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Women Outraged Catholic Church Denied Them Communion Because They Were Wearing Anti-Catholic Garb

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I trust that you, dear reader, are not stupid. So I’ll get straight to the point.

You know what the rainbow flag stands for. You also know what the Roman Catholic Church’s position is on the vast majority of things the rainbow flag stands for.

So imagine that, in a Colorado community, there’s somehow a minor uproar after a group of women were denied Communion at an Englewood church because they were wearing face masks with the rainbow flag on it.

According to KDVR, Sally Odenheimer, one of the women who was with the group reportedly denied communion because of the masks, said the women were wearing them in support of a teacher fired from All Souls Catholic School in Englewood after it was discovered she was in a lesbian relationship.

The Archdiocese of Denver said the teacher, Maggie Barton, was terminated because she violated the terms of her contract, including “refraining from taking any public position or conducting himself or herself in a manner that is contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church.”

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So, a woman hired by a religious institution breaks the rules of said religious institution and is terminated. There’s a stunner for you. But to Odenheimer, this outrage couldn’t stand.

“When Maggie Barton’s story hit, it struck a cord in me, and I felt compelled to do something,” she told KDVR.

While Odenheimer doesn’t typically attend All Souls Catholic Parish — and neither did the three women who came with her — they felt they needed to make a point.

“Our whole intent was to support and stand in solidarity for Maggie and for all,” she said.

And, you know, against the tenets of the Catholic Church. While Odenheimer did not attempt to receive Communion, two of the group did — and were denied.

“I had no idea that [Jill Moore] was just standing there with her hands out waiting to get the host, the Eucharist, and she was just saying, ‘Amen,’ and that’s it. And [the priest] nodded for her to leave,” Odenheimer said.

“Here are these decent, wonderful human beings being denied the Holy Eucharist solely on what they’re wearing. Solely on what they’re wearing. I was crushed by that,” she added.

In other words, Odenheimer and Co. openly mocked the moral strictures of the Catholic Church, then attempted to receive arguably its holiest sacrament — receiving the body and blood of Jesus Christ — and affected offense when they were turned away.

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Just so we’re clear on this: The catechism of the Catholic Church holds that scripture “presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity” which “are intrinsically disordered” and “are contrary to the natural law.”

But these women hadn’t engaged in such acts  — or, if they had, we certainly don’t know about it. Why should they be denied?

Aside from making a mockery of a solemn church service, catechism also addresses this, saying communion can be withheld from “those … obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to holy communion.”

Should these women have been denied Communion?

In this case, “manifest” means to be known to the community in some way — not a private sin, but one that is widely known. They were wearing rainbow face masks. In the court of Canon Law, I think I could safely call for summary judgment on the matter based on that alone.

And beyond that, the Archdiocese of Denver said in a statement, there’s a time and a place for this kind of protest — and it isn’t in the communion queue.

“I will say, 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 statement read.

“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.”

Don’t tell that to Odenheimer, however, who continues to paint herself as the trailblazer she absolutely isn’t.

“Maybe it opens up the door for other people, other Catholics, to open their eyes about what’s going on in this community and for them to decide whether they believe in that or feel like that’s the right direction the Archdiocese is going,” Odenheimer said. “It’s up to them.”

Or maybe it opens people’s eyes to the fact that the LGBT agenda-pushers aren’t content with cultural acceptance. They demand obedience — and religious beliefs be darned.

One is tempted to ignore this kind of attention-seeking asininity; don’t feed the animals, after all. In this case, however, I say give these women all the attention they want. What they’re trying to pass off as bravery and tolerance is fatuous, anti-Catholic bigotry.

No matter how the media tries to spin it, most right-thinking people will see right through this offensive stunt and the passive-aggressive religious hatred unsubtly lurking just behind it.

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C. Douglas Golden is a writer who splits his time between the United States and Southeast Asia. Specializing in political commentary and world affairs, he's written for Conservative Tribune and The Western Journal since 2014.
C. Douglas Golden is a writer who splits his time between the United States and Southeast Asia. Specializing in political commentary and world affairs, he's written for Conservative Tribune and The Western Journal since 2014. Aside from politics, he enjoys spending time with his wife, literature (especially British comic novels and modern Japanese lit), indie rock, coffee, Formula One and football (of both American and world varieties).
Birthplace
Morristown, New Jersey
Education
Catholic University of America
Languages Spoken
English, Spanish
Topics of Expertise
American Politics, World Politics, Culture




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