A priest in attendance at the mass where lesbian couple returned to the choir said that it was “hijacked” by LGBT equality supporters

Following the much applauded return of married lesbian couple Jacinta O’Donnell and Geraldine Flanagan to their roles in the Athy church choir, Fr Brendan Kealy has expressed his condemnation of same-sex marriage.

“It is acts of sinful and selfish behaviour that offends God,” Fr Kealy wrote in a letter to the Catholic Voice newspaper.

“Our bodies are created to give worship to our creator and our lives become an act of adoration in spirit and truth. To defile the body is to hold the whip again at Calvary, to be the one stripping Jesus at the foot of the cross.”

Regret

Although he was one of five priests in attendance at St Michael’s church in Athy when O’Donnell and Flanagan returned to the choir and were applauded, and although he even applauded himself, Fr Kealy has admitted that he regrets doing so.

“I was not present to promote or condone same-sex ‘marriage’ or what appeared to be the apparent triumphant and victorious return of our musical directors which seemed to become the focus of the evening,” Fr Kealy wrote.

“In my opinion, the mass was hijacked to support the cause of same-sex ‘marriage’ which is clearly in breach of Catholic Church teachings.”

Reform

Fr Kealy was careful to say that simply being gay or lesbian does not offend God or the Church, instead it is acting on non-heterosexual desires that causes offence.

The fifty-seven year old priest told LGBT people that it isn’t too late to seek reform as the “prodigal child” that God could forgive.

“It is never too late to make a radical change in one’s life. God the Father in his divine mercy constantly awaits the return of the prodigal child.

Although there was an outcry of support for O’Donnell and Flanagan from liberal Ireland, Fr Kealy has also been inundated calls and emails supporting his position following the publication of his 1600 word letter in Catholic Voice.

Orthodox

Catholic Voice is run by conservative Catholic Anthony Murphy who first decried the couple’s leadership roles following their marriage this summer.

In a text message to Jacinta, Murphy put pressure on the couple to resign from the choir even though the parish priest Canon Frank McEvoy was supportive of them.

Murphy has since expressed an interest in creating an Catholic group called the Lumen Fidei Institute which will aim to push orthodox Catholic teachings into politics.