Nearly 300 people gathered to protest a Minneapolis Catholic church after its archdiocese barred an annual gay pride prayer service from taking place inside. Protestors marched around St. Joan of Arc in objection to the ban.
"Biblicly there's no way they can come up with this kind of conclusion and stay within the bounds of scripture. It is a sin. But I love those people. I have had struggles in my own life and I have been set free. I know they can be set free too," said Dan Callender, who lives next to the church.
Gay and lesbian groups said the service is a tradition that’s several years old.
Michael Bayly is the executive director of the Catholic Pastoral Committee on Sexual Minorities. He helped organize Wednesday’s protest and short prayer service that followed on the front steps of the church.
"This word lifestyle is a propaganda word. They never explain what they mean by it. They limit a person's life to their sexual activity, but there's so much more," Bayly said.
The Archdiocese of Minneapolis-St. Paul has 219 parishes. Spokesman Dennis McGrath declined being interviewed on camera but said in a statement, "We welcome and embrace people from the gay and lesbian community in our churches. However, it does not extend to a full gay and lesbian lifestyle."
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