The following is an email we received this week from one of our readers. The links have been verified.
California Catholic Daily:
Attached you’ll find a copy of a past bulletin (May 14, 2017) from Holy Name of Mary Catholic parish (San Dimas, CA).
The controversy pertains to page 1 of the bulletin. There you’ll find an assortment of photos, one apparently of a lesbian couple with a baby and another apparently of two male homosexuals with a child.
The offense of these photos will be obvious to all faithful Catholics.
Indeed, at least some Catholics at HNM were very offended by the bulletin, and the pastor, Fr. Rich Danyluk, was even made aware of this, though to my knowledge he never issued an apology.
Perhaps the pastor’s reactions shouldn’t be a surprise, however. Fr. Danyluk is a known homosexual (see 2007 SF Gate story, “Gay priest leaves parish he loves“) and by 2015 it had already come to light that his LBTQ outreach program was really a counterfeit Catholic ministry (see here).
All best,
(name withheld)
Editor’s note: In 2007, The SF Gate ran a story “Gay priest leaves parish he loves” about Father Rich Danyluk. The following is excerpted from that story:
For most of his life, [Father] Danyluk avoided openly facing his homosexuality. He knew he was gay by about seventh grade. In seminary in the late 1960s, he went to the rooms of fellow seminarians, had his first sexual experiences and pretended that they never happened.
“That’s sick. That’s using somebody,” he says now. “It was the acting out.”
Within a few years, he began drinking heavily.
“It gave me a little more freedom to do things that I knew were wrong,” he said. “It just numbed the senses.”
In the early 1980s, he began seeing a counselor to come to terms with his sexual orientation but returned at times to drinking and illicit sex. He was stopped twice for drunken driving while leading a Southern California parish in the 1990s. After the second arrest, in November 1999, he was sent to a rehab center in Minnesota.
That was a turning point in his life. Before leaving for treatment, he told worshipers at his final service about his alcoholism, apologized and asked for forgiveness and prayers. They gave him a standing ovation.
He said he’s abstained from alcohol and has been celibate ever since.
In September 2005, Danyluk was angered by the Vatican’s proposed guidelines about gay seminarians. As eventually adopted, they prohibit the acceptance into seminary of “those who practice homosexuality, present deep-seated homosexual tendencies or support the so-called ‘gay culture.’ ”
Danyluk thought it was time to speak up to his parish. He grabbed the Gospel and held it aloft before the congregation. “This is either the good news for everybody or nobody,” he said.
That included all gays and lesbians, he said, including those in attendance, to whom he added: “I’m one of you.”
There was no backlash from the bishop of Oakland, the Most Rev. Allen H. Vigneron, who Danyluk says supports gay priests.
“There’s a passage in Scripture that God said to Jesus, ‘You’re my beloved son in whom I’m well pleased.’ I believe God says that to every male, and he says ‘You’re my beloved daughter’ to every woman. Finally, that sunk into me, that I don’t need a priest or a bishop or a pope to tell me who I am. I want everyone else to have that same right.”
Is that a wedding dress on the pregnant lady?
Looks like the hippie mini wedding dress my mom wore . My dad wore his dress blues.
The one you are calling lesbian looks like a 3 generation photo to me.
What about the two men with the boy? Which one is the ‘mother’?
A1 … You’re reading way too much into a hair style.
C&H … You’re reading way too much into A1.
How can you tell it’s two men? They are facing away from the camera. The one in the white sweater has a female figure. If the hair is short (and not just under the hoodie) it is a lot longer than the dude on the right.
“How can you tell it’s two men?”
Hilarious! LOL.
Father, you should resign the priesthood, as you are clearly unfit to pass along the True Faith to your parishioners. Perhaps it all began with your seminary training. Do you really believe that the Bible accepts and justifies any human behavior? And, in fact, Christ said that the “many” will be saved, not all. See, e.g., Mathew 26:28, and other biblical references. Of course, the Germans and Italians want “pro multis” to be translated as “for all” because it plays to their political base, but that it not what Christ said.
Practitioners of homosexual sex are very likely to be disappointed at death. Just because Christ expressed love does not cover over all the references to Hell that He made. Time to find other work.
IS THE NEW BISHOP OF OKLAND KNOW ABOUT THIS?
THIS IS OBSCENE!
THIS ‘PRIEST’ SHOULD BE THROWN OUT OF THE PRIESTHOOD!!!
More importantly, is Bishop Gomez aware of this?
