NOTE: Update to this story Sept. 19 at Article Link Here .
In a Sept. 2 Sunday bulletin, Resurrection Catholic Church Pastor Fr. Paul Kalchik announced in a post-script to his re-printed Homily message that a Rainbow flag found in the church, along with parishioner's pledge cards mixed with incense, would be burned in front of the church as a sacrilege during a prayer service following the Sept. 29 Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael 4:30 p.m. Mass.
Windy City Times received this information in an anonymous email to the editor.
Resurrection Church, located in Chicago's Avondale neighborhood at 3043 N. Francisco Ave., is the result of a 1992 merger of St. Veronica and St. Francis Xavier churches.
Late last week, the Archdiocese of Chicago leadership was made aware of this event and told Kalchik he could not move forward.
In a statement to Windy City Times, Archdiocese of Chicago Communications and Marketing Director Anne Maselli said on behalf of the Archdiocese, "We can confirm that the pastor has agreed not to move forward with these activities."
In addition to the now-nixed Rainbow flag burning announcement, Kalchik's Sept. 2 Homily message called for the restoration of the Orthodox Roman Catholic Church as well as this statement: "We cannot let the current troubles keep us from our mission to go make more disciples for the Lord, nor should modern day distractions like global warming, LGBT 'rights' or even immigration issues ever take precedence over that mission."
Kalchik's Sept. 2 Homily and post-script was also published on the Church Militant website founded by Saint Michael's Media President Gary Michael Voris.
When reached for comment, Kalchik did not respond to queries about this now-canceled Rainbow flag burning.
"We are grateful that the Chicago Archdiocese quickly and firmly rejects the words of this pastor and his intended 'ritual' which are inconsistent with Catholic values and beliefs," said DignityUSA President and Dignity/Chicago member Chris Pett. "It appears that this pastor was hijacking the parish to promote an extreme, ultra-conservative agenda promoted by the Church Militant group which is not officially recognized by the Church and is rejected by most Catholics. National polling over the past number of years consistently shows that a majority of Catholics support LBGTQ people and our issues. While we continue to challenge the institutional Church to reject its harmful and incorrect teachings about homosexuality, we are glad to see this decisive action on behalf of all LGBTQ Catholics."
To view the Homily, visit Website Link Here . and web.archive.org/web/20180910175526/ Website Link Here .
