D.C. archdiocese: Denying Communion to lesbian at funeral was against ‘policy’
Barbara Johnson was denied communion and the priest walked out on her mother's funeral last Saturday after he found out Johnson was a lesbian. (Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post)
By Michelle Boorstein, Published: February 28, 2012 | Updated: Wednesday, February 29, 2012 8:27 AM
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.
“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.”
“I am sorry that what should have been a celebration of your mother’s life, in light of her faith in Jesus Christ, was overshadowed by a lack of pastoral sensitivity,” Knestout wrote. “I hope that healing and reconciliation with the Church might be possible for you and any others who were affected by this experience. In the meantime, I will offer Mass for the happy repose of your mother’s soul. May God bring you and your family comfort in your grief and hope in the Resurrection.”
Johnson called the letter “comforting” and said she greatly appreciates the apology. But, she added, “I will not be satisfied” until Guarnizo is removed.
Archdiocese officials at first issued a short statement saying that the priest’s actions were against “policy” and that they would look into it as a personnel issue.
“When questions arise about whether or not an individual should present themselves for communion, it is not the policy of the Archdiocese of Washington to publicly reprimand the person,” the statement said. “Any issues regarding the suitability of an individual to receive communion should be addressed by the priest with that person in a private, pastoral setting.”
Messages for Guarnizo and other parish staff were not returned. Neither he nor other parish leaders were at the church or the rectory Tuesday night.
Wuerl said he did not believe in denying Communion because it is impossible to know what is in another person’s heart. The issue took off during the 2004 presidential campaign, when some conservative Catholic leaders said that Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.), the Democratic candidate, should be denied Communion because of his pro-choice views.
Johnson said that her partner of 20 years had been helping the family at the church earlier when the priest asked who she was. “And she said, ‘I’m her partner,’?” Johnson recalled.
When Guarnizo covered the wine and wafers with his hand during Communion, Johnson stood there for a moment, thinking he would change his mind, she said. “I just stood there, in shock. I was grieving, crying,” she said. “My mother’s body was behind me, and all I wanted to do was provide for her, and the final thing was to make a beautiful funeral, and here I was letting her down because there was a scene.”
Johnson’s mother and late father were lifelong churchgoers who scraped to send their four children to Catholic schools, said Barbara and her brother, Larry Johnson, a forensic accountant who lives in Loudoun County. Barbara lives in Northwest Washington and for years taught art at Elizabeth Seton High School in Bladensburg, her alma mater.
At the funeral Mass, Barbara Johnson was awash with spiritual memories of her mother: The 85-year-old waking from a heart attack this month and immediately crossing herself. The two women curled up in an ICU bed a few days later. Johnson reciting the “Hail Mary” and “The Lord’s Prayer” as her mother slipped away.
Despite their outrage, the Johnsons said they don’t see the incident as a reason to criticize the church more broadly. “We agreed this is not a discussion about gay rights or about the teachings of the Catholic Church,” Larry Johnson said. “We’re not in this to Catholic-bash.” That’s the farthest thing from our minds.”
But since Saturday, other Catholics have told him that the experience has shaken their faith. “You have serious questions about how American Catholics in particular practice their faith. How many divorced people live in a technical state of sin? How many people practice some form of artificial birth control in a state of sin?” he said. “If the church will now have these ‘state of grace’ police, you know, how can that be? That’s the most personal thing in the world — between a person and God.”
Had, Paine, survived execution to now? .. i wondered .. he was mentioned in your last body link ..
They were representing a fellow named Paine who is on death row in Las Vegas. He had a bad habit of killing taxi drivers. This Paine had a number of brothers and they had all been raised in Boys Town. When Paine was convicted it turned out that, as they explained it to me, he was a multiple personality that was deliberately created.
In other words, someone had used psychiatric techniques and sexual abuse to alter this young man’s mind.
Yes, and this happened at Boys Town. The story he told was that all of these mind control experiments were being carried out.
His name was Kenneth Marcum. He was a 50-year-old Checker Cab driver.
He hadn't been driving a taxi long. The few acquaintances he'd made at the cabstand liked him after just a few months on the job.
You're forgiven for forgetting his name after all these years. Marcum was shot twice in the back of the head on the morning of Jan. 19, 1990. He died a day later. His killers escaped with about $45.
I was reminded of Marcum on Friday after learning that his killer, Frederick Paine, was about to have the latest appeal of his death sentence heard this week in Carson City before the Nevada Supreme Court. Before his original sentencing back in October 1992, Paine told a three-judge panel, "They call me a murderer. It's just a title. It's what's inside your heart. That's what you are. ... One day, this storm will blow over, and I'll still be standing here and still be a caring person. ... I can't express my sorrow for the pain I caused. I'd gladly trade my life for his."
Well, I guess that depends on what your definition of "gladly" is.
Through his court-appointed attorneys, Paine has spent the past 19 years appealing the death sentence he received after he admitted killing Marcum and nearly murdering cabdriver William Walker, whom he shot three times in the back of the head with a cheap .25-caliber pistol during a bloody robbery spree after New Year's in 1990. Paine was joined in his exploits by fellow Boys Town graduate Marvin Doleman, who also received the death penalty.
Blessed with a thick skull, Walker recovered and was able to identify Doleman and Paine as his attackers. He also recalled their laughter as they ran away after robbing and attempting to kill him.
Back at the time of sentencing, we learned that Paine was regularly beaten as a child. He traveled from one foster home to another before ending up at Boys Town, Neb., where witnesses for the defense testified Paine was forced to steal to feed himself and his housemates.
Paine was a decent student and a gifted athlete. He earned a college track scholarship and, despite his nightmarish start in life, had an opportunity to make something of his life.
Instead, as he described it, he fell under the influence of Doleman, his more violent Boys Town running mate. It was Doleman who had talked him into the idea of robbing cabdrivers, Doleman who had dropped the .25 in his lap as the two sat in the backseat of the unsuspecting Marcum's cab.
Doleman was the devil, but Paine did the deed.
The killers were caught within hours of shooting Marcum outside the Viking Villas Apartments at 1503 E. Viking Road.
After Paine's confession, he was interviewed by court-appointed psychologists and psychiatrists. One veteran would write, "His description of the killing is told with little feeling, no remorse, and an acknowledgment that he has no reason to deny anything. ... The affect was memorable only by the lack of appropriateness to the heinous quality of the crimes."
In fact, witnesses testified Paine had laughed after each shooting, according to published reports. Paine and Doleman even found reason to smile during one of their District Court appearances.
Back in 1992, that three-judge death penalty panel deliberated about 10 minutes before determining Paine's fate. When he heard the bad news, Paine was emotionless. He had agreed to plead guilty and had agreed to accept his fate.
But that was then.
All these years later, the state Supreme Court is once again asked to determine whether the District Court wrongly denied his second post-conviction petition for a writ of habeas corpus. That's long hand for his attorney's attempt to have his death sentence reconsidered on procedural grounds.
I could go on for days about the ineffectiveness of the death penalty in our society, but why waste the ink?
Fact is, inside the justice system the death penalty is a game. Advocates on both sides of the complex issue take their place and battle it out daily in courts across the land. They argue the law, the investigative flaws, and the moral questions inherent in the state's decision to take a life.
I prefer to remember Kenneth Marcum, rookie cabdriver, would have turned 69 this year.
John L. Smith's column appears Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. E-mail him at Smith@reviewjournal.com or call (702) 383-0295. He also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/smith.
Barbara Holborow, said 'get into the family with problems before the child is 3 and you will avoid many problem kids later on' .. i'm pretty certain it was in the one in the link of Richard Fidler's interviews in this one ..
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