Commentary by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS

A lesbian in the state of Maryland who was denied communion at the funeral Mass for her mother is now demanding that the priest be removed from ministry because he refused to give her communion.

Barbara Johnson - Getty Images

According to the Washington Post, Barbara Johnson, 51, was “deep in grief” and standing in line to receive communion at St. John Neumann Church in Gaithersburg, Maryland when Father Marcel Guarnizo put his hand over the chalice and said, “I can’t give you Communion because you live with a woman, and in the eyes of the church, that is a sin.”

Johnson, whose partner of 20 years was also at the funeral, told the Post that she reacted with “stunned silence” and said the priest also left the altar when she delivered a eulogy to her mother and did not attend the burial or find another priest to fill in for him.

“You brought your politics, not your God into that Church yesterday, and you will pay dearly on the day of judgment for judging me,” she wrote in a letter to the priest. “I will pray for your soul, but first I will do everything in my power to see that you are removed from parish life so that you will not be permitted to harm any more families.”

Johnson received a formal apology from the Archdiocese of Washington which criticized only the pastoral approach of the priest, not the teaching he defended. Nor did the letter agree to Johnson’s demands that he be removed from the parish.

“I am sorry that what should have been a celebration of your mother’s life, in light of her faith in Jesus Christ, was overshadowed by a lack of pastoral sensitivity,” wrote the Rev. Barry Knestout for the Archdiocese. “I hope that healing and reconciliation with the Church might be possible for you and any others who were affected by this experience. In the meantime, I will offer Mass for the happy repose of your mother’s soul. May God bring you and your family comfort in your grief and hope in the Resurrection.”

Johnson called the apology “comforting” but said she would not be appeased until the priest is removed from ministry.

“No other family should have to suffer what we did from this man,” she said.

Of course, the media is presenting Johnson’s story in the most sympathetic light possible and making the Church look like the villain for practicing what she preaches. Perhaps the situation wasn’t handled as sensitively as it might have been, but by refusing to accept an apology and demanding that the priest be removed from ministry, Johnson and her sympathizers are wading into the much more serious realm of trying to silence the Church. It will be a sad day in America and the Church if a lesbian should ever be allowed to force a priest out of his church. What’s next? Throwing them in jail?

However, in their haste to crucify the priest, none of the articles in secular papers even hint at these more serious issues.  Nor do they bother to mention the fact that Catholics believe a person who eats and drinks of the Eucharist unworthily brings judgment upon themselves – which means Father Guarnizo’s actions were not done out of bigotry but out of love and concern for her soul. The articles also neglect to mention that Canon Law 915 clearly states “those…obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to holy communion” and Johnson is certainly is someone “persevering in manifest grave sin,” given her admitted 20-year relationship with another woman.

Interestingly, most of the comments I saw on the various news articles even in secular papers seemed to support the priest.

A commenter named MAN068 wrote in the New York Daily News: “The priest did nothing wrong. She should not have gone up for communion. I went to a funeral last fall, the priest specifically said don’t get up for communion if 1) you’re not Catholic, 2) haven’t gone to confession in the last 6 months and 3) you haven’t abstained from food for 1 hour. The problem with people nowadays is that they don’t understand there are requirements. It’s not a snack. Unless she went to confession, asked for forgiveness for living a life of sin and left her partner of 19 years then she shouldn’t have gone up for communion. While I agree there was some insensitivity, she brought this on herself. Gays need to know when to pick their battles.”

Even people who disagree with Church teaching on homosexuality sided with the Church on this incident. Anonymousone writes: “I do not see a problem here. The Catholic church openly discriminates against homosexuality as it is mentioned in the Bible. The sacrament of communion is a Catholic ritual to be undertaken by faithful Catholics. By practicing homosexuality openly, this person refuses the teachings of the church and therefore should not be allowed to practice its rituals. I disagree with the Church’s stance on homosexuality, however it’s part of their teachings and if this woman is going to participate in the rituals then she needs to abide by their rules. It’s as simple as that. Don’t like it, don’t do it.”

Americans value their religious freedom and with the ink barely dry on Maryland’s new same-sex marriage law and efforts to put the matter to a popular vote already underway, Johnson’s demands are only improving the chances that this law will be overturned by a nervous public at the ballot box in November.
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