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Traditional Catholics outraged that Knights of Columbus to march in “pro-gay” Boston St. Patrick’s Day Parade. To fill gap after faithful groups drop out.

Parade is Sunday. Take action right now , say Catholic activists!

POSTED: March 12, 2015

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It’s happening across America. But in Boston they’re fighting back . . .

Catholics in Boston and across the country are livid that the Massachusetts State Knights of Columbus (K of C), the prominent Catholic men’s organization, has announced that it will and have a float and also march in the newly “gay inclusive” Boston St. Patrick’s Day Parade this Sunday, March 15.

Homosexual group OUTVETS will now be marching in the "Catholic" St. Patrick's Day Parade in Boston this Sunday. [Boston Herald photo.]

C.J. Doyle, head of the Boston-based Catholic Action League has called it a “betrayal” and a “dishonor to St. Patrick” and is urging Catholics around the country to contact the K of C and demand they rescind their decision. (See below.)

The announcement by the K of C came after the parade’s 25-year landmark float and accompanying marchers from a religious Catholic school dropped out because of the addition of a homosexual group to the parade. Several other participant groups have also dropped out.

Boston parade had history of standing firm to Catholic values

Up until now, Boston had been the only St. Patrick’s Day Parade in the country not to cave in to pressure and allow homosexual groups to march. In 1995, after a huge legal battle with the Massachusetts liberal political establishment, the Allied War Veterans Council, which runs the Boston annual parade, won a 9-0 US Supreme Court decision giving them the right to exclude homosexual-themed groups – or anyone – from their parade.  

And they’d held their ground.  Last year, as MassResistance reported, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh put enormous pressure on the Council to relent on their own, but they refused to give in. As expected, the Mayor and his political allies boycotted the parade.

But the Mayor, a former union organizer, knows a thing or two about pressure tactics. This year the Mayor’s increased pressure on the Council leadership was successful. But even then, the Council Commander only had a minority of the members supporting this. As we reported, they had to use dishonest and deceitful tactics to exclude the majority of members when they voted to allow the homosexual group OutVets to march in December. And they used the same tactics again in January when the majority tried ro orchestrate a re-vote.

Thus, the Mayor has now announced that he would be marching in the parade, has invited his political allies to march, and has become a big supporter of the event.

Major float and band from Catholic school pulls out of parade 

For 25 years, the giant float of St. Patrick from the Immaculate Heart of Mary School in Still River, MA, along with the school’s band, has been the hallmark of the annual parade. Almost immediately after the December vote to allow the “gay” contingent, the school's principal, Br. Thomas Dalton, made it clear that the school would pull out of the parade if that happened. 

The float of St. Patrick by the Immaculate Heart of Mary school has been synomyous with the South Boston Parade for 25 years. But this year the're holding to their Catholic principles and not participating in a "gay" parade. [MassRsistance photo]

Br. Dalton later sent out a press release clearly stating his reasoning on the matter:

According to news reports, several other scheduled participants of the parade have also dropped out, further dwindling the marchers. But the loss of the iconic St. Patrick float was unquestionably a loss to the Catholic character of the parade.

Knights of Columbus suddenly joins the parade

On Feb. 26, three weeks before the parade date, the State Deputy of the Knights, Russell Steinback, sent the following email to the K of C members:

To many, this sudden appearance seemed much too convenient to be a coincidence. Going back decades, no one could remember the Knights being in the parade at all. It seemed to have the fingerprints of the political establishment all over it, particularly the Mayor of Boston.

Catholics across the state immediately began to call the State Office – and even Steinback’s home – to complain bitterly. But Steinback steadfastly refused to relent. And he fired back that no one was bothering to get his side of the story.

So on Monday, MassResistance phoned Russell Steinback and asked him about it.

The K of C talks to MassResistance

Steinback was adamant. He told us that it was all a coincidence. “The only reason that we’re marching is that it’s a great showcase for all the great works we do,” he said. He listed the charitable causes that the Knights are involved with, and that being in the parade was a way to attract more members. “I want people in Boston to know what we do. We want to raise membership. There’s no secret agenda,” he told us.

We asked him why he made the announcement just three weeks before the event. He said he had been thinking about it since July.

We asked him if he understood why so many Catholics are angry at him. “I don’t know,” he told us.

We read him Br. Dalton’s quote, “Catholics are forbidden to sponsor or even participate in an event which openly promotes unnatural and immoral behavior.” We asked him if he agrees with it.

“They have their Catholic beliefs and I have my beliefs,” Steinback answered. He wouldn’t elaborate beyond that. And he reiterated that he wasn’t changing his mind about the Knights of Columbus being in the parade.

Sure enough, on Wednesday evening we were notified that Steinbeck had sent out another email to his statewide members, again inviting them to come and march in the parade on Sunday – and to be sure and bring their families to this “family friendly” event!

The Catholic Action League fires back

C. J. Doyle of the Catholic Action League sent us the following statement, which summarizes the feelings and outrage of many, many religious Catholics who have become aware of this:

There's no question that something unusual is going on. Normally, the K of C are pretty well known for wanting to shy away from any controversy. Hopefully, your pressure will make a difference!