What should we do if someone is denied communion?

[hedgehog]

In this case :

In that meeting, Johnson said Guarnizo never offered his condolences for her mother's passing. And when he asked Johnson's partner who she was, she replied, "I'm her partner."
Johnson said during the Mass, Guarnizo -- without having spoken again to her in private -- denied her Communion, saying, "I can't give you Communion because you live with a woman, and in the eyes of the church, that is a sin."
In shock and dismay, Johnson's friends and family did not take Communion.

http://ncronline.org/news/people/communion-denied-grieving-deprived-woman-spurned-funeral-mass

If one person is turned away,

should everyone else step away?

should everyone ignore the situation

should someone share communion with that person by breaking the Host?

[rug]

1. What a great question!

If I was standing behind her I hope I'd have the presence of mind to turn around and walk back down the aisle.

[tjwmason]

2. The congregation shouldn't get involved at the time

In the context of a Mass being celebrated it's not easy to tell cases such as non-Catholics who wander up not realising what's going on.

If a member of the faithful sees an event which does raise their concerns, then they should contact the Priest being ready to escalate to the Diocese if needed.

The decision to administer Communion has to be the Priest's, and he has to be responsible to the Bishop for any decisions which he takes.

[47of74]

3. It pained me to read some of the comments in the NCR article

Namely the ones from the more Catholic than Jesus brigade.

[meow2u3]

4. That all depends on why someone's being denied Communion

If the priest knows he or she's not Catholic, or has been excommunicated, it's his duty to deny Communion.

AFAIK, priests are not supposed to deny communion for political reasons.

[kanrok]

6. It's regrettable

That Ms. Johnson chose her mother's funeral Mass to make a political statement.

[hedgehog]

7. In point of fact, it appears that it was the other way around-

that it was the priest who chose her mother's funeral Mass to make a political statement!

GAITHERSBURG, Md. -- Two weeks after Fr. Marcel Guarnizo reportedly denied Communion to a lesbian woman at her mother's funeral, the Washington Archdiocese suspended him from priestly ministry -- but for other reasons, said Fr. Thomas LaHood, pastor of St. John Neumann Church in Gaithersburg, where Guarnizo had been parochial vicar for the past year.
At Sunday Masses over the weekend, LaHood read a letter from Bishop Barry C. Knestout, Washington archdiocesan vicar general, announcing Guarnizo had been removed from the parish and barred from priestly ministry in the archdiocese until issues surrounding his behavior are resolved.
It said his removal followed "credible allegations" that the priest"has engaged in intimidating behavior toward parish staff and others that is incompatible with proper priestly ministry."
Before reading the letter, LaHood said he had been in discussions with Knestout about Guarnizo in the last week, but he said emphatically, "The issue discussed this week did not have to do with the distribution of Communion two weeks ago. Let me repeat that: The issue discussed this week did not have to do with the distribution of Communion two weeks ago. The issue pertains to actions over the past week or so."

http://ncronline.org/news/people/priest-who-denied-lesbian-woman-communion-suspended-other-reasons

[kanrok]

8. One would have to ask the obvious question then

Why did Ms. Johnson feel it necessary to go to the press?

I grant you that the local rules of the Diocese make it more appropriate for the priest to deal with the issue in a different manner, but he was placed in a difficult position by Ms. Johnson.

The funeral Mass was on Saturday, April 27, 2012.

The Washington Post story was the first, then it was all over the media by April 29, 2012:

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/Religion/post/2012/02/gay-catholic-communion-funeral/1#.T2NEGcWPVu0

http://articles.nydailynews.com/2012-03-01/news/31114933_1_communion-tv-station-catholic-schools

I find it rather disingenuous that Ms. Johnson claims she was so embarrassed by the situation, yet she had no problem reiterating her story to the Washington Post, WJZ-TV, MSNBC and other outlets I'm sure I missed.

Sorry, but this just smacks of political opportunism.

[hedgehog]

9. It was a friend of Ms Johnson who blogged about the incident.

The story went viral, and Ms. Johnson was contacted by various media sources and gave her side of the story. She and her family have nothing to be embarrassed about.

