The Diocese responds
A statement has been issued from the Diocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
Charges about Father Leo Tibesar & St. Frances Cabrini Parish
Various bloggers and websites have reported that Father Leo Tibesar, of Saint Frances Cabrini Parish in Minneapolis announced his intention to bless same sex marriages. Those reports are not true. Father Tibesar has never blessed a same sex marriage nor does he intend to do so, which would be a violation of his priestly vows and state. He made this very clear in a public clarification issued by Saint Frances Cabrini’s parish council and following a meeting with Archbishop Harry J. Flynn.
During his meeting with Archbishop Flynn and Auxiliary Bishop Richard Pates, Father Tibesar also agreed to remove any language from the St. Frances Cabrini parish website that is in opposition to Roman Catholic Church doctrine and to refrain from statements in any form that are contrary to Church teaching. He confirmed these commitments to Archbishop Flynn in a letter following their meeting. Communications Office, Archdiocese of StP&M
I find the parsing of what they said to be a tad disingenuous.
Charges about Father Leo Tibesar & St. Frances Cabrini Parish Various bloggers and websites have reported that Father Leo Tibesar, of Saint Frances Cabrini Parish in Minneapolis announced his intention to bless same sex marriages. Those reports are not true.
Well what the parish website said on reconciliation with homosexuals.
"Publicly bless the relationships of a same sex couple after the couple completes a process of discernment similar to that completed by heterosexual couples before marriage;"
How is this not an intention to bless so-called same sex marriages? You could say that it certainly might be true that Fr. Tibesar did not say this. Though you might think he has some responsibility for what is written on his parish's website, especially something up their for a while. This page is now removed so certainly they knew what pages had to be removed.
For years Fr. Tibesar has been part of the Leo Tibesar pro-homosexual lobbying group dignity as part of their National Leadership Team. He was made pastor even after this. In July of 2007 he once again participated in Dignity's annual convention where one of the workshops said "We will discuss John Paul’s definition of marriage in his day and how it supports gay marriage today." From his homily last month:
Two people came into Church to pray, one was a Catholic Archbishop who refuses communion to Rainbow Sash people at the Cathedral on Pentecost Sunday who prayed " I give you thanks oh God that I am not like others – greedy, dishonest or like others who need to make their dissent from official Church teaching so public and divisive.
The other were Rainbow parents of GLBT people at the Cathedral on Pentecost who stood off on the side and prayed, "Oh God be merciful to us for failing to attend our own Churches more often; they say they love God then turn there backs on us in hate directly contrary to 1:John,4 – whoever loves God must also love the neighbor."
The Rainbow Sash Movement also supports same-sex marriages among other things totally against the truth of Catholic teaching. So I guess we are to believe that since he belongs to a pro-homosexual acts lobbying group that specifically supports so-called same-sex marriage, and his own parish's website does the same, and he supports a homosexual movement that does the same "that these reports are not true".
I know it is too much to expect that a diocese/bishop actually thank bloggers and others for bringing things to their attention. I am really glad that the Bishop has spoken to Fr. Tibesar and especially glad that Fr. Tibesar has agreed to remove those pages on his website and to refrain from making statements in opposition to Church teaching. Though I must wonder if "these reports are not true" why is the diocese asking him to refrain from making statements in opposition to Church teaching? Which is it.
I also wonder when they will ask St. Joan of Arc in the same diocese to remove all of their pages they have on their site in opposition to Church teaching?
Father Z comments on this story since he is originally from this diocese and has some good points about not taking delight in the misfortune of others, though I think within the Catholic blogosphere this has not been done in reference to this story.
I think though why this statement has fired me up is that the diocese was saying that what bloggers reported was not true. I looked through the less than 20 blogs that reported on this story and not one of them asserted that this priest was performing same-sex marriages. They posted on what the parish's website said, his involvement in dignity, and the contents of his homily last month. None of these facts are in contention and for them to say otherwise is less than the truth.
Known as 
Frightening!
Hmmm. They did remove the one statement, but what about all the remaining links to groups that are opposed to Church teaching in the area of sexual morality under the GLBT ministry menu? Even the names of some of these organizations are offensive.
Also, under the FAQs, I found this:
"Q. Do you have confession at your parish?
A. We have a Communal Reconciliation Service two times a year - during Advent and during Lent. Arrangements may be made with the pastor for individual confession."
While I'm delighted the part about intending to bless homosexual unions was removed, and I think Fr. Leo deserves credit for his obedience in this matter, considering what he has left up, it seems he lacks a firm understanding about what the Church teaches on a variety of issues, including the prohibition on directing people to homosexual groups that are opposed to Church teaching on homosexual behavior, the fact that the 1992 letter does not say that homosexual persons are "objectively disordered", but rather the homosexual act is "objectively disordered", and the need for individual confession in conjunction with communal reconciliation.
Considering what was on the Francis Cabrini website before, I pray that Archbishop Flynn or Bishop Pates works with Fr. Leo regarding what the Church teaches, because you really can't expect someone who thinks it's okay to publish his intent to bless homosexual unions to be a very good judge of what the Church teaches, can you? It's like telling someone to correct something when they don't know what "correct" is. At a minimum, the website should be reviewed by someone who has a good sense of what Church teaching, and feedback should be provided to Fr. Leo so he can learn what "correct" is.
I appreciate Fr. Z's admonition to not gloat about someone "getting in trouble." However, it's a fact that people who believe heresies are deprived of truly understanding God as well as they could. Therefore, correcting those who promote heresies is not only a benevolent act toward the confused teacher but also towards those who might be led astray by those teachings. Based on my understanding of the Catechism, one doesn't need a special dispensation to engage in fraternal correction, one only needs to offer correction in friendship and communion. Personally, I appreciate correction when I am wrong (and that happens frequently), it helps me to adjust my behavior more quickly for the good than I would otherwise.
Good points, Judith. Besides, it is good to take into account how painful it is to realize that you may have guided others wrongly because of your own wrong understanding. The sooner the correction, the lighter the horror afterwards.
Hey Jeff, the Fr Z link isn't connecting....
Who needs the Inquisition, when you've got a couple dozen orthodox catholics that blog the heretics into full view of their bishops.
Does removing the offensive pages from the website mean that Fr. Leo actually changed his views on same sex unions?
That really is the heart of the matter.
Well said! The Diocese should be thanking "bloggers and websites" for drawing this scandal to their attention so that it can be corrected, not slurring them with a sophistical accusation of inaccuracy.