The long history of dissent at Most Holy Redeemer (MHR) Catholic Parish in the Castro District of San Francisco has been widely documented and periodically reported upon by both the secular and the Catholic media.
James Dewan is a Deacon candidate at Most Holy Redeemer; he created a gofundme.com page on March 10, 2016 in order to help defray the costs of the 5 year training program. DeWan has not been shy about publicly supporting same-sex marriage: on June 26, 2015 – the day same-sex marriage was legalized throughout the US, Dewan posted to his Facebook account a #LoveWins photo of the first gay couple to be married in Dallas Texas; he also posted the following message:
“I personally do not understand why some people object so vehemently to same sex marriage, aka marriage. It doesn’t affect them one iota. Quite frankly we don’t approval. God is love, and that love is expressed in so many different ways.”
On June 28, 2015 – the day of the San Francisco Gay Pride Parade, DeWan posted a picture showing a statue of the Virgin Mary bedecked with the colorful beads given away every year at the Parade by the proudly marching MHR parishioners.
Besides other Facebook posts which celebrate same-sex marriage, on April 30, 2015 – DeWan posted a picture of a shirtless man, who bears a passing resemblance to Jesus, standing in front of a picture of Christ, with the caption: “Jesus takes a selfie; Say Crucifixion.” When one of Dewan’s friends commented on the post with this line: “Jus sayin’, if he really looked like that I would have been fighting Mary Magdalen off with a stick!” DeWan responded: “I’d be fighting you both for him…”
“In the light of such teaching, this Dicastery, in accord with the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, believes it necessary to state clearly that the Church, while profoundly respecting the persons in question, cannot admit to the seminary or to holy orders those who practice homosexuality, present deep-seated homosexual tendencies or support the so-called ‘gay culture.’” – Instruction Concerning the Criteria for the Discernment of Vocations with regard to Persons with Homosexual Tendencies in view of their Admission to the Seminary and to Holy Orders
