Archdiocese
Intervenes in Church's Gay Pride Service

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has told a liberal Roman Catholic church in Minneapolis that it can't hold its annual gay pride prayer service because the event goes against the teachings of the church.

St. Joan of Arc Church has held the prayer service for several years in conjunction with the annual Twin Cities Pride Celebration. The archdiocese, however, suggested that the church hold a "peace" service with no mention of rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.

"That descriptor [LGBT] was not possible on church property. We suggested they shift it, change the nature of it a little bit, and they did," archdiocese spokesman Dennis McGrath said. "The reason is quite simply because it was an LGBT pride prayer service, and that is really inimical to the teachings of the Catholic Church."

Officials with the Catholic Pastoral Committee on Sexual Minorities, an independent coalition promoting acceptance of gays in the Catholic Church, said they consider the action an attack by Archbishop John Nienstedt, who took the helm of the archdiocese in May.

Nienstedt has said homosexuality is a disorder and is a leader in the campaign to persuade the Minnesota legislature to prohibit same-sex unions. (AP)