Scroll To Top
World

Lesbian Denied Communion Receives Apology, Seeks Priest's Firing

Lesbian Denied Communion Receives Apology, Seeks Priest's Firing

Stjohnneumannparishcenter_2

Lesbian Denied Communion Receives Apology, Seeks Priest's Firing

trudestress
Support The Advocate
We're asking for your help to continue our newsroom's important reporting. Support LGBTQ+ journalism by contributing today!

The Catholic archdiocese of Washington, D.C., has apologized to a woman who was denied communion during her mother's funeral because she is in a same-sex relationship, but she still wants to see the priest responsible to be fired.

Barbara Johnson says that Father Marcel Guarnizo told her, "I cannot give you communion because you live with a woman, and in the eyes of the church that is a sin," as she knelt before him at the funeral last Saturday at St. John Neumann Catholic Church in Gaithersburg, Md. Guarnizo, Johnson says, also left the altar while she was delivering a eulogy for her mother, Loetta Schoenholz Johnson, and would not appear at the gravesite.

Johnson received apologies from the Reverend Thomas LaHood, who is the pastor of St. John Neumann and Guarnizo's superior, and two officials of the archdiocese, including the Most Reverend Barry Nestout, auxiliary bishop and vicar general. According to the Associated Press, Nestout wrote her a letter saying, "In my years as a priest, I have encountered many pastoral situations and know that kindness to those experiencing personal loss is a necessary part of the church's call to clarity. The fact that you did not experience this is a cause of great concern and personal regret to me."

Johnson expressed gratitude for the apologies, but she told the AP she and her family have asked the archdiocese to remove Guarnizo, the parish vicar, from the ministry so he will "not have the opportunity to inflict this kind of suffering on any family in the future." Archdiocesan officials said the matter would be handled confidentially because it involves personnel.

trudestress
30 Years of Out100Out / Advocate Magazine - Jonathan Groff & Wayne Brady

From our Sponsors

Most Popular

Latest Stories

Trudy Ring

Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.
Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.