I looked at the beginning of this video, but cannot bring myself to watch the rest. It is clear that the priest and clergy did not know that this was going to happen until it was underway. They didn’t expect the hijacking of the beginning of the service or the theatrical performance that ensued. IMHO, there is no way that the elderly priest knew ahead of time who this person was, let alone that he wasn’t a she. The friends of the deceased admitted that they weren’t forthcoming about that little detail.
Funerals are not researched and investigated like weddings or other sacraments. People are given the benefit of the doubt and if someone says the deceased was a Catholic woman who wanted a Catholic funeral, that is going to be accepted.
Once the mass was underway, I’m not sure how it could have been stopped without causing a “hissy fit” for lack of a better term.
Should the priest just have walked away? Probably, but in this case, given the size and composition of the “audience” present, I think he was “damned if he did (see “hissy fit” above) and damned if he didn’t (see Church-condemning comments here). The immediate plans to rededicate the church are a good sign that this was not condoned.
This particular event should be taken as an attack on the Catholic church, and should draw the condemnation of the people who orchestrated this farce, not the people who were fooled by it.
I know there are priests who sinfully support the alphabet agenda, and I will fight against those wherever I find them, but this does not appear to be one of those cases.
In the long run, God will not be mocked, and the gates of hell will not prevail. Trying to deceive God and His Church into bestowing blessings is a dangerous practice, so I will pray for the deceased and all of the people who participated in this deception as well as for those who were fooled by it.
My 0.02
Love,
O2
I recall reading about a Catholic church in CA. that on Halloween had the eucharistic minister dressed in costumes. One dressed as Satan. If I recall correctly they had an exorcist come to purify the church.