Father Marcel Guarnizo Placed On Leave For ‘Intimidating Behavior’

Father Marcel Guarnizo

Last week i posted about Father Marcel Guarnizo, who refused Communion to a Lesbian at her mother's funeral, walked off the altar as the woman eulogized her mother, and then refused to accompany the service to the cemetery for the burial.
I think Father Marcel Guarnizo is a complete asshat, as I said--HERE--even after it was pointed out that the Lesbian in question, Barbara Johnson, was a Buddhist and shouldn't be receiving Communion. That didn't explain Father Marcel Guarnizo's other appalling behavior.
And now, the Not-So-Good padre has been been placed on administrative leave from ministry in the Washington archdiocese, though the specific details of his "leave" were not made available.
However, a letter from Bishop Barry Knestout, written to other archdiocesan priests, says the punishment was for “engaging in intimidating behavior toward parish staff and others that is incompatible with proper priestly ministry.”
i.e. He was an asshat.
The archdiocese confirmed Guarnizo's removal, and noted that Knestout's letter was read at all Masses this weekend at St. John Neumann, where the Reverend Thomas LaHood noted that the removal was not related to the Communion standoff, but "pertains to actions over the past week or two."  He did not elaborate.
LaHood, though, did speak about the disagreements that have unfolded in the parish because of the funeral Mass scene: "As we know there’s been disagreement within the parish over how and to whom Communion is distributed. From my perspective this disagreement and related emotions flow from love. Love for Christ, really and truly present in the Eucharist. However, how we live out this love is important. The Scriptures tell us that we are known above all by how we love. I realize this letter is hard to hear. Please keep mind that this is a first personnel issue, dealing with issues of ministry in the church. Father Guarnizo will have every opportunity to present his position."
An archdiocesan spokeswoman would not clarify if LaHood's comments meant that Guarnizo would not be penalized for his denying Communion to Barbara Johnson at the funeral.
Johnson has maintained that as she approached Guarnizo in the Communion line that day, he covered the bread and told her that he could not give her the sacrament “because you live with a woman, and in the eyes of the church, that is a sin.”
Guarnizo has refused to comment on what happened at the Mass.
The interaction between Johnson and Guarnizo has triggered intense debate among Catholics. Some say being in a same-sex relationship makes  Barbara Johnson  automatically ineligible for Communion, a moment that Catholicism teaches creates the actual presence of Jesus Christ and is not for people outside of a "state of grace." Others believe the process of determining a person’s “state of grace” is more complex and personal, between God and the Catholic.

Barbara Johnson

Adding to the confusion, shortly after the funeral Mass, the archdiocese apologized to Johnson, stating that Guarnizo’s refusal of Communion to her was against the policy of Archbishop Donald Wuerl, who has said it is not the right time or place for a spiritual standoff. 
Yet, in a public statement, the archdiocese implied that both sides were at fault: “We believe that to receive Communion, a person should be in the state of grace, which means that they are not conscious of having committed a sin serious enough that it ruptures their relationship with God....If a person is conscious of having committed a grave sin, he or she may not receive Communion until they have received absolution in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. A person who is conscious of grave sin but has no opportunity to go to Confession may receive Communion for a serious reason, but first that person must pray to Christ expressing their sorrow, also known as a perfect act of contrition....”
Whatever the case, Father Marcel Guarnizo's behavior was reprehensible. If Barbara Johnson, as a Lesbian, is not to be offered, or ask for, Communion, that's one thing; if she has no right to Communion because she's ALLEGEDLY a Buddhist, that's another thing. But for Father Marcel Guarnizo to leave the altar during the eulogy for one of his parishioners, or even just another Catholic, and for him to refuse to attend the burial service, is despicable.
All in the name of god, no doubt.


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Father Marcel Guarnizo: So Effing Christ-like

Barbara Johnson

Imagine one of your parents died, and you were tasked with arranging the funeral, and if your parent was Catholic, arranging the Mass.

Now, imagine you're gay, and the Priest will not give you Communion at the Mass because you're gay. And, you soldier on, because it's your mother's funeral.

But it gets worse. It was much worse for Barbara Johnson.

Last week, at St. John Neumann Catholic Church in Gaithersburg, Maryland, Barbara Johnson, her friends and family, gathered to say goodbye to Barbara's mother, who died after a brief illness. 

Just a few minutes before the funeral began, Father Marcel Guarnizo, who was presiding over the service, apparently learned that Barbara Johnson was a lesbian.

Now, Barbara had been born and raised Catholic and never thought her sexual orientation would be a problem with Father Marcel until she stepped forward to take communion.

"Father" Marcel Guarnizo

"He said, 'I can not give you communion because you live with a woman,'" Barbara says.

Barbara composed herself, because, well, it was her mother's funeral, after all, and simply walked away. She had a eulogy to give.

A few minutes into her speech in remembrance of her mother, Barbara noticed that "Father Marcel left the altar and didn't return until I finished." 

And it gets no better.

After refusing to give her communion, and then walking off the altar while she was giving her eulogy, Father Marcel refused to go with Barbara's mother's body to the cemetery in Aspen Hill. 

Barbara Johnson was told that Father Marcel had suddenly become ill.

How f%king Christ-like. Not only was this "priest" disrespectful to Barbara Johnson, he was disrespectful to her mother's memory and to every single person int hat church.

In a written statement, the Archdiocese of Washington conceded that Father Marcel had acted improperly, saying, "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."

In other words, tell them they are less than in private.

Barbara Johnson is a better person than I; she says she's satisfied with the statement, though the damage done, both to her family and to her mother's memory, can never be repaired: "We don't get a do-over.  This was her one moment to pass from this earth."

That's the Catholic Church.

Ruining lives, and ruining funerals because of their homophobia.

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