Catholic Teen and Family Denied Communion — For Supporting Marriage Equality

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(By Andrew MacKie-Mason)

MSN Now has the story. The awesome teen in question is Lennon Chihak of Minnesota, who spoke out on Facebook in opposition to a proposal in the state that would exclude same-sex couples from the benefits given to married couples by the government. The Catholic leadership did everything it could to support the discriminatory proposal, using its tax-exempt bully pulpit to its fullest potential. But thankfully, many in the flock are brave enough to stand up for equality: in fact, support for marriage equality is slightly stronger among Catholics (51%) than among the American public as a whole (50%).

I'm encouraged by this, actually. If the Catholic Church gets serious about enforcing discipline on this issue, I'd guess that the priests will quickly realize that their parishioners have move beyond the Church's antiquated version of morality. Either the Church will reconsider its wrongheaded views, or its political power will dramatically lessen as fewer and fewer Americans are willing to associate with (and donate to) an organization that is so behind the progress of reasoned opinion.

Change is slow in patriarchal, hierarchical organizations. But demographic change is steady and inexorable. As the years wear on and the baby boomers lose cultural and political power, even organizations like the Catholic Church will have trouble filling their ranks with opponents of equality. And so, there is hope.