Confirmation controversy: another teen also “chose not to enter into full communion” over same sex marriage

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:02 pm by Deacon Greg Kandra

Confirmation controversy: another teen also “chose not to enter into full communion” over same sex marriage 2016-09-30T17:02:09-04:00 Deacon Greg Kandra

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The story that broke last week keeps widening. The latest:

The teenager who was not confirmed at the Catholic church here after he publicly supported same-sex marriage was not the only student who was denied the religious sacrament for backing gay marriage, the church’s priest said in a letter made public Friday.

In the letter, addressed to the parish of Assumption Church at 307 Front St. N., the Rev. Gary LaMoine says “a couple of candidates chose not to enter into full communion with the Catholic community because of their disagreement with the teaching of the Church concerning marriage.”

LaMoine also apologizes in the letter for the actions of 17-year-old Lennon Cihak’s family, who went public Wednesday with their claims that LaMoine denied their son confirmation after he posted a pro same-sex marriage photo on Facebook last month.

“I apologize to the parish for the actions of this family,” LaMoine wrote. “I have personally spent much time talking to them face to face about their unwillingness to accept the teaching of the Church on marriage but to no avail.”

Lennon’s parents maintain that their son was denied confirmation by LaMoine soon after he discovered the Facebook photo of the boy encouraging people to vote against a measure that would have amended the state constitution to define marriage as between one man and one woman – a measure that ultimately failed.

In the letter sent out to the parish, LaMoine says Lennon voluntarily withdrew from the program after LaMoine saw the photo and challenged him on why he was “rejecting a central teaching of the Church.”

But even if Lennon hadn’t withdrawn, LaMoine said he wouldn’t have confirmed him, he said on Friday.

“We just simply couldn’t do it no matter what, given what was out there,” LaMoine told The Forum in an interview. “He could be confirmed, but he’d have to change his mind about some things, and I don’t know if Lennon is going to do that.”

When reached by phone Friday evening, Lennon said the other confirmation class member referred to in the letter is a “good friend” who also was at odds with church teachings about same-sex marriage.

“They were supportive of me,” he said of his friend’s family, who he declined to name. “He’s standing up for what he believes, too.”

The Cihaks has maintained that they wanted Lennon to be confirmed, but not if it meant lying to the church. Shana Cihak said that Bishop Michael Hoeppner of the Diocese of Crookston told her that if her son went before the church and retracted his claims, then he could be confirmed.

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