Auxiliary Bishop Oscar Cantu has put a stop to St. Ann’s in San Antonio weekly gay/transgender Mass that has been held there for 15 years.

Now, Dignity/San Antonio is saying they’re shocked and disappointed. Fred Anthony Garza, president of Dignity/San Antonio, said “Of course it was hurtful and disappointing…Many people in the community felt rejected, so part of our responsibility is meeting the needs and the pastoral needs of those people that are hurting.”

KSAT reports:

Deacon Pat Rogers, communications director for the Archdiocese of San Antonio, said there were conflicting messages about the group’s official teachings.

“The fact that this was an advocacy group that represented publicly and in their own way, a position that was outside of Catholic teaching in regards to homosexuality,” Rogers said. “And, the fact that we understood there was irregularities in the liturgy, itself.”

Rogers said the letter from the auxiliary bishop also extended an invitation to the group to join other Catholic parishes without a segregated mass.

But instead the group held a ceremony without a priest at a nearby Presbyterian Church. So maybe they’re more serious about being gay than Catholic.

The group’s leader Garza said they’re pinning their hopes on “opening a dialogue” with Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller which typically means that you do what they want or they’ll call you names in the press.

CMR commends Auxiliary Bishop Oscar Cantu’s actions here. He has invited them to be non-hyphenated Catholics. He asked them to instead of being gay Catholics or transgender Catholics how about just giving being a non hyphenated Catholic a try. Let’s hope they hear him.