Teen denied Communion after marriage equality Facebook post
Catholics beware: if you want to participate in church rituals, you need to agree with all of the church’s beliefs, religious and political.
Reverend Gary LaMoine of the Assumption Church in Barnesville, Minn., denied 17-year-old Lennon Cihak the Eucharist rite of Communion after seeing a picture on Facebook of the teen that went against the church’s politics.
The image in question, currently inaccessible due to privacy settings, depicted Cihak holding a modified sign in support of an amendment to the state’s constitution that would define marriage as being between a man and a woman. Cihak’s modification to the yard sign reflected his support of marriage equality.
Known as Amendment One, the initiative was rejected by Minnesota voters on Nov. 7. One of its most vocal opponents was Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe, who quit blogging for the Twin Cities Pioneer Press after the paper’s editorial board ran an opinion piece in support of the legislation.
According to The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, Rev. LaMoine called in Shana Cihak, Lennon’s mother, into a private conversation where he informed her of his decision.
“You kind of know the Catholic beliefs, but I never thought they would deny somebody confirmation because you weren’t 100 percent,” Cihak told the paper. “I guess that’s what shocks me.”
The sanction stemming from the Facebook photo applies to the rest of the Cihak family. Shana Cihak confirmed that they were not allowed to participate in Communion at the Assumption Church.
Despite being shunned by the church, Lennon isn’t holding any grudges.
“I don’t want the church to be put down. I don’t want the Catholic religion to be put down. It’s just the way the priest has things running. He’s so strict. He won’t loosen up about things.”
The Daily Dot called the Assumption Church asking to speak with Rev. LaMoine but was denied.
“We’re not making any comments on what we feel is an internal matter,” the unidentified person who answered the phone told us.
Photo via thaths/Flickr