Gay activists denied communion
During a St. John's Abbey mass, students and others wearing protest buttons and sashes received Archbishop John Nienstedt's hand of blessing rather than the eucharist.
About 25 college students and community members at St. John's Abbey in Collegeville, Minn., were denied communion by Twin Cities Roman Catholic Archbishop John C. Nienstedt because they were displaying rainbow buttons and sashes in protest of the church's stand on gay relationships.
The conflict between the archbishop and the group, mostly students from the Catholic St. John's University and the College of St. Benedict, occurred during evening mass Sept. 26.
It came amid news that the state's bishops were mailing 400,000 DVDs to Minnesota Catholics, spelling out church teachings on gay marriage and urging them to support candidates who endorse putting the issue to a vote.
The St. John's action was coordinated by students, including members of People Representing the Sexual Minority (PRiSM), which represents gay and lesbian students and their friends and allies. That Sunday, according to those at the mass, about two dozen worshipers positioned themselves to receive communion from Nienstedt, who was saying his first student mass at the abbey. Some reached for the communion wafer but were denied it. Rather, the archbishop raised his hand in blessing.
Paralleling the Conks, that big, loving Catholic tent is getting awfully small!
"Wait, my child! You're quite sure those sugary preteen lips and tongue have never carressed a moist, pink labia, correct?"
Bishop Nienstedt...
