Rabbi Takes Over Priest's Role at Midwestern Basilica's Good Friday Prayer Service

Lucinda Naylor is the former "artist in residence" who was fired from her position at the Basilica of St. Mary's in Minneapolis  for opposing  Archbishop John Nienstedt's pastoral CD regarding the defense of marriage. For a time, her paintings disappeared from the Basilica's walls where the homosexual painter's works are said to be stations of the Cross. They have since returned, as the Basilica itself plays host to a man who does not hold the Catholic Faith, but is tolerated to preach.

"Painting" of Judas' Betrayal

As a reform rabbi took over the prayer service from the pastor of the parish, Father John Bauer, a wooden cross was passed around over the heads of the crowd like at a rock concert. Doctor van Parys, who's responsible for that spectacle, contrasts his good Friday Liturgy and celebration with those which came before, by saying that before, it was an opportunity for Christians to persecute the Jews,

“Prior to the Second Vatican Coun­cil, Good Friday was seen as a day when Catholics would traditionally persecute the Jewish people, blaming them for the death of Christ. Jews would literally hide from Catholics on that day,” said van Parys. “We thought it would be a jarring yet enlightening experience to invite a rabbi to speak to our congregation during Tenebrae.”[Tenebrae is what they referred to as their Good Friday Service]

The Diocesan newspaper is unconcerned and unmoved by the strange oddities taking place at this prayer service, with rose petals falling from the ceiling and a moment when there is a whimsical and cultic bedlam as the lights are turned down and the laity bang their pews for about five minutes in the darkness, as if to waken things below that would be better left asleep.

Laymen may not preach, may certainly not preach vague humanistic messages having nothing to do with the Gospel.

Pro-Homosexual Activist Suspended at St. Mary's Basilica

Archbishop Nienstedt is serious about oppposing this non-sense and explaining the Catholic Faith. There's not much more to the story than what is cited below, but it is interesting that the "artist" who's been adorning the downtown Basilica with her creations for years has compared herself to Galileo.

[Minneapolis, Star Tribune] Lucinda Naylor, a Minneapolis artist and part-time church employee, was suspended from her job over a protest sculpture using antigay marriage DVDs distributed by the Catholic church.

The Catholic church began to mail the DVDs to 400,000 Catholics in Minnesota last week. They argue for a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage in the state.

According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the Rev. John Bauer, pastor of the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis, made the decision to suspend Naylor, a 15-year employee.

Read further at Minneapolis Star and Tribune...

Local News Article from KMSP and Video:

[KMSP] Archbishop John Nienstedt announced Monday that every Catholic in the state will be mailed a DVD defending marriage as between one man and one woman, as he hopes to "rally the troops" around the Church's position on the divisive issue just six weeks before Election Day.

Nienstedt appears at the beginning of the eight-minute video, which was prepared by the Knights of Columbus, and will be mailed to the state's Catholics on Wednesday, paid for by a large donation, the archbishop told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS Monday evening. The archdiocesan website lists the state's Catholic population at "approximately 800,000."

"Our target is basically our Catholic people," Archbishop Nienstedt said in an interview. "To remind them of what we believe and why we believe it and why it's so important that they believe it."

With special thanks to the Knights of Columbus who helped make this all possible... although they were earlier justifiably accused of sending mixed messages this year by failing to oust Pro-Abortion and Pro-Homosexual politicians. Will this make it more difficult for such men to associate themselves with the Knights of Columbus? We hope so.

Course, goes without saying that this place has a booth at a "Gay Pride" event.