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The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines Scandal as:

“… an attitude or behavior which leads another to do evil. The person who gives scandal becomes his neighbor's tempter. He damages virtue and integrity; he may even draw his brother into spiritual death. Scandal is a grave offense if by deed or omission another is deliberately led into a grave offense. Scandal takes on a particular gravity by reason of the authority of those who cause it or the weakness of those who are scandalized.” (C.C.C. par.2284 and par. 2285)

LOS ANGELES (Catholic Online) -- Just as the Catholic faithful were breathing a sigh of relief that the underlying issues which gave rise to the sexual scandals of the past were being addressed; a new event now holds the Catholic Church up to ridicule and mockery. A week after the notorious “Folsom Street Fair”, where various homosexual groups marched through the Streets of San Francisco to call attention to their disordered sexual activities and chosen lifestyles, an event took place during Holy Mass on October 7, 2007 at the Most Holy Redeemer Parish in San Francisco which belies belief.. The participants are a part of a fringe minority within the homosexual community who now demand that such behaviors be protected by law as some kind of new “right”.

Members of the “Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence”, one of the groups which has regularly promoted and participated in the “Folsom Street Fair” attended Sunday Mass at Most Holy Redeemer. This particular Liturgy was presided over by the city’s Archbishop George Niederauer. The protagonists appear to have known the Bishop was going to be present and they had timed their activity accordingly. This activist group is openly and notoriously anti-Catholic. They mock the Catholic Church and all that Catholics hold dear. They engage in Blasphemy as sport. This day, as usual, they wore the outlandish outfits which are obviously intended to mock consecrated women religious.

Their attendance was intended to shock regular Mass goers and call attention to themselves. However, for these extremists that was not sufficient. They intentionally came forward and placed themselves in the communion line in order to receive the Most Holy Eucharist, the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. When a Catholic receives this Sacrament, he or she attests to being in the full communion of the Catholic Church. In other words, the communicant is publicly saying that they accept everything taught by what is called the Magisterium, the teaching office of the Catholic Church. Clearly this was not the case with these bizarrely attired visitors.

Many residents and parishioners have expressed the opinion that anyone in San Francisco would have recognized these people, given the news reports of the prior week. According to some observers they came forward to the altar only after having attempted to disrupt the Liturgy. The insolence of these mocking men, dressed in garb intended to belittle the vocation of so many holy women, was sufficient to justify righteous anger. It would have been appropriate for the ushers to politely invite them to leave. Instead, they were given the Eucharist by the Bishop.

Bill O’Reilly of the Fox News Network presented a report on Friday October 12, 2007 entitled “Mocking the Catholic Church”. Properly, the Archbishop of San Francisco has issued a public statement and an apology for giving the Sacrament to these people. Catholic Online has featured this statement as have many other news sources. The statement will appear in the Archbishops’ Sunday column in the "Catholic San Francisco". In this column he offers an apology, stating “...a recent event that greatly concerns me needs some additional explanation -- and with it an apology." He claims he did not know who these visitors were. At the end of this apology he states “…I conclude that the presence of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence at the Mass on October 7th was intended as a provocative gesture.” (Apology by Archbishop George H. Niederauer of San Francisco)

What occurred during the Liturgy at the Most Holy Redeemer Parish in San Francisco constituted a sacrilege. It has caused serious scandal, as clearly articulated in the Catholic Catechism which is cited at the beginning of this piece. The Catholic faithful should pray for the Bishop. We should also pray for the conversion of the perpetrators. The Church hierarchy should now examine this entire incident very carefully.

The members of the virulently anti-Catholic organization, the “Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence” should publicly acknowledge that what they did was anti-Catholic, intolerant and wrong. They should be held to account for their anti-Catholic, blasphemous actions. The Catholic lay faithful must rise to this moment and defend the faith and the rights of the Catholic Church. Fortunately, groups such as the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, led by the pugnacious and dedicated Catholic activist Bill Donohue, will not let this event go unnoticed. In an age of escalating anti-Catholicism, Catholic citizens must not be silent.

This egregious affair presents one more public moment for the Catholic Hierarchy to revisit the question of giving the most Holy Eucharist to those knowingly engaged in public and unrepented of sin. That includes those Catholics who are running for public office while openly condoning the taking of innocent human life in the womb or, as in this case, those engaged in disordered and deviant sexual lifestyles who use our Churches as their field for engaging in sacrilegious and anti-Catholic action in order to continue their efforts to force their propaganda on the public.

Deacon Keith A. Fournier - Editor-in-Chief/Director of News Service for Catholic Online