Detroit, Mich., Mar 30, 2005 / 22:00 pm
In a statement issued by Communications Director Ned McGrath, the Archdiocese of Detroit, has defended the actions of Fr. Michael Bugarin, pastor of St. Joan of Arc parish in St. Clair Shores, Michigan, who is accused of discriminating against an openly lesbian couple seeking to become members of the parish.
Mary Horon and her civil partner Cheryl Mathers say that they were denied membership in the church because they are “openly gay”, and because they applied for membership in the parish as “a couple.”
On Monday, Horon told Michigan’s ‘Macomb Daily’ that the issue is “blatantly about us being gay and the church condemning homosexuality."
The statement released by the Archdiocese said that, "The Catholic Church is committed to the support of -- and a belief in -- the marriage of one man and one woman, and does not recognize so-called same-sex unions, whether civil or otherwise, period."