Priest attends cousin's wedding, says reading; Reflected on permanent record

It's not exactly a newsflash that the Catholic Church doesn’t support same-sex marriage, but Connecticut priest Father Michael Devito is making headlines this week [1] after he received an official rebuke from his archdiocese for attending the same-sex wedding of his cousin, where he also delivered a reading.

The wedding announcement [2] in the New York Times makes it sound like Father DeVito was assisting with celebrating the ceremony. However, in the archdiocese’s official statement on the matter, it notes that "[DeVito’s] participation in the ceremony was limited to doing a reading. He wore no vestments, but had worn his Roman collar."

The statement continues: "Archbishop Mansell informed Father DeVito that his participation in this ceremony was understandably perceived by many Catholics as an implicit endorsement of same-sex marriage, which is contrary to Church teaching. As a consequence, and in accordance with canon law, the Archbishop formally rebuked Father DeVito and informed him that the rebuke would be a permanent part of his record."

So, a Catholic priest saying a reading at the marriage ceremony of a family member constitutes an implicit endorsement of something contrary to church teaching, but when Cardinal Timothy Dolan delivered prayers at both the Republican and Democratic national conventions [3], he attended these political events "solely as a pastor, only to pray, not to endorse any party, platform, or candidate"?

DeVito said that he would not participate in any future same-sex marriages (which 53 percent of Catholics have expressed approval of [4]).

Related:

Pride and prejudice: The uneasy relationship between gays and lesbians and their church [5]