U.s.: Priest Who Refused Communion to Lesbian Suspended

By Mauro Pianta
Vatican Insider
March 12, 2012

http://www.vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/homepage/world-news/detail/articolo/stati-uniti-united-states-estados-unidos-13402/

A Eucharistic celebration

Suspended. Or as the cold prose of ecclesiastical bureaucratese reads: “he has been placed on administrative leave until an inquiry into the priest’s actions is complete and the confusion in the parish, caused by his “intimidating behaviour”, dies down.

The future of Fr. Marcel Guarnizo - the parish priest of St. John Neumann (Gaithersbur, in Maryland) who refused to give communion to a lesbian during her mother’s funeral last 25 February - is hanging on these few sentences written by Fr. Marcel Guarnizo.

When Barbara Johnson approached the priest, during her mother’s funeral, to receive the Eucharist, she apparently saw him covering up the bowl containing the hosts, saying to her: "I cannot give you communion because you live with a woman and that is a sin according to the church." Before the ceremony, Johnson had presented her partner to the priest.

With the law on the legalisation of same-sex marriage in the state of Maryland due to be passed in just a few days (a provision which will come into force in 2013), the incident sparked a real scandal in newspapers and on the web. Johnson, a 51 year old artist, received an apology from the Archdiocese, which made reference to a lack of “kindness” and “pastoral sensitivity” on the priest’s part. But this was not enough. Associated Press reported that Barbara Johnson asked for the priest’s suspension, declaring that this was the only way to avoid him inflicting such great pain on other families. Last 9 March the Washington Post published the letter sent by the Archdiocese, suspending Fr. Guarnizo. The priest grew up in North Virginia and carried out his ministry mostly between Russia and Eastern Europe.

An initial note issued by the Archdiocese after the incident took place, read: “When questions arise about whether or not an individual should present themselves for communion, it is not the policy of the Archdiocese of Washington to publicly reprimand the person. Any issues regarding the suitability of an individual to receive communion should be addressed by the priest with that person in a private, pastoral setting.” The note also recalled, however, that in order to receive communion, the individual must be in a “state of grace.” “If a person is conscious of having committed a grave sin, he or she may not receive Communion until they have received absolution in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.”

Meanwhile, numerous local bloggers, including Catholics have started a campaign to boycott donations to the Archdiocese of Washington. It is not over yet. Catholic News Agency recently wrote that Barbara Johnson is actually a Buddhist. “the website for Art Works Studio School in Mt. Rainier, Md., which Johnson founded, states that she “considers herself a student” of “Buddhist philosophy.” The news agency goes on to say that “in addition to the description on her art school’s website, Johnson also identified herself as a Buddhist in a recent paper posted online for a master’s degree program at Kutztown University.” It appears that this story is far from over.