SYRACUSE, New York (LifeSiteNews) — The bishop of Syracuse, New York, decried the removal of an LGBTQ “pride” flag from a parish in his diocese as “unfortunate.”
Over the night of June 6–7, an unidentified Catholic man ripped down a “pride” flag from All Saints Catholic Church in Syracuse, the parish website revealed.
During a subsequent, blasphemous “pride” Mass at the church, Pastor Father Fred Daley, who describes himself as a “gay priest,” quoted from a letter from the bishop of Syracuse, Douglas J. Lucia, in which the prelate condemned the flag’s removal and burning.
“I have learned of the unfortunate incident regarding the Pride flag,” Lucia wrote. “It certainly does not reflect the love and compassion that this month, dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, wishes to promote.”
The Church teaches that true compassion does not mislead a soul into believing that grave sins such as homosexual acts are morally permissible, but instead promotes chastity – sexuality in accordance with God’s law – for the salvation of souls.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church declares that “homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered” and gravely evil and “under no circumstances can they be approved.” It also teaches that the homosexual inclination is “objectively disordered.”
According to Daley, the man who took down the sacrilegious flag anonymously emailed the parish, revealing that he is a recently converted Catholic and has burned the flag.
During the All Saints parish so-called “Pride Mass,” held on Trinity Sunday – also Father’s Day – Daley told the congregation they were celebrating “Pride Weekend.”
“The rainbow is a beautiful, beautiful symbol of God’s diversity – and we’re called to celebrate God’s diversity,” said Fr. Daley, blasphemously suggesting that homosexuality and “transgenderism” is willed by God.
He later welcomed “Mr. Kevin Noble Ward,” a gender-confused woman and member of a local Episcopal church, to deliver the homily and “share his [her] journey to the truth – his [her] truth.”
Ward, previously profiled in a Washington Post article promoting transgenderism, spoke at length during the homily about her decision to “transition from female to male” and her rejection of a previous denomination she described as “anti-LGBTQIA+.”
It is unclear whether Bishop Lucia knew about this “pride” Mass ahead of time, but Daley appears to have assumed his consent to it, especially given that he operates as “openly gay” under the leadership of Lucia.
LifeSiteNews has reached out to the bishop’s office for comment about the All Saints “pride” Mass, but has not heard back as of publishing.