He knows. Many of us have been writing to him about this and many other situations. Gomez was informed about another priest who moved out of the rectory and in with his boyfriend. Gomez’s response: “lets leave this alone”. Gomez is a useless weak Bishop who continues to pander to all things gay.
@ 7:12pm,
Thanks for the information. I’ve been wondering about this. What exactly does Gomez, or O’Connell, know about the Danyluks of the L.A. Archdiocese? Regarding Danyluk’s homosexual bulletin, Church Militant reported that they “reached out to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles but received no response by press time.” How are the laity supposed to handle wolves like Danyluk when the bishops refuse to do anything, i.e., when they treat serious Catholics like non-Catholics, even non-persons?
The website links to Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
Their bulletin covers are very unusual. You can find them on the link.
Moral ambiguity. Where are the good shepherds who guide the sheep? Where have these wolves come from?
Where is pastoral guidance, and the ArchBishop? What happened to the teachings in the Catechism of the Catholic Church?
It is a time to pray, read, discern, and seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Another priest who should never have been ordained.
Popularizing grave sin. This is not Catholic
The picture of the men could just as well be a father, his son, and the father’s brother. Did the bulletin identify the sexual orientation of the adults in the two photos? Otherwise, lets use Sgt Friday’s saying, ‘Just the facts M’aam.’
“The picture of the men could just as well be a father, his son, and the father’s brother.”
Not in the context of a Mother’s Day collage.
…or Father, son and grandson.
It’s on Mother’s Day! The whole top picture has no men in it, except who is perhaps a grandfather. Guess this priest is trying to “phase out” mothers as wives also. Any sane thinking Catholic would equate motherhood with the female who can be the only mother in a child’s life. Having 2 mommies or 2 dads does not provide or uphold the role of motherhood in a child’s life. It upholds confusion and error. Children learn what they live and if they live in a culture that has no respect for men as men or women as women, neither will they.
“…or Father, son and grandson.”
Indeed, and the old lady in the chair could be a robot for all we know, and the cute little baby with blue eyes might really be an alien!
Who knows, right? You’re hypotheses are great, C&H! Give us some more.
Hey – Everyone else here is doing it. I bet all of us here have spent more time analyzing the cover than the good people of Holy Name of Mary.
Dear Reverend Danyluk:
I recommend this documentary to you, https://everlastinghills.org/movie/
You could also take the time to read Dan Mattson’s “Why I Don’t Call Myself Gay.” I believe that you could do yourself and many others much good with a better understanding of your SSA.
Larry, thank you for this link. It was an hour long but it goes fast. This is so important, not just for gays but for everyone who ever settled for less than they should have. It really talks about how many mistakes are made by young people labeling themselves and seeking to have their emotional needs met in unhealthy ways. People make up stories about their circumstances and give up on themselves and God too soon. I loved the part where Mother Angelica was the man’s guilty pleasure. I liked the part where the priest told him “only God could have brought me back.” The Commandments of God lead to the blessed life. Great video. I hope the Father watches it. I hope all the people who are so judgmental watch it. Pray for the young…
Fr. Danyluk’s parish is still hosting the bulletin on its website here:
Bulletin for May 14, 2017
Notice on page 2 all of Fr. Danyluk’s references to God as “Divine Mother” and his use of feminine pronouns to refer to God.
I would think he means Mary. St. Alphonsus de Liguori used that term for her in the 17th century. It is odd.
Anonymous 7:33am: I didn’t think of that. Thanks for the correction.
On second thought, I now think it’s pretty clear that Fr. Danyluk is in fact referring to God as Divine Mother.
In the June 26, 2016 issue, Fr. Danyluk’s bulletin offers this quote on the front page:
Exhibit A
“Divine Mother, transmit to me the secret code that unlocks my opinionated mind and sets me free to play in the open fields of the heart.”
Who is being quoted here? Her name is Mirabai Starr. How, then, does Mirabai Starr think of “Divine Mother”? She makes the answer pretty clear in a piece she wrote for the Huffington Post (If My God Had a…
Thanks for posting this. I had never heard of this author. She seems to be Catholic so the Divine Mother is Mary but also “the feminine face of God”
https://mirabaistarr.com/books/
“She seems to be Catholic.”
– Are you serious? Did you read her piece in the Huffington Post? Does the Catholic Church teach that God can be recognized as both Jesus and Mary, among other things still?
One can only wonder if Fr. Rich Danyluk is really Catholic. I hope he is, but the evidence that keeps emerging suggests he’s not.
