Nicholas Coppola: Gay Catholic Parishoner Banned From Church Involvement

Angel Au-Yeung
19 minutes ago

This dissonance between the Roman Catholic hierarchy and its parishioners were made apparent in a recent incident involving a gay Catholic man who, despite finding acceptance from his fellow peers and priest, was nonetheless shunned by those higher in command.

Nicholas Coppola, a parishioner at St. Antony’s Roman Catholic Church in Oceanside, New York, was not only actively involved in his church as a religious education instructor, lector, altar, and server — he had also been openly gay to his priest and fellow parishioners for years. Many of them supported his relationship and a number of members within the congregation attended his legal wedding on October 27, 2012.

However, the pastor of St. Antony informed him shortly after returning from his honeymoon that his marriage was against church teachings and he could not longer be active in the church.

This episode, while unfortunate, happens all too frequently. In Maryland, a woman was denied communion at her own mother’s funeral because she was a lesbian. And in Minnesota, a 17-year old was denied confirmation because he had posted a Facebook photo of himself that showed his support for gay equality.

http://www.policymic.com/articles/32731/nicholas-coppola-gay-catholic-parishoner-banned-from-church-involvement