By now you've likely heard the story of how this past Saturday morning, at Saint John Neumann Catholic Church in Maryland, Barbara Johnson was denied holy communion by the priest officiating at the funeral of her beloved mother.
At the crucial, deeply personal moment in the Mass when Barbara, a life-long Catholic, expected Father Marcel Guarnizo to utter "the body of Christ" as he offered her the communal host, Fr. Marcel instead covered with his hand the communal bowl, and offered Barbara a quick lecture on why she is an abomination before God.
"I cannot give you communion," he said, "because you live with a woman. And that is a sin according to the church."
Fr. Marcel was made aware that Barbara is gay when she and her partner of 19 years met with him that morning well before the service began. It was his ecclesiastic responsibility at that meeting offer to take Barbara's confession and then grant her absolution; this would have allowed him to then in good conscience offer her communion later. And Barbara would have certainly been pleased to do a confession with Fr. Guarnizo.
"Obviously, I don't think being gay is a sin," she told me. "But this wasn't about me. This was about about my wonderful mother having the beautiful funeral that she deserved. So yes, I would have let Father Marcel grant me absolution."
But Fr. Marcel failed to offer Barbara that rite.
Strike one.
Then he denied Barbara communion.
Strike two.
Then, at the moment Barbara began delivering her mother's eulogy, he made a point of rising from his seat and walking off the alter.
Strike three.
Then, after the funeral service, Father Knows Worst hid in his chambers, and after 15 minutes sent out word that he would not be accompanying the grieving party to the cemetery, leaving no one to properly bury Barbara's mother, a life-long devout Catholic.
Yikes, man. Could this guy be more of a disaster?
I spoke with Barbara on the phone the day before this story hit. She is an intelligent, kind, sensitive woman. She was extremely close to her mother, who fully accepted and loved Barbara's partner as if she were another daughter.
Barbara and her brothers, all raised deeply Catholic, are still reeling by what Fr. Marcel did at the funeral.
And the Internet, of course, was on this story like Brylcreem on the head of Fr. Guarnizo:
The story of what happened at the funeral of Mrs. Johnson is tailor-made for people eager to prove that religion or Catholicism is evil. It's like a 10-pound steak thrown into a dog pound.
And if you know me, you know I don't exactly have a problem with denouncing aspects of religion and/or theology that in any way promulgate the condemnation of LGBT people. If the steak is right, I'm happy to belly right up with the other dogs.
But there's meat on this steak upon which so far no one's been chewing. (Wow. Best metaphor ever!) And that meat is this: While there's no question that Father No Communion For You! picked a spectacularly horrendous time to bare his bigoted fangs, he is also the sole villainous Catholic in a story starring a great many Catholic heroes.
Yes, Fr. Guarnizo denied Barbara communion. But almost immediately thereafter a layperson acting as the service's Eucharistic Minister did lovingly serve Barbara communion.
Yes, Fr. Guarnizo essentially shunned Barbara. But directly following the service (and to a necessarily lesser degree during the service), Barbara was also surrounded and hugged by fellow Catholics who made a point of telling her that Fr. Marcel in no way represented the love of the Church.
Yes, Fr. Guarnizo shamelessly refused to go to the cemetery. But immediately thereupon the funeral director ("an angel," says Barbara) comforted Barbara with assurances that he would quickly secure a priest to perform the burial. He then turned to Fr. Peter Sweeney, who wasted no time at all stepping right out of his retirement, and right into the Johnson funeral service.
"Father Sweeney was perfect," says Barbara. "We couldn't have asked for a kinder, more loving priest. Both Father Sweeney and the funeral director acted as soothing balms on our very scarred hearts."
When the head of Saint John Neumann's, Fr. LaHood, was made aware of what had happened at the Johnson funeral, he phoned Barbara to apologize. Barbara played for me Fr. LaHood's message. It left nothing on the table: his apology was sincere, obviously heartfelt and accompanied by every last means to reach him, including his personal cell and home phone number.
After Barbara later met with Fr. LaHood, she reported that, "He was very kind, compassionate and apologetic."
Even the Archdiocese of Washington rushed to repudiate Fr. Guarnizo's actions via this statement released Monday:
In matters of faith and morals, the Church has the responsibility of teaching and of bringing the light of the Gospel message to the circumstances of our day. When questions arise about whether or not an individual should present themselves for communion, it is not the policy of the Archdiocese of Washington to publicly reprimand the person. Any issues regarding the suitability of an individual to receive communion should be addressed by the priest with that person in a private, pastoral setting.
The archdiocese is looking into the incident at a funeral Mass that was celebrated by Fr. Marcel Guarnizo and will handle this as a personnel issue.
"Before we will feel resolution," Barbara told me, "my family wants a public apology from Father Marcel, and to see him removed from parish life. Our purpose is that he never be allowed to harm another family in this way again."
Again: fair enough.
And in our thinking about this we of course also want to be fair. So then let us not fail to appreciate that in this matter, for this family, on this hallowed occasion, it was their religion, and their fellow adherents to that religion, that provided the peace, succor and communion that served to bless all present. Fr. Guarnizo's hatred of some people failed to eclipse God's love for all people, and if anything highlighted people's capacity for loving and comforting one another. Neither the Johnson family, nor the spirit of Barbara's mother, lost in this affair. The loss is entirely Fr. Guarnizo's.
