Rainbow mask-wearing women denied Communion at Denver-area Catholic church
Jeremiah Poff
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Two women wearing rainbow masks were denied Holy Communion at a Denver-area Catholic parish days after its school fired a teacher who confessed to being in a same-sex relationship.
Jill Moore and Susan Doty wore the gay-pride-themed masks to Mass at All Souls Catholic Church in Englewood, Colorado, on Saturday, and when they presented themselves to receive the Holy Eucharist, the priest motioned for them to move on, FOX 31 reported.
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Moore and Doty attended Mass at the parish alongside their friend Sally Odenheimer while wearing the masks to show “support and stand in solidarity” for Maggie Barton, a former teacher at All Souls’s affiliated school who was fired earlier this month for being in a same-sex relationship.
The Archdiocese of Denver said Barton was fired for failing to “honor the commitments she agreed to in her contract with the school,” noting that they include “refraining from taking any public position or conducting himself or herself in a manner that is contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church.”
The leader of the archdiocese, Archbishop Samuel Aquila, likewise defended the decision by the priest at All Souls to prevent Doty and Moore from receiving the Holy Eucharist. In a statement to the Washington Examiner, the archdiocese said that political statements do not belong in the Communion line.
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“Anyone who considers themselves a lifelong Catholic knows that the Communion line is not the place for any political statement, especially when such statements highlight that the person is not in communion with Christ,” the archdiocese said. “If anyone believes they were wrongly denied Communion, we encourage them to speak to the pastor of their church who, unlike secular media, is better equipped to answer their concerns and help them be brought back into communion.”
The Catholic Church has stated that homosexual acts are sinful and “intrinsically disordered.” The church also believes that receiving Holy Communion in a state of grave or “mortal” sin is itself sinful.