Supporters Of Same Sex Marriage Denied Communion Sunday In St. Paul Minnesota

Minnesota Public Radio reports that in St. Paul, church officials denied communion to a small delegation of Catholics who wore rainbow sashes to mass at the St. Paul Cathedral, the sashes meant to send a statement of support for same sex marriage. The silent protest is an annual event for a decade now, each year organizers ask the archbishop via a letter for permission to participate in the Eucharist while wearing the sash. A spokesperson for the St. Paul –Minneapolis Archdiocese said it would by sacrilege to give the Eucharist to those using communion to make a political statement, Dennis McGrath saying “There’s no question that they’re free to receive communion without the sash. But they’re wearing the sash to advance their own protest. And communion time must never be used for political or protest statement. It’s that simple.” Brendt Vanderlinden and his wife wore sashes, Brendt saying that church officials politicised the Eucharist when the archdiocese recently mailed thousands of church members state-wide an anti-gay marriage DVD. “We’re saying that by sending out the DVD and taking a strong stand of something that is really a civil political issue,” Vanderlinden said. You know, whether the state is going to legalise gay marriage is a civil political issue. The church doesn’t have to take a stand on that” Mr. and Mrs. Vanderlinden say they wore the sash to show support for their son, who is gay.