The Illinois Roman Catholic bishop who
called on priests to deny Holy Communion and funeral rights to
married gay couples says he's surprised by the backlash his decree
has received.
Earlier this month, Bishop Thomas
Paprocki of the Catholic Diocese of Springfield, an outspoken
opponent of marriage equality, issued a decree in which he claimed
that the church has “the serious obligation to affirm its authentic
teaching on marriage and to preserve and foster the sacred value of
the married state,” which it says excludes gay couples.
Gay men and lesbians who are married
should not be “admitted to Holy Communion” given “the
objectively immoral nature” of their union or receive funeral rites
unless they showed “some signs of repentance before their death,”
the
decree states.
Paprocki told the Catholic World
Reporter that he was stunned by the extensive media coverage his
decree received.
“Yes, to the extent that the decree
is a rather straightforward application of existing Church teaching
and canon law,” he said. “The Catholic Church has been very
clear for two thousand years that we do not accept same-sex
'marriage,' yet many people seem to think that the Church must simply
cave in to the popular culture now that same-sex 'marriage' has been
declared legal in civil law. From a pastor’s perspective, it is
quite troubling to see that so many Catholics have apparently
accepted the politically correct view of same-sex 'marriage.' This
just shows how much work needs to be done to provide solid formation
about the Catholic understanding of marriage.”
Paprocki added that he has privately
received “many supportive comments and assurances of prayer” on
the issue. He also lashed out at his critics.
“Gay activists have harassed my staff
and me with obscene telephone calls, e-mail messages and letters
using foul language and profanity, supposedly in the name of love and
tolerance. I am sorry that people around me have been subjected to
such hateful and malicious language,” Paprocki
said.
Paprocki, 64, was a vocal opponent of
Illinois' passage of a law four years ago that extended marriage to
gay couples, going so far as to perform an exorcism against same-sex
marriage.
At the time, Paprocki said the ceremony
was about love: “[B]eing opposed to things that are sinful, that's
actually a very loving thing.”
(Related: Illinois
Bishop Thomas Paprocki says exorcism against gay marriage about
love.)