A Catholic girls school in Washington, D.C., says it's getting overwhelmingly positive responses to its decision to include same-sex union announcements in its alumnae magazine.
But the pastor of a nearby Catholic parish calls the move by Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School a "dagger to the heart."
The Washington Post reported on the criticism by Monsignor Edward J. Filardi of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Bethesda, Maryland. He wrote in Sunday's parish bulletin that Visitation's president emerita, Sister Mary Berchmans, has betrayed her faith and succumbed to lobbying.
Berchmans says the move at the 220-year-old girl's school follows "the Gospel commandment of love." She said the church's stance on same-sex marriage is clear, but the church also teaches that all people are God's children.
