Irish Foreign Minister criticises ban on gays in St.Patrick’s Parade

Jaysus Dennis Q, you still don’t get it! It is not I or any other person who says the sexual practices engaged by LGBT people are wrong. The Bible, which all Christians accept as the Word of God revealed to mankind, says it. When I used the words ‘tawdry, gaudy glittering’ phrase, it was an allusion to Christ’s temptation by satan when he tempted Him with all the glittering riches of the world. Nobody is saying that Irish and Irish-American LGBT people shouldn’t march in the NYC parade... we’re saying that they shouldn’t use the occasion to flaunt their sin-filled bedroom lifestyles. On top of that, no NYC Catholic is going to easily forget the attack made by LGBT people in St. Patrick’s Church some years ago when they flung Holy Communion Hosts about, strewn on the floor. It is difficult to offer tolerance to those who do such things to further their cause.

The struggle for inclusion in the St. Patrick's Day line of march has to be expanded to a push among Catholics for greater tolerance, indeed greater charity. I've taken issue with maloney who believes that gay people are incapable of behaving themselves. And I also take issue with jacersagain who sees "satan's gaudy, tawdry glittery promises and desires" in gay sexuality.

Both of these gentlemen are far out of the mainstream even among conservative Catholics. Ordinary Catholics ought to repudiate such extreme views, and gays can indeed persuade them to to do just that.

It's just too incredible that there would not be any gay saints, especially at the rate John Paul II was canonizing people who lived exemplary lives. Surely there are people whose cause just needs an advocate before the bureaucracy in Rome. The point here is to catch the Church up in its own doctrine, that is, if God made gays that way, surely some of them ought to be canonized.

Frankly, you won't get any recognition from the Church if you don't have your own saints. Don't assume every Catholic is as unforgiving as maloney or jacersagain. A gay saint will lead the way toward inclusion in the line of march on St. Patrick's Day in Manhattan.

Most people don't care to see arse cheeks in the parade, plain and simple. They don't know how to behave.

Sorry DanO – I understand your apology and thank you for it to me and others watching your posts but I don’t think it cuts through the ice of truth in the NYC Irish parade's objectives' of being Irish. The LBGT brigade has every democratic right to portray what they are: selfish self-sexually abusing people - anywhere other than in a traditionally sacrosanct Irish celebration in NYC, or anywhere else on this planet. >>> Your point re the DADT policy being dishonest is good and taken for what it is - but for being Irish and Christian celebrating St. Patrick’s objectives and his results throughout the world on 17th March every year, and the objectives and results of those who came after him out of Ireland to places like Munich (very big St. Patrick’s parade there too!) and other places throughout Europe - in our Irish Christian legacy today and as in NYC's Irish parade - while the LGBT brigade believe that they can flout against both those principles on God's planet Earth leaves a lot of... well you know.. a lot of begging belief in a lie. At least, according to God’s Word and Will, I hafta say, it is not acceptable to humans promulgating God’s design of life, whatever way one chooses to interpret either or both of St. Patrick’s objectives, which are those of Christ Himself, for people to behave to one’s own satisfaction. It is not the way of Christ. I urge every member of the LGBT brigade to look to Christ’s way to find the love they deserve and stop craving for it in the wrong ways, the way He found ways to reject satan's gaudy, tawdry glittery promises and desires.

Jacers...it’s certainly not my intention to cause offence, and I apologise if that’s the case, although other posters don’t seem to mind offending the LGBT minority. I was trying to say that the ‘don’t ask. don’t tell’ approach is fundamentally dishonest, and people have a right to be proud of who they are…so long as they’re not harming others, and using the paedophile scandal to illustrate where silence and looking away can lead to.

What if the Archbishop of New York said it was ok for the IrishGLBT to march? Would it be ok then? Seems like the Archbishop of New York would be willing to go along I would think.

By Jesus, DanO you've really lost the plot with that comment, flinging mud at mainstream Catholics! It's completely unrelated to the right of mainstream Irish-American Catholics and their guests to walk in the NYC parade without the tawdry disrespectful displays of people who reject all Irish Christian Churches’ teachings (those of St. Patrick included but most of all rejecting the teachings of the Bible of Christ through His Father in Heaven) and having regard for the deliberate havoc that LGBT people with their unnecessary histrionics cause to what is a singularly Irish event. Talk about respect DanO - the LGBT brigade doesn’t have any for the traditional uniqueness of the NYC parade and what it means. Pity that. I'm sure they would be welcomed as Irish alone.

Use of phrases in previous posts such as ‘keep your sexual orientation to yourself, we don't want to hear about it’ and ’private bedroom preferences’ may help to explain how paedophile priests were able to wreak their havoc across communities. Well we’ve all heard about it now!!

Why do so many people thinks it is ok for groups to identify and march behind a banner of their union, their school, their job etc. but that it is not ok for a group of Irish and Irish American lesbians and gay men to walk behind a banner of their own? There isn't one banner that everyone walks behind on the day celebrating our Irishness, and there shouldn't be.

A Catholic parade? Does that mean that during the screening process for who can march in the parade, Protestants, Jews, atheists, Hindus, Moslems,Buddhists,Druids,and " fallen away Catholics" etc, are purged from the line of march? Hmmm, I think that would make for a very short parade.

The LGBT community is trying to use the St. Patrick's Day parade as a publicity stunt. The gay community is allowed to be in the parade! They DO NOT need to have their own contingent and banners as their sexual orientation has NOTHING to do with Saint Patrick or Irish heritage. Keep your sexual orientation to yourself, we don't want to hear about it. And by the way, this is a Catholic parade. We don't discriminate against gays, as that is their choice and no one should be descriminated against, but we don't agree with it or condone it either. Bottom line, being gay is irrelevant to the parade. Go get publicity somewhere else.

Mattachine is taken from the Italian mattachino, a word for the court jester who tells the truth to the king.

I think that’s a silly comparison made by DanO – I don’t think anyone would object to LGBT people participating in NYC’s SPD parade if they would just celebrate being Irish and not flaunting their sexuality. Before anyone shouts “..but.. but others flaunt their (whatever)!!...” let’s make a clear distinction between Irishness, Irish culture, Irish-American commercial displays and public displays of private bedroom preferences.

I never realized gays are banned (as the headline seems to claim) from the parade. I will have to inform my gay cousin who marched yesterday with County Clare. I wonder how loud Mr. Gilmore is when the gay parade marches past St. Patrick's Cathedral and they do their "colorful" anti-Catholic act. I wish someone would ban all the dopey screaming drunks with their stupid hats....

Seems those who strongly resented the old ‘No Irish need apply’ signs are quite cool with ‘No Gays need apply’ signs?….hypocrites