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Priest's Actions Against Lesbian Stir Uproar

Priest's Actions Against Lesbian Stir Uproar

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A Maryland Catholic priest's denial of communion to a lesbian during her mother's funeral is receiving criticism from her family and others.

In a blog post published on Addicting Info Sunday, Ann Werner described the scene, saying that Father Marcel Guarnizo denied communion to a woman Werner identified only as "my friend Barbara." According to Werner, Guarnizo said, "I cannot give you communion because you live with a woman and that is a sin according to the church." He also left the altar when Barbara delivered a eulogy for her mother, Werner reported.

Today, The Washington Post identified the woman as Barbara Johnson, an artist living in Mount Rainier, Md. She was "clearly stunned" by the priest's action, her brother Larry Johnson told the Post.

The funeral for their mother, Loetta Schoenholz Johnson, was held Saturday at St. John Neumann Catholic Church in Gaithersburg, Md., which is near Washington, D.C. The church is within the Archdiocese of Washington, which released a brief statement to the Post saying Guarnizo's action was against policy and that the archdiocese would investigate it as a personnel matter.

Larry Johnson said he and his sister "agreed this is not a discussion about gay rights, or about the teachings of the Catholic Church. We're not in this to Catholic-bash. That's the farthest thing from our minds. We just want the public square to have knowledge of what this priest did." Some fellow Catholics have shared their distress about the incident, he said.

He added, "What's wrong with a church that at the most vulnerable time of someone's life, someone decides to make a stand in a public way about the state of their soul, without any conversation or inquiry -- how can that be consistent with teachings about Christianity?"

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Trudy Ring

Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.
Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.