Deep in grief, Barbara Johnson stood first in the line for Communion at her mother’s funeral Saturday morning. But the priest in front of her immediately made it clear that she would not receive the sacramental bread and wine.
Johnson, an art-studio owner from the District, had come to St. John Neumann Catholic Church in Gaithersburg with her lesbian partner. The Rev. Marcel Guarnizo had learned of their relationship just before the service.
“He put his hand over the body of Christ and looked at me and said, ‘I can’t give you Communion because you live with a woman, and in the eyes of the church, that is a sin,’ ” she recalled Tuesday.
She reacted with stunned silence. Her anger and outrage have now led her and members of her family to demand that Guarnizo be removed from his ministry.
Family members said the priest left the altar while Johnson, 51, was delivering a eulogy and did not attend the burial or find another priest to be there.
“You brought your politics, not your God into that Church yesterday, and you will pay dearly on the day of judgment for judging me,” she wrote in a letter to Guarnizo. “I will pray for your soul, but first I will do everything in my power to see that you are removed from parish life so that you will not be permitted to harm any more families.”
Late Tuesday, Johnson received a letter of apology from the Rev. Barry Knestout, one of the archdiocese’s highest-ranking administrators, who said the lack of “kindness” she and her family received “is a cause of great concern and personal regret to me.” . . .
Johnson called the letter “comforting” and said she greatly appreciates the apology. But, she added, “I will not be satisfied” until Guarnizo is removed.
via D.C. archdiocese: Denying Communion to lesbian at funeral was against ‘policy’ – The Washington Post.
So church discipline is now the business of the news media, the public, and people who do not belong to the church. I wonder if the person who was denied communion could sue for having her rights violated.
Having said that, the incident seems to bring up some differences between the Roman Catholic use of the Sacrament and that of, for instance, Lutherans. (I’d like to hear from Reformed, Baptist, Orthodox, and other traditions about how they would handle this.)
For Catholics, one should be free from sin–confessed, absolved, penance performed–before receiving the Sacrament. Lutherans, in contrast, see the Sacrament as being specifically for sinners. To receive the Sacrament unworthily is to receive it without faith (Small Catechism vi).
And yet, I’m not sure how this is handled pastorally. Perhaps someone living in open and unrepentant sin is likely not in a state of faith. On the other hand, perhaps she has repented. If she confessed her sin in the rite of confession and she was absolved, hasn’t she, in fact, been objectively forgiven? Lutheran pastors, how would you have dealt with this woman? Again, I’d like to hear from pastors of other traditions also. (For those of you who think communion is only symbolic, would this not be an issue at all since it doesn’t really matter?)
For this discussion, please do me a favor: Please leave out complaints about Lutheran churches that practice closed communion! (“You’d commune that lesbian, but not me because I’m a Methodist!”) We have had that discussion. Your complaint is registered. Let’s stick to the issues raised in this story.
HT: Aaron Lewis
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