The man ''chose to disrupt'' the service at the conclusion of the video supplied to the parish by the Massachusetts Catholic Conference which defends traditional marriage, said the Rev. Michael Doyle of St. John the Evangelist church.
The video ''showed the need to preserve marriage as a union between one man and one woman,'' Doyle said, one day before the Legislature renews debate on a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage.
''I just found it to be such a scurrilous, scandalous piece of misinformation,'' Chuck Colbert, the man who protested, told The Associated Press. ''For me to sit there and take it is out of the question.''
Doyle said he called police to ''maintain order,'' but Colbert was not arrested or detained.
Colbert is a freelance writer who regularly contributes stories published in the National Catholic Reporter, an independent weekly paper that has endorsed same-sex marriage.
He said the video, available on the Web site www.preservemarriage.org , was played just after Doyle's homily. Colbert said he stood up, introduced himself as a gay Catholic, and protested what he heard and saw.
''I said 'I mean you no harm, I have to bear true witness,''' said Colbert, who was shouted down by several parishioners.
The Archdiocese of Boston has been politically active in the gay marriage debate. Archbishop Sean P. O'Malley has spoken at anti-gay marriage rallies, and the church has urged Catholics to write to their state legislators.
Archdiocese spokesman the Rev. Christopher Coyne said Sunday the Massachusetts Catholic Conference regularly distributes information, including videos, to parishes across the state, and doesn't need to vet material through the archdiocese.
''For the most part, they are people who know what they're doing,'' Coyne said of the conservative group.
Coyne said he had not heard of other disturbances Sunday and said he doesn't know if other parishes showed the video.
''It was made available by the Massachusetts Catholic Conference to any parish that wanted it,'' Coyne said.
In the video, a female voice, played over various images, urges listeners to contact lawmakers to urge them to vote against both gay marriage and civil unions. It says civil unions ''discriminate against the poor and needy,'' and will hurt the economy by paying out social security survivor benefits.
The only other Catholic church in Canton, St. Gerard, did not receive a copy of the video, according to the Rev. Bernard McLaughlin.
At St. John's, the video was shown during the 9 a.m. Mass. Doyle decided to not show it during the 11:30 a.m. service, Coyne said.
Coyne said it was appropriate to show the video, noting that only Colbert objected.
''He's not even a member of that parish,'' Coyne said. ''He doesn't even worship in Canton. He was obviously alerted and decided to disrupt that Mass.''
Colbert acknowledged he was alerted about the video, but that he's free to attend any Mass.
''I wanted to see how it was presented,'' he said. ''I've never seen anything like that.''
Phone Numbers
800-444-8910 Advertising/List Rental
816-531-0538 CORPORATE OFFICE
For sample copies or subscription information,
call toll-free: 1-800-333-7373
Web site: NCRonline.org
Fax Numbers
816-968-2268 Advertising/List Rental
816-968-2292 CORPORATE OFFICE
816-968-2280 Editorial
http://natcath.org/mainpage/contactm.htm
The anti-Catholicism of the "National Catholic Reporter" aka the National Communist Reporter
National Catholic Reporter - The anti-Christian 'Passion of the Christ'