(LifeSiteNews) — A self-described “gay priest” welcomed a purportedly “transgender” Episcopal minister to deliver a Sunday homily at a Catholic parish in upstate New York, as part of an elaborate “Pride Mass” that featured gender ideology, liturgical innovations, and blasphemous displays.
The liturgy took place at All Saints Catholic Church in Syracuse, already under scrutiny after a Catholic man recently tore down and burned the parish’s “Pride” flag. Sunday’s Mass appeared to double down.
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Father Fred Daley began the liturgy by greeting parishioners with “Namaste” and acknowledging the land of the Onondaga Nation. In another video, he explains that this is “a Hindu custom” in which “we’re recognizing the dignity of each person, the spark of the spirit, the spark of God within each person.”
The sanctuary was filled with rainbows and LGBT flags, a banner appearing to read “Immigrants Welcome,” and an overhead projection of a cross incorporated into a Pride flag.
“Here at All Saints … we celebrate Pride Weekend,” Daley told those gathered. “The rainbow is a beautiful, beautiful symbol of God’s diversity – and we’re called to celebrate God’s diversity.”
He later welcomed “Mr Kevin Noble Ward,” a biological woman and member of a local Episcopal parish, to deliver the homily and “share his journey to the truth – his truth.”
Ward, previously profiled in a Washington Post article promoting transgenderism, spoke at length during the homily about her childhood struggles, her decision to “transition from female to male,” and her rejection of a previous denomination she described as “anti-LGBTQIA+.”
She claimed her transition resolved both her “severe mental health issues” and improved physical health.
At the end of the service, parishioners were invited to donate to “Break Margins Africa,” an initiative that works with male “sex workers” in Kenya and is now expanding to “trans and lesbian young adults and teenagers.”
Daley also pointed to a multicolored “coat of many colors” chasuble behind the altar, which he said would be worn once all 50 U.S. states “protect” LGBT rights.
Daley also referred to the letter from the Bishop of Syracuse, Douglas J. Lucia, lamenting the removal of the Pride flag the week before.
“I have learned of the unfortunate incident regarding the Pride flag,” Lucia wrote. “It certainly does not reflect the love and compassion that this month, dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, wishes to promote.”
The Mass concluded with a layman named “Joe” delivering an “official blessing of fathers” from the pulpit, followed by Daley’s final invocation of “a God who is Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier.”
All Saints’ website features a rainbow banner and boasts of its fidelity to the “spirit of Vatican II,” calling itself “an open and welcoming Catholic Christian Community, joyfully grounded in the Eucharist that strives to live the Gospel call to holiness and justice and loving service to all.”
The parish’s YouTube channel also features a recent video featuring Colby Martin, the founder of a “progressive Christian church,” who praises All Saints for creating a “loving, inclusive space,” and refers to passages in St Paul’s Epistle to the Romans as “cringey.”
The service, which included multiple doctrinal and liturgical violations, was condemned online. “If you try to list the sacrileges,” Daniel O’Connor wrote on X, “you’ll lose count.”
Mass yesterday at All Saints Catholic Church in Syracuse, New York.⬇️ (Where the “Pride” flag was just ripped down by some brave soul.)
If you try to list the sacrileges, you’ll lose count.
Those poor children. Lord, save your Church. pic.twitter.com/Bun7946Anl
— Daniel O’Connor (@DSDOConnor) June 16, 2025