Washington D.C., Mar 11, 2012 / 15:08 pm
Information published online by a Maryland woman who was recently denied Communion because of her lesbian relationship suggests that she is actually a Buddhist and an active “gay rights” supporter.
Barbara Johnson, 51, has become the subject of recent media attention after claiming that she had been denied Communion at her mother’s funeral, where she introduced her lesbian partner to the priest, Fr. Marcel Guarnizo, before Mass.
However, the website for Art Works Studio School in Mt. Rainier, Md., which Johnson founded, states that she “considers herself a student” of “Buddhist philosophy.” The school’s Twitter page also contains recent posts criticizing the Maryland Catholic Conference for its hostility to “gay rights.”
Johnson complained after she was denied Communion on Feb. 25 at St. John Neumann Catholic Church in Gaithersburg, Md., which is part of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. She said that Fr. Guarnizo told her she could not receive the sacrament because her homosexual relationship was a sin in the eyes of the Church.