in her early 20s when Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973.
“At the time, of course, I could care less,” she said. Since then, she had a change of heart.
“We were the generation that allowed it,” she said, “and so we are the generation who will help close that door and reverse it.”
Marion, who declined to provide her last name, was among those who attended a pro-life rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court on Dec. 1, 2021, from Mississippi, where the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization abortion case originated. Katie Yoder/CNA
The crowd at the pro-life rally included all ages, from those who had witnessed Roe to bundled-up babies, children running around, and college students holding up homemade signs.
One group of young friends traveled across the country to stand outside the Supreme Court. They cited their faith and family as reasons for attending.
Mathilde Steenepoorte, 19, from Green Bay, Wisconsin, identified herself as “very pro-life” in large part because of her younger brother with Down syndrome. She said she was saddened by the abortion rates of unborn babies dianosed with Down syndrome.
Juanito Estevez, from Freeport, a village on Long Island, New York, at a pro-life rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court on Dec. 1, 2021. Katie Yoder/CNA
Juanito Estevez, from Freeport, a village on Long Island, New York, arrived Tuesday. He woke up at 6 a.m. to arrive at the Supreme Court with a crucifix in hand.
“I believe that God is the giver of life and we don’t have the right [to decide] whether a baby should live or die,” he said.
He also said that he believed women have been lied to about abortion.
“We say it’s their right, and there’s a choice,” he said. When girls tell him “I have the right,” his response, he said, is to ask back, “You have the right for what?”
Mallory Finch, from Charlotte, North Carolina, was among the pro-life demonstrators outside the U.S. Supreme Court on Dec. 1, 2021.
Mallory Finch, from Charlotte, North Carolina, also woke up early but emphasized “it was worth it.” A pro-life podcast host, she called abortion a “human-rights issue.”
“I hope that it overturns Roe,” she said of the case, “but that doesn’t mean that our job as pro-lifers is done. It makes this, really, just the beginning.”
CNA Staff, Sep 18, 2020 / 06:01 pm (CNA).- Reflecting Friday on the state of the 2018 Vatican-China deal, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo noted that the human rights situation in China has deteriorated in recent years, and that the “moral witne… […]
One of the priests on “The Sacristy of the Vendée”show sparked a firestorm after quipping in February that he prayed that Pope Francis would “go to heaven as soon as possible.” / Credit: LSDLV
People like this – and they are many – ALWAYS play the victim card. They can’t NOT do it – it’s in their DNA, the very air they breathe, in their blood itself.
That’s the goal though of the ideology that same sex attraction is in the DNA in the same way ethnicity is. We can’t discriminate against something unchosen and inherent.
Once you buy into that ideology all the rest of the rationalizations follow.
So, I understand that a priest is not generally allowed to celebrate a nuptial mass of faithful Catholic couples at a park or beach or garden because it is considered inappropriate. But this “pride mass” which celebrates illegitimate sexual activity which is contrary to church norms, is given the OK to be held outside? There is something genuinely wrong with priests who believe this is ok , or an activity that God would applaud. Such priests should be returned to civilian life and stripped of their ability to celebrate mass. Bravo to Father Petri for speaking his mind on the subject so clearly.
Pride Mass. Isn’t that an oxymoron (to repeat myself)?
Not that anybody asked but I’m done with pride – pride flag, pride month, pride parade, pride anything.
People like this – and they are many – ALWAYS play the victim card. They can’t NOT do it – it’s in their DNA, the very air they breathe, in their blood itself.
That’s the goal though of the ideology that same sex attraction is in the DNA in the same way ethnicity is. We can’t discriminate against something unchosen and inherent.
Once you buy into that ideology all the rest of the rationalizations follow.
So, I understand that a priest is not generally allowed to celebrate a nuptial mass of faithful Catholic couples at a park or beach or garden because it is considered inappropriate. But this “pride mass” which celebrates illegitimate sexual activity which is contrary to church norms, is given the OK to be held outside? There is something genuinely wrong with priests who believe this is ok , or an activity that God would applaud. Such priests should be returned to civilian life and stripped of their ability to celebrate mass. Bravo to Father Petri for speaking his mind on the subject so clearly.
Pride Mass. Isn’t that an oxymoron (to repeat myself)?
Not that anybody asked but I’m done with pride – pride flag, pride month, pride parade, pride anything.