Hateful advice

Local Catholic pastor posts anti-Pride bulletin

A recent post released by St. Gregory the Great Catholic Church on their community website sparked outrage in the community due to its aggressively negative anti-Pride messaging. The post was placed in the bulletin by the church’s pastor Father Chisholm, who did not think of the post himself, but merely regurgitated the information from a post that was circulated through some of the extreme rightwing Catholic churches in the United States regarding this year’s Pride festivities. It reads as follows:

“A reminder that Catholics should not support or attend LGBTQ “Pride Month” events held in June. They promote a culture and encourage activities that are contrary to Catholic faith and morals. They are especially harmful to children.”

Nat Wollenberg proudly waves the Pride flag during a peaceful demonstration at St. Gregory’s Catholic Church in Picton.

Father Chisholm extended his plea to include “all other christians” as well as Catholics, and added the following County-specific twist:

Even in “The County” there are Pride flags and banners flying courtesy of the government. Think…. These are your tax dollars at work.

The openly negative statement was posted publicly on the church’s website via their community bulletin and was noticed almost instantly. Through the fast-moving medium of social media, the statement struck a chord and was quickly shared a myriad of times, each time with sadness and shock that such a negative statement had been released. Hashtags like #StGregorytheHate and #notinourbackyard started popping up on feeds. Within one day of the statement, a peaceful demonstration was organized to coincide with the church’s Sunday mass. By Sunday at 9:30 a.m an overwhelmingly large crowd of roughly 700 people had gathered in front of the church for the peaceful demonstration, fully equipped with bright colours, rainbow flags, sidewalk chalk, and signs with passionate messages for the parishioners. Signs such as “God is love includes everyone” and “Until we are safe”. A large representation of families could also be seen, including a father and his three sons who stood on the church steps for a moment, the oldest son holding a sign saying “My dad’s gay, but we are OK.”

Julie Scott is 18 years old and wanted to be at the demonstration and show support for her community. She said she felt very sad when she read the statement and felt like it had come out of another time or era. “This is important because I am a member of the LGBTQ2S+ community, and I want people to know that we wish no ill will or harm, but we have to stand up for what’s right. We should love everyone,” said Scott.

Dawn Stafrace of Ephra Events, attended the demonstration with a satirical sign.

Meghan Beatty drove in from Trenton to be at the protest. She explains why this is so important to her. “This is everyone’s community. I know people that live here that, like me are in the LGBTQ community and I want to show them support. You need to be visible when something like this happens. The more people the better,” said Beatty.

The statement from Father Chisholm and St. Gregory’s was also met with disappointment from local business owners and dignitaries alike, including Mayor Steve Ferguson, who released an official statement regarding St. Gregory’s. Mayor Ferguson was also on hand at the protest and had this to say on the day. “The showing of support here today perfectly illustrates that Prince Edward County is a community of communities, many of which have shown up today to voice their concern. It’s both emotional and a bit overwhelming to see so many people from varying ages and backgrounds in the County rally behind something as passionately as this.” Television personality, author and new business owner Carson Arthur and his husband Kevin Lockwood were also present at the demonstration. Arthur was calm and focused in the message that he wants sent to Father Chisholm and St. Gregory’s for releasing such an openly hateful statement. “When you have a person in authority like a minister, I understand that people have different views, but to teach hate and try to encourage that among other people is unacceptable. It’s one thing to have your own personal views, but to incite and embrace a negative approach to a community is also unacceptable. This community is a safe spot and this community will accept and embrace the differences that are here in the County,” said Arthur.

When the demonstration began, local and fellow Catholic Patricia Gin approached the church steps and began greeting parishioners as they entered for mass. “Thank you for coming, God loves you” she would say, or “Welcome, don’t be afraid, we are all here because we love you.” Almost instantly upon Ginn’s greeting of the parishioners, three representatives from the church appeared and asked Ginn to step off the premises. Their tone was not positive, but confrontational and aggressive. Ginn replied that she had a right to come to service because she is a Catholic, which was received very poorly, and the police were promptly called. Ginn continued greeting people coming for mass even when the police arrived and would not leave the steps even after being asked by law enforcement. Ginn was eventually asked to come in and attend the service, which she agreed to do and waved to the crowd as she went in. The protest continued outside and eventually turned into a march that made its way down to Macaulay House, but some speculated that it was a ploy by the police to get the crowd away from the church, so a handful of protesters returned to the site again to make sure their message was heard.

At the end of the service, Gin exited the church looking visibly shaken and emotional. She was crying, but wanted to make a statement about how she had been treated by St. Gregory’s.

Patricia Ginn greets parishioners against the will of the church during a peaceful protest this past Sunday at St. Gregory’s Catholic Church.

“I want to say that is so hard to be hated. You have no idea what it feels like to be hated so much for who I am, for who I have always been. I was born into the Catholic church and baptized. I am a child of God, and I have been treated with such disrespect as I was today. To be threatened by an agent of the church to be removed from the property. It’s not right. Our fight continues. We will fight until there is no fight left in us. Today I received communion from Father Chisholm, and I hope he got that message,” said Ginn.

Father Chisholm is not the only pastor to copy this statement. In the United States, the Diocese of Providence Bishop Thomas Tobin sparked a backlash last week when he tweeted the original statement that Chisholm modified for the church bulletin. The tweet in the US found its way to celebrities like Patricia Arquette and Mia Farrow. Farrow had this to say on the statement.

“This is pure ignorance and bigotry. Ignore this hate-filled hypocrite. His mindset leads only to suffering. He brings to mind those priests who molested my brothers. Of COURSE we should embrace our LGBTQ brothers and sisters. Jesus spoke of love,” says Farrow.

The Archbishop of Kingston, Michael Mulhall, did release a statement regarding the hateful message. “I understand that there was a message published in the Sunday bulletin at St. Gregory the Great Parish regarding Pride Month activities in Prince Edward County. “I did not sanction this message, and it does not reflect the spirit of accompanying charity and compassion that should always characterize our faith. The Archdiocese has spoken with the pastor of the parish. he regrets any hurt that his inappropriate comments have caused.” said Mulhall.