Defending Church teaching on homosexuality, bishop says former parish secretary died a martyr

June 06, 2013

In a debate on acceptance of same-sex marriage, Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois, remarked on the media bias in coverage of issues involving homosexuality.

Speaking to an audience in Arizona, Bishop Paprocki said that a woman who worked at a parish where he had served in Illinois was killed because of her defense of Church teachings on homosexuality. Mary Stachowicz, a part-time parish secretary, was beaten, stabbed, and strangled by a man who resented her efforts to persuade him to avoid homosexual acts. “Mary’s murder was widely ignored by the media, despite the fact that she died as a martyr for her faith,” the bishop said.

Bishop Paprocki also commented that the sponsors of the debate, in which he faced Sister Jeannine Gramick, had erred by advertising the event as “Two Catholic Views on Marriage.” He said:

There are two views being presented here tonight by two people who are baptized Catholics, but only one of those views, the one I will present, is consistent with Catholic teaching, while the other view clearly dissents from Catholic teaching.

 

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Further information:

• Bishop tells hostile crowd at gay marriage debate: my secretary was murdered by a gay activist (LifeSite News)
• An American martyr for today's Church (On the News, 11/12/10)