Joe.My.God. LGBT News
In response to the beginning of same-sex marriage in Rhode Island, a Catholic priest there has sent an open letter to state senators, warning them that he will rally his parishioners to unseat them if they voted for it. Which would be illegal, of course. From Father Brian Sistare’s letter:
Dear RI Senators who voted for “marriage” between members of the same sex, Yesterday was a very sad day for our little state of Rhode Island. I’m still shocked that each of you took it upon yourself to take the place of God and redefine what He has established. Marriage has always been understood as the union between one man and one woman. This is a 5,000 year old fact! I’m wondering what you will do when a mother comes to you and asks to be married to her son, or a cousin wants to marry her first cousin, or when a man wants to marry 2 or 3 women, or a human being wants to marry his animal? What will you do, now that you have decided that Marriage is no longer a sacred union between one man and one woman? [snip] I’m praying for each of you, that you turn back to God. I’m also going to let my Parish know exactly how you voted, so come re-election time, you will not be re-elected. – Fr. Sistare,St. Rocco Church, Johnston, RI
RELATED: Also this week, Father Sistare reportedly told a married gay couple that attends his church that they will not be allowed to receive communion unless they get a divorce.
While many gay Rhode Islanders gained a new right last week, Lew Pryeor and Pierre Leveillee lost one yesterday. The Catholic couple from Woonsocket was told by their priest, Rev. Brian Sistare of Sacred Heart, that he would no longer give them communion at Sunday service. “I have been a Catholic all my life,” Pryeor told me yesterday after he was informed of Sistare’s decision to deny them the sacrament. “I like to go to church and light a candle for my family. Now, I feel like I can’t do that anymore.” Pryeor and Leveillee have been together for 34 years and were married in 2007. The couple moved to Woonsocket two years ago. He said they were always accepted at the other local Catholic churches they have attended in Warwick and West Warwick over the years.