Alex Shingleton and Landon Duyka deliver a ‘Gospel reflection’ during Mass at Old St. Patrick’s in Chicago, Ill., June 19, 2022. / Old St. Patrick’s/vimeo.After allowing a same-sex married couple to provide a “reflection” instead of the homily during a June 19 Mass, the pastor of a Chicago Catholic church is under scrutiny.
On Chicago’s west loop, the church, known as Old St. Patrick’s, has a distinguished history. Following the reading of the Gospel, Father Joe Roccasalva, the celebrant of the Mass, introduced the two men and stated that they would be giving a Father’s Day “Gospel reflection.”
Canon law states that only those who are ordained, such as priests, bishops, and deacons, are permitted to deliver homilies at Mass.
Alex Shingleton and Landon Duyka, who claim to have been parishioners for ten years, praised their same-sex union as a “blessing” and the adoption of their two children as “miracles” as they took the podium.
One of the men added, “Let’s be honest, there probably aren’t too many gay fathers speaking on Father’s Day at many Catholic Churches on the earth today.”
We wanted to raise our children in the Catholic Church, one of the guys said later in the presentation.
On the other hand, we didn’t want to make our kids feel ashamed or intolerant about their family by exposing them to discrimination.
The fact that the guys had discovered an LGBT-affirming community at the self-called “radically inclusive” Old St. Patrick’s parish was regarded by the men as a “miracle,” as they claimed to have encountered rejection and a lack of welcome at other Catholic parishes.
In addition to teaching that homosexual activities are wrong and that homosexual partnerships cannot, under any circumstances, be recognized by the Church, the Catholic Church also believes that those who identify as LGBT should be treated with respect and dignity.
The Catholic Church’s Catechism declares that “”Homosexual activities are by their very nature disordered.” They go against the natural order. They tie the giving of life to the sexual act.
They do not originate from a true complementarity on an emotive or sexual level. They cannot be accepted under any circumstances.” While objectively abnormal, gay impulses are not sinful, as stated by the Catechism and popes, who have also made this difference.
“The call to chastity is extended to homosexuals. They can and should gradually and courageously achieve Christian perfection by the qualities of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, occasionally with the assistance of uninterested friendship, through prayer, and sacramental grace “Adding is the Catechism.
Father Pius Pietrzyk OP, a canon lawyer, told CNA in written responses that although allowing the reflection was technically against the law, Catholics should not only be concerned with the letter of the law but also the reasons behind it. This is in reference to the question of laypeople giving homilies.
According to Pietrzyk, “[the legislation] represents the Church’s understanding of the priest’s function in the parish community.
“More crucially, it expresses the fundamental connection between the munus docendi [the duty to teach] and the munus sanctificandi [the duty to sanctify, or consecrate], which is anchored in the sacrament of holy orders,”
Pietrzyk expressed his hope that the Old St. Patrick’s speakers will stay active in the Catholic Church.
Pietrzyk emphasized, “We should continue to encourage these two guys to engage in the life of the Church,” but added, “We cannot simply overlook the reality that they are publicly living as a same-sex married couple, a status the Church considers to be sinful.”
A “politicization of the Eucharist,” according to Pietrzyk, was the result of the priest allowing the men to speak during Mass.
The priest stated that choosing these two to deliver the homily on Father’s Day “must be seen for what it is, a political gesture of subordination to modern sexual ideologies and an act of rebellion against the teachings of Christ and his Church.”
The Vatican’s doctrinal office made it clear that the Catholic Church lacks the authority to grant liturgical blessings to homosexual unions in March 2021, stating that “it is not licit to impart a blessing on relationships, or partnerships, even stable ones, that involve sexual activity outside of marriage” (i.e., outside the indissoluble union of a man and a woman open in itself to the transmission of life), as is the case with unions between people of the same s Pope Francis gave his blessing for the judgment and note to be made public.
Other Catholic publications have asked the Archdiocese of Chicago about the situation, but no response has been received.