The parish of St. Paul the Apostle in New York celebrated a “Pride Mass” on June 25 in Christopher Park, in front of the Stonewall Inn, the bar where the riots that gave rise to the modern LGBT rights movement began in June 1969. The celebration, organized by the Out at St. Paul ministry, brought together more than 150 people at one of the most emblematic sites for homosexual activism in the United States, decorated for the occasion with dozens of rainbow flags.
The park is part of the Stonewall National Monument, created in 2016 by then-President Barack Obama to commemorate those riots, considered a milestone in the history of the LGBT movement in the United States.
The Eucharist, according to the National Catholic Reporter, was presided over by Paulist Father Chris Lawton, parochial vicar of St. Paul the Apostle, who justified the choice of location by stating that it reflects the way Jesus went out to meet those who remained distant from the Church.
Apologies to LGBT people and recognition of transgender people
During the homily, Lawton linked the historical significance of Stonewall with the presence of LGBT people in the life of the Church.
“Our Church has been built on rock,” he said, adding that it has also “been built on the faith of so many people who believed in the extraordinary love of God and who, from that faith, helped build this Church even while they were marginalized. This includes, for centuries, LGBT Catholics.”
The priest also offered words of apology to those who, he said, have suffered within the Church because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
“To all who have suffered because of our Church, I want to say this: I’m sorry. I regret the times when the Church has not recognized the presence of God in you and those in which, implicitly, it has encouraged others to do the same.”
Lawton made a specific mention of transgender people.
“I want to ask forgiveness of our transgender brothers and sisters, who continue to face particular injustice within the Church and also at this moment in the life of our country,” he said.
The intentions of the celebration included prayers for the care of creation, racial justice, migrants, women, people living in poverty, peace, and a Church that is “more united, humble, and inclusive,” with a special remembrance of transgender and non-binary people.
A parish with an established ministry for LGBT people
The celebration was organized by Out at St. Paul, the LGBT ministry of St. Paul the Apostle parish, a community that for years has carried out specific activities aimed at this group and has made such celebrations a regular event during the so-called Pride Month.
Among the organizers was Ben Kulos, a member of the ministry’s leadership team, who stated that the goal was to make visible the presence of LGBT Catholics within the Church. Several parishioners also spoke during the celebration, sharing their personal experiences publicly, including Issy Bilek, a transgender person who was baptized during the past Easter Vigil after completing the process of Christian initiation for adults.
An evident intention
Beyond the liturgical celebration, the Mass adopted the setting, symbols, and historical narrative of the LGBT movement. The choice of Stonewall, the rainbow flags, and the references to Pride made the celebration publicly identify with a movement whose demands remain in open contradiction with the Church’s moral teaching on sexuality and marriage.
The promoters of the so-called “Pride Masses” present these celebrations as an expression of welcome and inclusion toward people who identify as LGBT. However, the welcome proposed by the Church has never meant adopting the positions of homosexual activism or validating conduct contrary to its moral teaching.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church recalls that people with homosexual inclinations “must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity” (n. 2358), but at the same time states that homosexual acts are “intrinsically disordered” and “in no case can they be approved” (n. 2357). This distinction, traditionally maintained by the Magisterium, is completely blurred in a celebration conceived precisely to identify with the principal international symbol of the LGBT movement.