By Kathleen Gilbert
SAN FRANCISCO, December 8, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Most Holy Redeemer (MHR) Catholic Church has again come under fire after a lector and acolyte at the parish was found to have “married” his homosexual partner.
The homosexual news service Bay Area Reporter on Thursday announced the “wedding” between MHR lector Philip Carrizosa and his longtime partner Ralph Lindsey. The article, exposed by Catholic blogger Fr. John Malloy, SDB, describes a quasi-religious ceremony reflecting “the couple’s deep faith.” The pair were “married” on Nov. 1, only days before Proposition 8, which upheld the true definition of marriage in the California Constitution, was passed by California voters.
The Catholic Church’s regulations concerning the liturgy state that “the lay Christian faithful called to give assistance at liturgical celebrations should be well instructed and must be those whose Christian life, morals and fidelity to the Church’s Magisterium recommend them.”
The parish, located in the notoriously homosexual Castro district of San Francisco, has earned a reputation for openly courting the homosexualist agenda. A contingent of MRH parishioners have regularly appeared in the city’s sexually explicit annual Gay Pride Parade, a practice only recently squelched under the order of the archdiocese.
Catholic faithful also reacted with outrage when the parish hosted the “Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence,” a militant group of anti-Catholic homosexual men who dress as outlandish nuns and whose motto is, “Go and sin some more.” In 2006, MHR pastor Fr. Meriwether was temporarily suspended after allowing the group to hold fundraising games on parish property, including sexually explicit games with pornography and “sex toys” handed out as prizes.
The bizarre group was at the center of further scandal after Archbishop Niederauer was photographed administering communion to them at the parish. The archbishop formally apologized after the incident captured media attention.
Three current members of the MHR Pastoral Council supported the initiative to strike down Proposition 8, which protects true marriage in the state, as have a past president and past vice-President of the council.
The Archdiocese of San Francisco was not available for comment as of press time.
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco
One Peter Yorke Way
San Francisco, CA 94109
(415) 614-5500
[email protected]
His Excellency The Most Reverend Pietro Sambi
The Apostolic Nuncio to the United States
The Apostolic Nunciature
3339 Massachusetts Ave., N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20008-3687
phone: 202-333-7121
fax: 202-337-4036
Cardinal William J. Levada
Prefect
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
[Secretary: Most Rev. Archbishop Angelo Amato, S.D.B.]
Piazza del S. Uffizio 11
00l93 Rome, Italy
phone: 011.39.06.69.88.33.57
phone: 011.39.06.69.88.34.13
fax: 011.39.06.69.88.34.09
email: [email protected]