Proponents of same-sex marriage are now taking the fight into Catholic institutions with both a parish and a school coming under fire in recent weeks for defending Church teaching on homosexuality – on their own property!

Photo by Vanessa Raymond via New Bedford Standard Times

NECN.com is reporting that St. Francis Xavier Parish in Acushnet, Massachusetts is receiving threats of violence and vandalism after posting a sign on church property that supports the traditional definition of marriage. The sign reads: “Two  men are friends, not spouses.”

Steve Guillotte, Director of Pastoral Services for Saint Francis Xavier, told Boston’s FOX 25 News that the parish has been receiving menacing and obscenity laced phone calls, including one threatening to burn the church down. Someone also nailed a sign to the church’s fence that said “Hate” and additional signs were placed against the fence with rainbow balloons attached to them.

Sadly, the church was forced to remove the sign the following morning.

The Catholic Action League characterized the episode as “compelling evidence clearly demonstrating which side in the conflict over same sex marriage engages in hate tactics.”
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“At a time when homosexual pride parades monopolize public thoroughfares with police protection, it is now unsafe to post a message upholding traditional morality on private property,” said the League’s executive director, C. J. Doyle. “This event tells us all we need to know about the totalitarian instincts of organized homosexualism in America. What began as a so-called ‘gay rights’ movement, has become a neo-fascist enterprise dedicated to suppressing, harassing, censoring, silencing and punishing anyone supportive of biblical morality.”

He is calling upon authorities to investigate the threats against St. Francis Xavier parish for possible prosecution as hate crimes.

Dominic Sheahan-Stahl (left) and his fiance

Meanwhile, in the diocese of Saginaw, Michigan, a private Catholic school has come under fire for disinviting a speaker and former alumnus of the school after discovering the person was engaged to marry someone of the same sex.

According to the Detroit Free Press, Dennis Starnes, the principal of Sacred Heart Academy in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, rescinded an invitation for former student and actor Dominic Sheahan-Stahl to speak at the school’s commencement after learning that he was openly gay.

The decision was backed by the diocese. Calling the events “unfortunate,” Saginaw Bishop Joseph Cistone fully supported Starnes’ decision.

“It is the position of Bishop Cistone, on behalf of the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw, that individuals who are given an honor – such as serving as the keynote speaker for the culmination of a Catholic school education – should reinforce, and not reject publicly, the teachings of the Catholic faith,” the diocese said in a statement.

They went on to cite a 2004 policy of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops that said those “who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.”

However, gay activists across the nation kicked into action and started a furor over the incident. Sheahan-Stahl has now scheduled himself to speak at Central Michigan University (CMU) and some seniors have said they will attend their Baccalaureate Mass at the Academy, go to CMU to hear his talk, then return to Sacred Heart for the rest of their commencement activities.

Although the mainstream media is fully supporting Sheahan-Stahl, the public does not appear to be backing him in the controversy. None of the people who chose to comment on the CNN story about the incident sided with Sheahan-Stahl, with several voicing their disgust with homosexuals who try to force churches to violate their teachings in order to accommodate them.

“Private school. Sorry, they can do as they want for the reason they want,” said one commenter named ShopAround.  “Too bad for him. Maybe he should have studied harder and learned the rules.”

Gapperguy writes: “He knows the rules as a church member. The church has a right to deny his keynote address if they think he is not representing the church well. I’m tired of gays and lesbians walking into churches and trying to make them change. Don’t come to church if you are actively sinning. I call this a troublemaker.”

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