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Jun 24, 2008 6:49 pm US/Central
Archdiocese Forbids Gay Service During Pride Fest
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) ―
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The prayer service was supposed to be held at St. Joan of Arc Church, instead they're going to hold a peace vigil.
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A Twin Cities parish is in a clash with the archdiocese.
St. Joan of Arc in Minneapolis has gone against the grain before by allowing speakers to talk about homosexuality during mass and posting gay pride materials on its Web site.
However, now the church said it's being told to stop a yearly tradition.
"We want to keep alive the tradition of a prayer service to begin the pride celebration in the Twin Cities," said Michael Bayley, the Executive Director of The Catholic Pastoral Committee on Sexual Minorities.
Members of the group said they've been holding its annual gay pride prayer for years and they're not about to stop now.
"We're all church ... the church is the people of god," said one of the members.
The Archdiocese put a stop to the service saying it goes against church policies.
"I'm not aware that praying for a type of person or certain types of people goes against Catholic practice. I mean, that seems absurd to me," said Bayly.
A spokesperson for the Archdiocese told us "welcome these people, but we don't condone sexual relations with persons of the same sex."
He also said that welcoming them in the church is different than endorsing their lifestyle.
Some members of the gay community blame Archbishop John Nienstedt, saying that he's out of touch and is fearful of what the future might hold.
"I believe it's our church as much as it's his and it really angers me," said David McCaffrey with The Catholic Pastoral Committee on Sexual Minorities.
The prayer service was supposed to be held at St. Joan of Arc Church, instead they're going to hold a peace vigil.
There was word that the Pastor was not supposed to mention any gay connotations during that service. However the Archdiocese said that is not true.
In addition to the peace vigil, members of the gay community plan to hold a prayer service outside St. Joan of Arc Church at 6:30 Wednesday night.
Sonya Goins, Producer
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