LifeSite: Abp Nienstedt Denies Communion to Same-Sex ‘Marriage’ Advocates

ST. PAUL, Minnesota, October 6, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Archbishop of St. Paul-Minneapolis has denied communion to members of a group that included three nuns and a priest, who wore symbols expressing their opposition to Catholic Church teaching on marriage and homosexuality.

The group expressed frustration after Archbishop John C. Nienstedt withheld the sacrament from them because they wore rainbow buttons and sashes signaling their support for same-sex "marriage" and homosexuality. The archbishop, who was celebrating his first student Mass at St. John's on September 26, instead gave a blessing to members of the group, which included students from St. John's University[hard to believe! /sarcasm] and the College of St. Benedict, as well as three nuns and a priest. Rainbow Sash Movement leader Brian McNeil said the group acted independently of his organization.

Elizabeth Gleich, a St. Benedict sophomore and board member of People Representing the Sexual Minority (PRiSM), said that her group had intended to "make a statement" against the archbishop's support for traditional marriage. She criticized Nienstedt for "mak[ing] these extreme statements" by denying the group communion. Gleich, who was wearing a sash, was given communion in another line at the same liturgy.

Another PRiSM member, Ana Seivert, complained in a Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) report that the archbishop's action was "political." "We weren't the ones who made it political," she said. "Once the archbishop denied communion, he made it political."  [?  Observing canon law at a Catholic religious service is political?  They would love nothing else than to see us deny Christ or have every single one of our churches burnt to the ground.]

Archdiocese spokesman Dennis McGrath said the church has told the Rainbow Sash Movement "for years" that members "cannot receive communion if you wear the rainbow sash, because it's a political statement, a sign of protest," according to the Star Tribune. "Going to the communion rail is the most sacred part of our faith, the Eucharist. We don't allow anybody to make political statements or any kind of protest."

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