by Daisy Mae Inglese, Restoring the West
When the Church blurs the line between welcome and affirmation, it risks leading souls away from the one truth that can set them free.
Many Christians dismiss Pride events as another expression of a secular culture increasingly detached from biblical morality. But there is something far more serious than a Pride parade: a Mass that leaves people believing the Church affirms what Christ calls them to turn away from. The greatest danger to Christianity is not hostility from without, but confusion from within. When error is clothed in the language of compassion, it becomes far harder to recognize.
The recent Pride Mass at the Stonewall National Monument in New York illustrates this danger. Surrounded by rainbow flags, organized by an LGBTQ ministry, and celebrated just steps from the Stonewall Inn, the liturgy intentionally connected the Eucharistic celebration with the symbolism and narrative of the Pride movement. The organizers described the event as celebrating spirituality, community, and service. Supporters saw it as an act of welcome. The problem is that many attending could reasonably conclude that the Church now sees Pride identity and Catholic discipleship as fundamentally compatible.
Christ certainly met people where they were. He ate with tax collectors, spoke with prostitutes, and touched lepers. But he never left them where they were. His encounters always contained an invitation to conversion: “Go, and sin no more.” Authentic Christian love never ends with affirmation; it always points towards transformation. A ministry that centers homosexual or transgender identity rather than baptismal identity risks communicating the opposite message: that these identities should be embraced, rather than subordinated to our identity as adopted sons and daughters. Scripture bluntly warns believers to be aware of false “false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing” (Matthew 7:15). The greatest deception is often not an outright rejection of truth, but a disturbing distortion of what appears compassionate.
Read also: Why gays turned against Pride by Patrick West, Spectator