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Father Marcel Guarnizo, Maryland Priest, Denies Communion To ...
Lesbian Barbara Johnson Says Father Marcel Guarnizo Denied Her ...
The Scriptures say do not take communion not having repented -- asked forgiveness and determined not to do it again.
I guess she hadn't, as she continues in her relationship/"Lifestyle"
So then any way you slice it, Catholic or not, she is in error,. Serious error.
However, I'm not sure why you thought that a priest would or even could offer absolution in confession to a penitent that had no intention of turning away from the confessed behavior. The sacrament doesn't work that way, despite popular misconception. In fact, the act of contrition recited by the penitent requires a firm resolution to turn away from sin and avoid things that lead to sin.
I suspect none had been to Confession. If we are all sinners, then surely it's fifty-fifty that any of the Apostles present were too. And yet Jesus handed each His Body. Who is a mere priest to do otherwise?
Do you think Barbara wanders from one Catholic church to the next, announcing her sexual orientation and then daring to receive the Eucharist?
This was her mother's funeral mass, for God's sake.
We and these priests and religious advocates are not God so what gives us the right to judge someone and deny them anything for being who they are.
While the priests of the Catholic Church are not God, they have received certain authority and responsibility through their receipt of the Sacrament of Ordination.... including the obligation to follow His teachings and commands.
I disagree. The laws against "sexual sin" were more about keeping the Israelites (and later, Christians) from getting seduced by "strange gods" than they were about "sexual deviance" in and of itself. Moreover, I'm not sure how much of that came from God Himself (Herself?) and how much of that came from religious leaders who were afraid of losing their flock.
But unless he was indeed ill,not completing the funeral (in an older theology basically deliberately damning the mother for all eternity because of the sins of the daughter) was not merely hateful and mean spirited it was actually both a sinful act and contrary to his vows. And had he been struck by some illness that prevented him from carrying out his scared duties, he should have been the one to arrange another priest to stand in for him.
Thank God for Fr. Sweeney (literally). He at least was true to his vows and the spirit of his vocation.
As somebody who was trained to the clergy I am sympathetic, often overly so I'm told, to the conflicts between obedience, doctrine, and compassion faced all to often by those who took final vows. (Indeed it was the oath of obedience and knowing I would at some point break it just because that held me back at the last.) But unless his Fr. Marcel's failure to complete the rite was due to a sudden stomach flu or other physical problem - he failed greatly in his office.
I actually attend St John Neumann Church and personally know Fr Marcel. He is a good man, but he is by far the strictest priest I know. So, that this occurred doesn't surprise me. I would expect nothing less from him. These are his ways and I have tremendous respect for him. He is extremely careful with the Holy Sacraments, as he should be. They are the epitome of the catholic religion. We believe it is Christ himself and it's not to be given away mindlessly.Â
She couldn't just go into the confessional and ask for forgiveness when she doesn't regret anything. It's not a stamp placed on your forehead and you're free to go. In the confessional, the priest has every right to deny absolution if he sees that the person doesn't truly repent their sins.Â
Having said that, I don't believe Fr Marcel was completely in the right. I understand him denying communion, but not leaving during the eulogy and not completing the funeral.Â
I also feel that he should have gone on to the cemetary for the burial rite .... but that was his call.
As to giving absolution to a sinner who does not mean to forgoe the sinful state, it cannot be done. Had Mz. Johnson told him before the funeral and asked him to hear her confession, and repented for her sin, and agreed to end it the "relationship", I am certain she would have received absolution and been able to receive the Eucharist.
I just which that more bishops had the courage to publically excommunicate the politicians and others who are outside of Christ's Church by their actions, but still profess to be Catholics.
Yup. Otherwise the confession would've been a farce. The priest was absolutely in the right to deny communion. Glad to see there are priests who actually follow the rules. His other behavior is questionable, but who knows the real story...
Reminds me of that scene in Luke 18 where Jesus was about to heal somebody when the synagogue leader interrupted him, reminding him that it was wrong for him to heal on the Sabbath. Naturally, Jesus apologized immediately for going against the rules and urged the woman in need of healing to come back the next day. Oh wait. That's not what happened at all. Nevermind.
If he is consistent, then I can call him Father Marcel. Otherwise, he is biased and selective in his beliefs and not worthy of that title.
The church needs to wake up and act with compassion. This was not compassionate sweetie - walking off during a eulogy. If you and other Catholics think it was, then I definitely know I need a new place of worship - one that celebrates love, compassion, and acceptance - the message Jesus preached and Mr. Marcel has destroyed.
Let me see if I understand this. She presented herself for communion knowing that as a practicing lesbian (and a former Catholic) she could not recieve it. He denied it and gave her a reason which is in line with Church teaching to explain why he could not.
He hurt her pride and her sense of entitlement and she feels that the proper punishment for that is his destruction as a priest.
Oh, ok, yeah, thats fair.
"~~ Oh, ok, yeah, thats fair. ~~"
Yes, it is.
By the way Eddy, when was the last time you ran around your neighborhood Walmart stoning the employees to death for working on the Sabbath?
Because, as you say--"One either follows the law of God, or you don't."