A Catholic church in Massachusetts says it will no longer fund a
local art museum after it responded to last week’s Supreme Court rulings
in favor of same sex marriage by offering to host weddings for gay and
lesbian couples.
Rev. Stephen M. Gemme, pastor of the St. Bernadette Parish in Northborough, told the Telegram & Gazette
that the church could no longer fund the Worcester Art Museum because
it had used social media to express a message of support for the LGBT
community.
“We’re simply not going to support them institutionally as in the
past,” Gemme explained. “We’re just following the lead of the diocese on
that.”
A June 26 Facebook and Twitter posting from the museum had simply said, “Congrats LGBTQ Nation! The Worcester Art Museum is proud and happy to host your wedding!”
“The post was in an effort to join a national dialogue in a positive
way,” Worcester Art Museum Director of Audience Engagement Adam Reed
Rozan told the paper on Monday.
“We welcome all guests to experience the
joy of coming together with friends and family amidst 51 centuries of
art. In this way, our museum becomes not only a repository of historical
objects, but part of peoples’ personal narratives.”
A spokesperson for the Diocese of Worcester, however, insisted that
no churches had been directed to pull support from any organizations.
“We don’t support gay marriage. But, we haven’t said divest yourself
of any organization,” diocese Communications Director Raymond Delisle
pointed out. “I think any individual group will make their decision
based on their plans and relationships.”