Catholic Diocese Celebrates ‘All Are Welcome’ Pride Mass, Lauds LGBTQ-Affirming Ministry
St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church is a parish within the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego. Settled in Southern California, the Diocese serves approximately 1.4 million Catholics and comprises 96 parishes, 89 schools, and 13 missions.
A few days ago, they celebrated their annual ‘All are welcome’ Pride Mass.
The event was fully supported by the Diocese, which encouraged all to attend. It was led by Auxiliary Bishop Ramon Bejarano, who was appointed by Pope Francis in 2020, and representative priests from multiple parishes were in attendance.
St. John the Evangelist, the parishes of St. Thomas More, St. Catherine Labouré, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Saint Joseph Cathedral, St. Francis of Assisi, and Saint Brigid were co-sponsors of the event. Cardinal Robert McElroy also supported the Mass. See last year’s promo.
While we don’t have a transcript of this year’s mass, during last year’s Pride Mass, the Bishop preached:
“In his earthly ministry, Jesus never rejected anybody. He welcomed everyone, even his enemies. As a Church we must do the same, welcome everyone, without any distinction. In the words of Pope Francis, ‘Todos, todos, todos.’
Unfortunately, as a Church, sometimes we have not loved as God loves us, and we reject, discriminate, and push others away, even from the love and salvation of Christ.
Last year I went to a workshop organized by New Way Ministry. It was not until I heard the stories of those present, that I realized the pain, the sorrow, the stigma and trauma that we have caused to others because we don’t accept them, because we tell them that they do not belong, because we judge them. Jesus will never inflict that kind of pain or trauma to people.”
Who is ‘New Ways Ministry’ that the Bishop referenced? They’re a fully “affirming ministry of advocacy and justice for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Catholics, and reconciliation within the larger Catholic and civil communities.”
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The Bishop also apologized to the LGBTQ community on behalf of the church, saying:
“I apologize for the pain and distress that I and the Church have caused to many of you. I apologize for the stigmatization and trauma we have caused to others, because we have told them that they are not valued and that they are not worthy of the love of God. There are many others out there who feel rejected and unvalued.
…We fall in the danger of seeing them as ‘they’ and ‘us’. The Church is a welcoming body for everyone who wants to get closer to Jesus. In this body there is only ‘us’. Today, when you share the sign of peace, also say, ‘And thank you for being here.’ Help everyone to feel welcome, valued and loved by God, who looks at the heart because he chose us first.”
At the end of Mass, Bishop Bejarano “offered a special blessing for the faithful gathered, expressing gratitude for God’s diverse creation and a desire of the church to grow in appreciation of it,” according to a recap of the event.
“Help us to embrace that each of our beloved LGBTQ siblings, and everyone who is or feels marginalized by your Church, are beautifully and wonderfully made, all in Your image. Teach us to love ourselves, as You love us, so we may in turn love all people, just as they are, and embrace their identity fully, as You have embraced us.
Bless our LGBTQ ministry, that we will continue to grow by Your grace and bring all people to the knowledge and love of Jesus Christ.”
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“church as a mother” …
The true church is not the mother of the wicked world. The true church is the Lord’s BRIDE …
A BRIDE that remains pure and faithful to her betrothed …
A bride who believes Him, trusts Him, is not deceived by the serpent’s lies, and does not fall into transgression … that’s the true church …
Eve had a choice. She had to decide who she would believe … the Deceiver or her Creator.
What does it require to be born again. It means to believe. What does it mean to believe. It means to know that the Lord is not the one who’s lying to you. And it is by that faith that we are saved.
The apostate “church” shouts from the rooftops “Did God actually say ….. ?” … it shouts … “God is lying to you!!!” … it’s the church of the Deceiver …
If He tells you a “fruit” is bad … then it’s bad … he’s not lying to you …
The offspring of the RCC, which instead puts itself in the place of Mary, is a false messiah … it’s a false gospel … that false messiah is indeed it’s own offspring … a non-existent figment of their imagination .. not the real Jesus …