SAN DIEGO (LifeSiteNews) — Auxiliary Bishop Ramón Bejarano recently celebrated St. John the Evangelist Church’s annual “All are Welcome” LGBT “Pride” Mass and allowed “Nicole” Murray-Ramirez, an LGBT “drag queen” activist and longtime San Diego City Commissioner, to speak during the Mass.
Bejarano was the celebrant of the July 13 Sunday Mass, which was organized by St. John’s “LGBTQ Ministry” and had the full backing of the Diocese of San Diego under Bishop Michael Pham, one of Pope Leo XIV’s first bishop’s appointments. During his speech, Murray-Ramirez, a former board member of the pro-LGBT group Human Rights Campaign, thanked Bishop Bejarano for his work “standing up” for the “LGBTQ community.”
“(The) All Our Welcome Mass celebrates the gift of the Church as a Mother who loves, embraces and journeys with everyone who wants to be closer to Christ. As our late Pope Francis proclaimed, ‘Todos, todos, todos,’” the diocese wrote in a Facebook post advertising the Mass.
Murray-Ramirez wrote extensively in a Facebook post about what an honor it was to speak during the Mass and praised Bejarano.
“The Bishop’s sermon was a most powerful one that focused on (the fact) that God loves ALL of us the way we are,” he wrote.
While it’s true that God loves all people, including those with same-sex attraction, the Catholic Church formally condemns homosexual activity and urges homosexuals to live a chaste lifestyle.
The Catechism teaches that “homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered” and “contrary to the natural law.” The text is very clear that homosexual activity can never be approved, and repeats that “(h)omosexual persons are called to chastity.” Homosexual acts are also mortal sins; therefore, anyone who commits these sins and does not repent through the sacrament of confession is in danger of hell.
READ: California priest says God is ‘proud’ of ‘LGBT Catholics’ during homily at ‘Family Pride Mass’
Based on Murray-Ramirez’s account, it appears that Bejarano omitted any mention of the Church’s teaching on same-sex “marriage.”
“I had the Honor to be asked to speak and it was so wonderful to see and hear the well deserved thunderous prolong ovation that Bishop Bajarano received when I sincerely thanked him on behalf of all of us for standing up for not only the LGBTQ COUUMINTY but the undocumented and refugees,” Murray-Ramirez continued.
Here, the homosexual activist seems to be referring to Bejarano’s history of supporting “LGBT Catholics.” The bishop celebrated St. John’s 2024 “All are Welcome Mass,” where, during his homily, he apologized to the “LGBT Catholics” in attendance for all the purported “pain and distress” the Catholic Church has caused them.
READ: San Diego bishop apologizes for the Church at pro-LGBT ‘All are Welcome Mass’
“I apologize for the pain and distress that I and the Church have caused to many of you. I apologize for the stigmatization and trauma we have caused to others because we have told them that they are not valued and that they are not worthy of the love of God. There are many others out there who feel rejected and unvalued,” Bejarano said during that sermon.
Murray-Ramirez’s comment thanking the bishop for standing up for illegal immigrants and refugees likely refers to Bejarano, along with Bishop Pham and other faith leaders, “standing in solidarity” with migrants facing deportation at a federal courthouse in June.
Photos posted by Murray-Ramirez from the Mass on Facebook show the “drag queen” posing for a tophoto and being blessed by Bejarano. The pro-LGBT Mass was also attended by San Diego’s openly gay, nominally Catholic Mayor Todd Gloria, who also posed for a picture with the bishop.
Bejarano was also among the 68 American bishops who in 2021 signed a letter asking the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to end discussions on prohibiting then-President Joe Biden and other pro-abortion Catholic politicians from receiving Holy Communion.
READ: New York ‘pride’ Mass features homosexual priest, ‘transgender’ preacher, Hindu welcome
St. John’s parish is also well known for celebrating numerous “Pride” Masses over the years, such as one in 2017 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the USCCB’s 1997 Always Our Children document, which underscored the “importance” of parents accepting their children with same-sex attraction. Murray-Ramirez also attended the 2017 Mass.
The parish’s LGBTQ Ministry has special monthly services and potlucks for LGBT parishioners, according to their webpage, which is loaded with “Pride” and rainbow imagery.
After the Vatican released Fiducia Supplicans, which allowed for the blessing of same-sex “couples” in 2023, the leaders of St. John’s LGBTQ ministry expressed their approval to a local San Diego news outlet. One ministry leader seemed to indicate that many homosexual “couples” attend St. John’s.
“We have a lot of committed Catholic couples here that are LGBT, that have been in relationships for quite a while,” they said. “Myself, I’ve been in a committed relationship for 40 years now and married for 10, so this is something that is really welcomed news.”
The Diocese of San Diego and St. John’s parish did not return LifeSiteNews’ request for comment by publication time.
Contact information for respectful communication:
Bishop Ramón Bejarano
Phone: (858) 490-8306
Email: [email protected]
Bishop Michael Pham
Phone: (858) 490-8300
Email: [email protected]
St. John the Evangelist Church
Phone: 619-291-1660
Email: [email protected]
