A priest denied communion to two women as they wore rainbow masks to a Feb. 11 Mass at All Souls Parish in Englewood, a city just south of Denver.
Susan Doty said the rainbow face coverings were intended "to show empathy and compassion" for Maggie Barton, who the Denver Archdiocese fired from her teaching job last month at All Souls School after learning she was in a same-sex relationship. Ms. Doty is a former Regis University professor who holds a doctorate in Scripture and a master's degree in theology.
Doty said she donned the rainbow mask not only to support Barton and her allies, but also to honor her late brother, who was gay.
"I did this partially for Timmy; he suffered a lot because he was gay and Catholic," said Doty, adding she hopes Aquila might "reconsider his point of view" about LGBTQ people "because of all the feedback around this incident."
"I don't know if that's possible," she said. "But my hope endures."
The Roman Catholic Church is based on hierarchy of many groups of people, including women and LGBT. As in any hierarchy, if the people with power at the top, who tend to be clueless about the problems they create for everyone else not like themselves, strive to keep the hierarchy strong, change is long in coming.
https://www.ncronline.org/news/denver-area-catholic-women-say-priest-denied-them-communion-over-rainbow-masks