Political opportunism? On one side we have a woman who previous to this lived quietly with her partner. She lost her mother to a sudden illness, and attended her mother's funeral expecting what any faithful Catholic would expect at such a time. She reacted so quietly to this insult that most people present were unaware of it at the time.

On the other hand, we have a young man with a history of spectacular showmanship; first priest ordained in modern times in Moscow, speaker at numerous conferences on Eastern Europe, star of the local Pro-life circuit, etc.Reading between the lines, it appears that he was asked to leave Russia because he was aggravating relations between the Roman Catholic and Russian Orthodox Churches. Is it only coincidence that he denied the Eucharist to this woman just as Maryland legalized same sex marriage?


But let us say that this is political opportunism by Ms. Johnson. She then is guilty of using this horrendous incident to expose to other Catholics exactly happens when the current official teachings on same sex relations are enforced. Real people are humiliated and hurt daily not because they are sinners but because the hierarchy insists they are sinners! It's time for this to stop!

[kanrok]

10. Sounds like you are taking one side of the story as "gospel"

Which, of course, is fine. But I wouldn't ignore the other side of the coin.

And, no, it is not a coincidence that this story went viral just as Maryland legalized same sex marriage.

The press takes great glee in stories like this. Especially during Lent.

The timing was perfect.

What I take issue with is Ms. Johnson's availability to the press.

If she was so affected by this occurring, why continue to re-live it.

I'm afraid I'm a tad bit more skeptical of her story than you.

Not to say I agree with what the priest did, but he was not the one who drove this story.

[hedgehog]

11. Having run into my share of priests, both good and bad,

I feel confident in my ability of reading a situation.

There have been a number of recent incidents in which gay men have been fired from their jobs as teachers or musicians because they chose to live honest lives. It was OK for them to be gay, it was even OK for them to live with partners as long as they kept it on the down low. I think this is the background that caused Ms Johnson's story to go viral.

I applaud Ms. Johnson's willingness to put her face out in public in an attempt to protect others from being hurt as she was hurt.

Here is a link to recent statements from her and her brother:

http://newwaysministryblog.wordpress.com

[kanrok]

12. Do you happen to be Catholic?

And, sorry if I'm assuming something I shouldn't assume, but did you happen to read what the priest had to say about this anywhere?

[hedgehog]

13. I propose a sub-version of Godwin's Law: "As an on-line discussion involving the Catholic

Church grows longer, the odds that someone will be accused of being a non-Catholic and/or enemy of the Church approaches 1."

What is fascinating about this case is how quickly those defending Rev. Guarnizo have risen to condemn the Cardinal Archbishop of Washington , D.C. :

Father Guarnizo's Faculties Suspended - Time To Take Action
Today, at the 9:30 Mass at St John Neumann parish, Father LaHood read a letter from Bishop Barry Knestout announcing the suspension of Father Marcel Guarnizo's priestly faculties. Did I say the letter was penned by Bishop Knestout? Let's not kid ourselves! This letter came straight from the top - Cardinal Wuerl. I'll bet my bottom dollar that all Bishop Knestout did was change the wording slightly (so that he could call the letter "his" with a straight face) and sign the thing. I really don't think he's to blame, as he is vowed to obedience, as is Father LaHood bound to obedience in reading this thing with the introductory comments. I recorded it so you can listen to the entire thing right here.

http://restore-dc-catholicism.blogspot.com/2012/03/father-guarnizos-faculties-suspended.html



The actual letter - if you click on the image, it'll blow up large enough for you to read.

http://abbey-roads.blogspot.com/2012/03/fr-guarnizos-fate.html

[kanrok]

14. Well, you can propose what you wish

That is your right.

But I asked my question to gauge your experience with priests, and to determine if you truly understand the difficult position the priest in this case was placed.

You claim that you have enough experience with priests to judge the motives of the priest in this case.

A remarkable statement, actually.

If I were to say "having run into my share of gay people, both good and bad, I feel confident in my ability of reading a situation", I suspect you would have a great deal to say about that.

I am a cradle Catholic and have run into a pretty decent share of priests over my life as well, and I can state unequivocally that I can no more judge what one would do in any given circumstances any better than I can judge any other group of people.