A tale of two Archdioceses. First, LA:
Just a note to say that, as in the past, members of the Rainbow Sash Movement who come to the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels this Sunday will be most welcome to attend any of our Masses. Over the years, Cardinal Roger Mahony has consistently spoken to the faithful in Los Angeles about being respectful and inclusive of our Catholic brothers and sisters who are gay and lesbian. All of us struggle to be better Christians, but I think a good number of our parishes in the archdiocese are places where people feel welcome and included, regardless of their sexual orientation.
Tod M. Tamberg
Director of Media Relations
Archdiocese of Los Angeles."
Notice the language. Well, of course anyone can attend Mass, but that's not the issue that Rainbow Sash is trying to raise. The issue is receiving Communion.
Now, pulled from ourown comments, a first-hand account of St. Paul-Minneapolis:
We had LOTS of Rainbow Sashers... well over 100, possibly over 200. Plus a few Purps (purple sashers = women's ordination), and people wearing rainbow pins. All were denied Communion (but a few decided to take it themselves anyway by swiping it out of the EMHCs plate as they went by after being blessed by the priests instead... and one decided that they should be the EMHC to the Sashers, swiping a Host somehow and breaking it up into pieces to give to other Sashers -- stopped quickly, and the Sacrament rescued, by our deacon). Archbishop Flynn's statement was read before the Lord's Prayer, far as I know only a couple of Sashers actually removed their sashes for Communion, but not sure on that. There sure were a lot of them that kept them on, that's for sure!
....Honestly, the tension felt by all regarding the presence of the Rainbow Sashers (who were making comments all the way up the Communion lines and waving at people as they went by) overshadowed much of the Mass itself. Particularly for those of us who were seated near enough to see and hear the Commuion line (and see the irreverence towards the Eucharist... one person without a Sash received and then turned and handed the Host to a Sasher behind her, who immediately ate it before anyone could do anything. Not as bad as the "breaking of bread" person I guess, but still bad...)
Then, from the same diocese, Clayton links to the day at the famous St. Joan of Arc
