Parishioners from St. Andrew Catholic Church, which has a longstanding commitment to social justice issues, will march in Sunday’s Portland Pride Parade with a banner proclaiming their parish identity, despite the wishes of Archbishop Alexander K. Sample.
At least four Catholic parishes are expected to participate in the parade, according to the Rev. Tara Wilkins, executive director of the Community of Welcoming Congregations. Members of St. Francis of Assisi, St. Philip Neri and St. André Bessette (the Downtown Chapel) also are expected to march. In the past, they have carried parish banners, Wilkins said.
Monsignor Dennis O’Donovan, vicar general of the Archdiocese of Portland, called St. Andrew’s pastor, the Rev. Dave Zegar, on May 31 on behalf of Sample, parishioners say. O’Donovan relayed the message that individuals could walk in the parade but that the archbishop did not want St. Andrew’s members to walk as a community. (Source)
I must say I am shocked. Shocked at such a low turnout from Portland parishes.
First off, what is up with a “gay” pride parade on Father’s Day? Irony there on a couple of levels.
So you can walk in a parade supporting a distorted view of the human person, just as long as you don’t do it as a parish group? So help me out with the moral theology involved since I just don’t get it. Is the difference only that in one case you don’t embarrass the diocese? Still I should not discount that the reportage on this is not accurate.
St. Francis of Assisi was the parish I had my first experience of Catholicism as an atheist teen. A version of Catholicism that put no demands on me since I could believe the same things they espoused as an atheist and a flaming liberal. About the theological density of universalism.
Apparently nothing has changed. I had previously looked to try to find pictures of the interior to jog my memory with no luck. This time around I found one to bring my memories rushing back as a member of the small ensemble choir. An altar on a tree trunk. No Catholic statues, but a banner of Martin Luther King. Not sure if that is a boxy baldacchino or something else. I really wonder what is going on with the pile of rocks where I suppose a high altar use to be. As a cruciform church with a wooden interior it is rather nice and it wouldn’t take too much work to make it into a much more beautiful parish. I would love to have seen a picture of the parish prior to the stripping of the high altar and Communion rails.
When looking for pictures of my old parish I found the Portland Catholic Churches blog from someone who is slowly visiting Catholic churches in Portland and writing up posts describing them and including photographs. This is a rather cool idea for a blog. Part of the description of the Mass for this parish.
The “Our Father” was sung with the entire congregation holding hands across the aisles. The line, “Our Mother, who art in Heaven” was added to the prayer.
I can certainly remember the whole holding hands across the aisles and often an accompanying swaying to the beat. If they did the “Our Mother” then I don’t remember, but I wouldn’t have known it wasn’t correct.
The Battle Begins in Portland, OR a Catholic blog in Oregon reporting on this story.
8 comments
Jeff, I think this is outrageous, and if the parish goes through with their plan to march as a parish group in the parade then Archbishop Sample should immediately place the whole parish under interdict.
“Gay-pride” events are pretty disturbing in and of themselves…..encouraging your parishoners to participate? Downright scandalous!
I am intrigued by the idea of the blog encompasing the Diocese, and have considered doing something similar in my own Diocese (Sacramento).
We do have parades for every other deadly sin. It is called “Mardi Gras.”
No one showed up for the Sloth Parade.
The organizers of the Rage Parade fought too much to get anything going.
The Gluttony Parade never left the buffet table.
Greed doesn’t have time to parade, gotta make more money.
Envy can’t stop watching television.
So lust and pride are all that’s left to parade.
Of course there are going to be “Catholic” Parishes taking part in these kinds of Parades. Most Catholics from the “Church of Nice” or the “American Catholic Patriotic Church” favor Homosexuality and the culture of Death. Why should they not? Since 1968 the American Clergy have kept their mouths shut or spoke favorably of all of these moral evils thus confusing the Faithful in the process. Tim Dolan said Birth Control was “too hot to handle” and the Canadian Bishops said “Follow your own Conscience” This is the bitter fallout from the “conspiracy of silence” over all of the Moral Issues so most of them think Abortion Sterilization and IVF and even same sex Marriage are all Okay. “Chums with the Culture” Is this what Vatican II called for bu the Council Fathers 50 years ago? NO but the damage has already been done.
For some reason I kept thinking this was about the Thanksgiving parades, and the sin of Gluttony. Had to read the article twice to get the point.
What would happen if the Gay Pride marchers ran into the Westboro Wingnuts? Sooner or later that is going to happen.
I did see the Gay Pride parade years ago in New York; our family was on vacation and ended up on the parade route purely by accident. I could not see much, and for no real reason kept expecting them to include circus elephants, don’t recall much else. In truth it wasn’t very interesting.
@Gregg the Obscure: That’s pretty clever. Of course, if you define Pride as “Vanity”, the participants took so long getting themselves looking their absolute, gorgeous, darling, divinely smashing best that everyone else lost interest.
Obviously the bishops and priests of this diocese need a huge refresher course in Catholicism and it’s teachings. What in heavens name are they doing.
I can just see the other parades: The Parade Promoting Sloth, Pride, etc.
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