Supreme Court plaintiffs claim discrimination after Catholic cemetery rejects pro-gay headstone

lifesitenews.com ^ | 05/19/2016 | Lisa Bourne

[massmike]

The homosexual plaintiffs behind the Supreme Court case legalizing gay “marriage” across the U.S. are claiming discrimination after a Catholic cemetery declined their headstone design because it conflicted with Church teaching.

"It's pretty clear when you read the letter that this is a clear case of LGBT discrimination," said Greg Bourke, one-half of the same-sex Louisville, KY, couple named as plaintiffs in Obergefell v. Hodges.

Bourke and Michael De Leon held a press conference Wednesday outside St. Michael Cemetery to claim the Archdiocese of Louisville was discriminating against them for its rejection of the tombstone, local NBC affiliate WAVE-3 reports. Bourke says the archdiocese was getting a pass on showing prejudice against the men because of religious protection in anti-discrimination law.

Bourke and De Leon’s proposed headstone design blatantly revels in the Obergefell decision redefining marriage, sporting an image of the Supreme Court building beneath a pair of intertwined wedding rings between their two last names. Below the image of the high court building, their first names and middle initials, along with space for their respective dates of death are divided by a cross.

Bourke and De Leon, longtime attendees of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Louisville, were named the 2015 “persons of the year” by the dissenting National Catholic Reporter publication for the men’s role in undercutting marriage, which lauded “their faithful public witness as gay Catholics.”

The Catholic League defended the Louisville archdiocese for upholding Catholic morals in its cemetery policy.

[Trillian]

From what someone told me once.. they want to be cremated and put into chili so they can tear that ass up one more time ;)

[setha]

Good odds that the plaintiffs were looking for a lawsuit.

[Tax-chick]

someone converting to Judaism won’t be or can’t be Semitic

Unless he or she was Arab, Ethiopian, Eritrean, or of some other Middle Eastern ethnicities that are, in fact, Semitic.

[Pollster1]

private property

A bakery is private property too, but that doesn't stop the petty tyrants.

[Ray76]

the bakery is not a private religious association. its property is open to the public, a religious cemetery is not.

[SkyDancer]

Yes, yes, and okay.

[MarkL]

I believe that in Canada, due to their “hate crimes” laws, it’s illegal for a Catholic priest to say that homosexuality is a sin from his pulpit in church.

It’s coming here too. I’ve got friends who are very pro “gay rights,” and fully supported homosexual messages. Every single one has said they thought that once they got marriage, it would be over. They ALL recognize how wrong they were, and are horrified by what they’re seeing.

I’m note sure that “I told you so” is enough, but they’ve all apologized to me for their shortsightedness. I guess they didn’t recognize that “gay marriage” wasn’t the result the “gay mafia” were looking for, but just a first step.

Mark

[MarkL]

Just thinking about something else...

I really think that the courts will HAVE to side with the Church on this one...

If one commits mortal sins, aren’t they are always denied burial in Catholic cemeteries? As an example, people who commit suicide are denied burial in Catholic cemeteries. I may be wrong, but aren’t homosexual acts considered to be mortal sins as is suicide?

This would completely close the case.

Mark

[Mrs. Don-o]

It's not mortal sin per se which could disqualify a person from a Catholic funeral and from burial in consecrated ground (Catholic cemetery), since discerning the personal guilt of the mortal sin would require looking into somebody else's mind and heart, which we can't do.

(I am not a canon lawyer, so if I'm wrong here --- yes, it's possible! --- I will gratefully accept correction.)

What would disqualify a person, would be something objective and public.

Suicide used to bs considered such, but in my lifetime the thinking has swung around that suicides are often not in their right minds, and therefore not fully culpable for their actions. Lamentably, we just buried a 20-year-old suicide from our parish. There is a good presumption he was mentally ill, he had a background of psych treatment.

"Being homosexual" wouldn't disqualify a person from a Catholic funeral and burial in consecrated ground --- most of their sodomitical acts would have been private, which is to say, not displayed to observation, and who knows, the person might have repented on their deathbed--- but Gay "marriage" would, I think. Because of the public nature of marriage: it would be a visible, official, objective, manifest rejection of Catholic faith and morals.

Anybody else who knows the subject better than I do, please chime in.

[Mrs. Don-o]

This HEADSTONE thing, of course, is a public, open, obvious provocation. I agree with tax-chick: the cemetery just has to say No. Finis.

[fwdude]

"Bourke and De Leon, longtime attendees of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Louisville..."

This is what comes of the "welcoming" heresy. Welcome in poison, and you will die from it. And homofascism is the deadliest of poisons.

The Apostles and other writers of scripture frequently direct the EXPULSION of heretics within the body. Why wouldn't churches follow this requirement?

[NetAddicted]

Well, if that’s true, I think the Church would have told them that when they said they wanted a faggot headstone.