NEW YORK (LifeSiteNews) — The Church of St. Paul the Apostle, staffed by the notoriously dissident Paulist Fathers, held a “Pride Mass“ at the Stonewall National Monument commemorating the homosexual riots that helped spawn the LGBT movement.
The June 25 Mass across the street from the Stonewall Inn where the “gay rights” movement began was presided over by Paulist Fr. Chris Lawton, associate pastor at St. Paul the Apostle. Lawton suggested that holding the celebration at Stonewall reflects Jesus’ own way of ministering, according to the National Catholic Reporter (NCR).
St. Paul the Apostle “Catholic” Church (NYC) had a “Pride Mass” in Manhattan yesterday. https://t.co/077XzUKQ8U pic.twitter.com/sRECXabsyY
— Matthew Joseph (@matthew_sede) June 27, 2026
“Our church has been built on rock,” Lawton averred. “Built on the faith so many people who believed in God’s extraordinary love, and from that faith, helped build up this church even as they were marginalized. This includes, for centuries, LGBTQ Catholics.”
According to the NCR report, Lawton offered particular recognition to transgender Catholics, saying, “I want to apologize to our transgender siblings, who continue to face unique injustice in this church, and at this time in the life of our country as well.”
He also thanked LGBTQ Catholics “whose faith in God and knowledge of their own belovedness has led them to extraordinary service, even amidst that adversity.”
Canon 932.1 requires that Mass “must be done in a decent place” if celebrated outside of a sacred place, Father Philip-Michael Tangorra, a canon lawyer and priest for the Diocese of Paterson, New Jersey, told Catholic News Agency in June 2023 after a similar Stonewall “Pride” Mass.
“The first question becomes: What constitutes a ‘decent place’? The Latin is ‘loco honesto,’ an honorable place. Stonewall is doubtfully honorable considering the decor,” he said.
Moreover, according to canon law, a Mass may only be held outside a sacred place due to “necessity,” typically constituted by large numbers of attendees or sickness and old age.
“There does not seem to be a necessity to celebrate at Stonewall. Rather, this location seems more opportunistic for sensational reasons,” Fr. Tangorra said.
He added that while celebrating a Mass outside of a church is at the discretion of the priest according to the 1983 Code of Canon Law, “the diocesan bishop can order the priest to locate the Mass in a sacred place.”
Catholics commemorate the Sacred Heart of Jesus during the month of June, but LGBTQ activists have dubbed June “Pride Month” because of the Stonewall Riots, a series of violent uprisings by homosexual residents of Greenwich Village after the police raid of a homosexual bar.
Mennonite church gives ‘glitter pixie dust’ blessings
Meanwhile, a Mennonite church in Portland, Oregon, invited congregants to come receive a “fairy dust” blessing consisting of “glitter, dried flowers, and dirt from significant places.”
The “glitter pixie dust” blessings were bestowed in a way “similar to communion.”
Portland Mennonite Church invites congregants to come receive a ‘queer’ ‘fairy dust blessing’ which is “a combination of “glitter, dried flowers and dirt.” pic.twitter.com/qOVb2sjp4X
— Protestia (@Protestia) June 27, 2026