Pentecost Sunday, St. Paul, MN,
May 27, 2007
At the noon Mass at the Cathedral of St. Paul Fr.
John Paul Erickson issued a stern rebuke to those wearing the Rainbow
Sash, accusing them of using the Eucharist to draw attention to
themselves, and as a setting of protest. Ignoring the numerous
statements from the Rainbow Sash Alliance that wearing the Rainbow Sash
is a symbol of celebration, Fr. Erickson used the high altar of the
cathedral as a bully pulpit to exhort Rainbow Sash wearers to remove
the Rainbow Sash in humble obedience to the wishes of the Church
hierarchy. Fifteen people wearing the Rainbow Sash proceeded to
the communion table where they were denied Eucharist, and sent away
with a blessing. Years of requests for meetings with
Archbishop Harry Flynn to discuss lgbt issues have been ignored or gone
unanswered. Rather than talk to those who are glbt or their
allies, the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis prefers to
pontificate. Rather than engage in useful dialogue with fellow baptized believers, it demands silent acquiescence to nonnegotiable dictates. Rather than show respect for lgbt Catholics, it does its utmost to stamp out the Church's own teaching on the primacy of conscience. At each Pentecost since 2005, the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has made a mockery of the Eucharist, turning it into political theater, and dramatizing its own bigotry against lgbt Catholics.
Brian McNeill
Organizer, Rainbow Sash Alliance USA