ALTOONA, Pennsylvania (LifeSiteNews) — Just under a dozen courageous Catholics prayed the holy rosary in reparation for the sins committed during a “pride parade and festival” last week while being mocked and heckled by angry “LGBT activists.”
On Friday October 10, the small group of faithful Catholics, who were also joined by a few Protestants, recited the sorrowful mysteries of the rosary in reparation for the sins committed at the event and by the LGBT movement while carrying an icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help as the “pride parade” passed by and persevered in imploring the Blessed Mother’s intercession despite loud LGBT activists repeatedly approaching and mocking and screaming at them. The public rosary was led by Father Andriy Kelt, a Ukrainian Catholic priest who is the pastor of three parishes in the area and attended by a small group of mostly young lay faithful from across the Keystone state and one who traveled across state lines from Maryland to participate.
The annual “Altoona Pride Parade and Festival” was organized by the Blair County Inclusion Alliance and Penn State University’s Altoona campus to coincide with “National Coming Out Day,” which was commemorated by leftists last weekend. The event drew hundreds of people who identify as “LGBT,” many with their same-sex “partners,” others who were cross-dressed, and a handful of “furries.”
Interestingly, the day of the “pride” event, October 10, also coincided with World Mental Health Day.
Faithful must ‘take up space’ against evil
“We have to take up space and make our voice heard and defend God’s design for marriage. God gave us so many wonderful gifts on this earth, and marriage is one of them,” Fr. Andriy told LifeSiteNews. “He instituted (marriage) to be between one man and one woman for the procreation of children.”
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The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that “homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered” and “contrary to the natural law” and that the homosexual inclination is “objectively disordered.” The Catechism is very clear that homosexual activity can never be approved and repeats that “(h)omosexual persons are called to chastity.” Homosexual acts are mortal sins; therefore, anyone who commits these sins and does not repent through the sacrament of confession is in danger of hell.
The priest also emphasized the need to counter evil with good to alleviate our society’s suffering from these sins.
“We need to stand up and defend that because if we don’t, people will suffer spiritually, emotionally, mentally. So, we need to counter evil with good,” the priest added. “That’s what Our Lord taught us, when He was tempted by the devil in the desert, what did he use? The Holy Scripture. So, I think we should do the same, we should raise our voices and defend that which is holy.”
Praying for children indoctrinated by leftist parents
Rosary organizer Clark Stephenson, who traveled almost two hours from Butler, Pennsylvania, to organize the event, told LifeSite that he planned this protest because someone had to make reparation for these sins that cry to Heaven for vengeance. He noted the shocking number of children attending the “pride” event.
“To think that so many of them are going to be just raised in such a demonic atmosphere,” he said.
Indeed, in recent decades, children have become increasingly exposed to LGBT propaganda at a young age, with several sexually explicit books about same-sex “couples” being marketed as “children’s books” and numerous school districts including these books as part of their curriculum.
READ: Seattle Public School says parents can’t opt kindergarteners out of LGBT instruction
But Stephenson also stressed that ultimately the faithful need to pray for the conversion of these activists and their children, many of whom don’t realize the extent of the evil they’re promoting.
“We, of course, pray for them. ‘Father, forgive them for they … Some of them know not what they do,” he said.
Finally, Stephenson emphasized that the LGBT ideology is creeping its way into more rural areas and small towns like Altoona across the country.
“(LGBT ideology) is starting to creep into rural America, and we need to push it the hell out!” he said.
Brett Dimaio, who traveled just over an hour from Cumberland, Maryland, for the protest and wore a “Catholics against Sterilization” sign he made himself, echoed Stephenson’s sentiments about so many small children being brought to the parade by their parents.
“Small children are brought by their creepy parents and guardians to come out to these things, and they’re taught that this is normal and should be celebrated. They couldn’t be more wrong,” he said. “So we’re here to pray for these children, because the adults they can at least choose.”
Protesting out of ‘love for thy neighbor’
Derek Showalter, of Martinsburg, Pennsylvania, who held the icon of Our Lady during the rosary, underscored that the rosary of reparation was ultimately recited out of love for the parade attendees and to exhort them to repentance.
“As opposed to the ‘welcoming hand’ that is being offered in a lot of people’s minds today, the welcoming hand that needs to be offered is that, yes, our Lord loves these people as His creation, but in that He loves them and does not want to see them fall away and end up falling into a sin that would ultimately, per Church teaching, lead them into the fires of hell,” he said.
“We have love for thy neighbor, and in that love for thy neighbor, as St. Paul exhorts so many times throughout his epistles, it is not love to condemn, but it is love to exhort to repentance,” he added.
Xavier Lafosse, who drove almost an hour and a half from Latrobe, Pennsylvania, for the rosary protest, expressed hope that others who don’t approve of “pride parades” and other LGBT propaganda might be inspired by their witness to speak out for themselves.
“I came out today not only to protest against the entire parade itself but to also show people who don’t agree with the entire gay movement, who might be too scared to come out here themselves, to show them that there are other people who are willing to stand on the sidewalk with them, protesting and peacefully praying,” he said.
“Maybe this will inspire people in future years if this horrific event continues to also come and make a stand with us for Christ,” he added.
