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ST. PAUL - A group of Roman Catholic laymen tried to prevent gay Catholics and their supporters from taking Holy Communion on Sunday by standing and kneeling in the church aisles at the Cathedral of St. Paul. About three dozen men calling themselves "Ushers of the Eucharist" confronted members of the Rainbow Sash Alliance, a group that donned rainbow-colored sashes and ribbons in support of a right for gay Catholics to receive communion. The men took turns kneeling in front of the altar to block the path of those wearing rainbow sashes and ribbons. There were no physical altercations, but...

Cardinal Francis George has ordered priests to withhold Communion from members of the Rainbow Sash Movement. They attempt to receive the sacrament while wearing a sash signifying their defiance. CHICAGO - The volatile issue of denying Holy Communion to Catholics who defy church teachings, a question already tangled up in U.S. politics, has spread to a new controversy involving gay Catholic activists.

CHICAGO, May 26 /PRNewswire/ -- The Rainbow Sash Movement (RSM) is deeply saddened by the response of Francis Cardinal George to the presence of gay and lesbian Catholics at the Cathedral for Pentecost Sunday, May 30, 2004 at 12:30PM. In wearing the Rainbow Sash we call Cardinal George to honor our experience, we continue to call on him to honor his commitment to Rainbow Sash Movement for ongoing public dialogue, and to work with us for justice and understanding. Cardinal Mahony of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles has notified the Rainbow Sash Movement that his Cathedral will welcome Rainbow Sash...

Cardinal says no communion for gay protesters Sunday May 25, 2004 BY ART GOLAB Staff Reporter Gay Catholics who plan to identify themselves by wearing a rainbow sash in church Sunday should be denied communion, according to a memo Cardinal Francis George has written to all pastors in the Archdiocese of Chicago. The wearing of the sash is sponsored by the Rainbow Sash Movement, which has several chapters across the country and plans to show up Sunday at Holy Name Cathedral.

SYDNEY, May 21, 02 (CWNews.com) -- Archbishop George Pell refused to distribute Communion to members of a gay-rights group at Mass on Pentecost Sunday in Sydney, Australia. Members of the Rainbow Sash Movement (RSM), in a gesture they had announced to the media before the Mass, donned rainbow sashes to symbolize their opposition to Church teachings regarding human sexuality. They then approached the altar, where the archbishop denied them the Eucharist. A similar incident occurred in Melbourne, and there too the RSM protestors were denied the Eucharist, by the city's new Archbishop Denis Hart. Archbishop Hart did offer a blessing...