[contd., 2 of 3]
Exhibit B
“What I know is that I know nothing. And so why not pretend? Why not imagine God as Divine Mother, as Sacred Lover, as Wise Ancestor and Faithful (Female) Friend? This is working for me. A breath I have long held is starting to release. If my God had a gender, she’d be a girl.”
This makes it highly probable—even morally certain—that Fr. Danyluk is in fact referring to God under the title of Divine Mother. The sources that a person uses can speak volumes for how that person should be interpreted. But it gets worse. Fr. Danyluk’s New Age guru goes on to say (if you can bear it):
He or someone is just using quotes on the bulletin covers. It appears they design their own. One has a quote from Hindu scriptures. I agree with you if what you are saying is that it’s not appropriate. I do not see anything in his writings in the bulletin that appears New Age-y but it’s really kind of emo.
[contd., 3 of 3]
Exhibit C
“My God is the Shekhinah of the Jewish tradition: the indwelling feminine face of the Holy One, who guides us through the wilderness of our lives as a pillar of mist by day and a pillar of fire at night. Through the Christian lens I recognize her as Sophia — Wisdom — and as Mother Mary, even as Christ himself, which is what Julian of Norwich concluded “the second person of the Trinity” had to be. In Islam, one of her 99 names is Sakina (serenity) and another is Jamila (beauty). She is Kwan Yin in China, and in Tibet she is Tara — born from the ocean of the Buddha’s tears he looked upon the suffering of the world and wept. My God is embodied. She is incarnational. She is right here.”
Looking at her amazon profile, she seems like a Catholic who merges with other spiritual traditions. But in your exhibit C she says the Divine Mother is Mary. She also refers to Wisdom where the Bible does use feminine pronouns.
The writing of Father Danyluk in the same bulletin uses the masculine pronoun for God.
@ 8:43
“Looking at her amazon profile, she seems like a Catholic who merges with other spiritual traditions.”
– That signals something bad, not good. As a gift from God, true religion should be preserved, not polluted.
“But in your exhibit C she says the Divine Mother is Mary.”
– She says God is both Jesus and Mary: “as Mother Mary, even as Christ himself.” That only compounds the problem, not resolves it. It shows her theology is both blasphemous and heretical.
@ 8:43 [contd.]
“She also refers to Wisdom where the Bible does use feminine pronouns.”
– That depends on the edition you’re using. In any case, the Church sanctions feminine metaphors and imagery (cf. CCC, no. 239), and so merely likening God to a mother is not a problem. But neither Scripture nor the Church sanctions addressing God under the title of Mother (and for good reasons).
“The writing of Father Danyluk in the same bulletin uses the masculine pronoun for God.”
– So what? Getting one thing right doesn’t make right what is wrong.
I am really glad that you introduced us to this author. I saw somewhere she lost a child. I have relatives who, even though they are Catholic and attend Mass, they have added other beliefs, too. They had a family tragedy and the Catholic explanations didn’t satisfy them. They call themselves Catholic plus.
I just read an article on Steve Bannon that introduced me to the concept of Zen Catholicism. Didn’t know that was a thing except for Thomas Merton.
No matter how Catholic people cope, it is the Church’s job and the local parish’s job to hold the line on being strictly Catholic.
“I am really glad that you introduced us to this author.”
– Stay away from her.
“I would think he means Mary. St. Alphonsus de Liguori used that term for her in the 17th century. ” then the St. is wrong as Mary is not accorded any divinity.
Oh, let’s just all close our eyes and pretend it’s jonny-all-right.
And given that “Father” Rich Danyluk was ordained, he should be defrocked, if the Catholic Church is true to Pope Benedict 16th’s declared policy that homosexuals should be barred from the priesthood.
“Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven.” -Matthew 23:9
Here’s another interesting story about Fr. Rich Danyluk from Br. Christopher Sale:
“I have been thrown off church property by the openly gay priest Fr. Rich Danyluk because I opposed the Rainbow flag being on church property. I was told by Danyluk to go home and take my crucifix off because I was unworthy to be wearing it” (see the comments here).
So Fr. Danyluk had the rainbow flag on church property? This doesn’t sound like a man who’s afraid of the local bishop. Why is that?
“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. If I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die’, and you give them no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand” – Ezekiel 3:17
“I wrote to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard or robber — not even to eat with such a one. Is it not those inside the Church whom you are to judge?” – I Corinthians 5:11.
Heresey can go unlimited. The several aforementioned comments are a case in point. Pray for souls to learn God’s truth before to many souls are deceived and lost. The Holy Rosary is a powerful tool against satan.