A parish priest in southern Spain is facing public criticism after reportedly informing a parishioner in a same-sex civil marriage that he could no longer receive Holy Communion because of his public situation, according to reports from local Spanish media cited by LifeSiteNews.
The incident involves José Antonio Hurtado, a resident of Villanueva del Río y Minas in the Archdiocese of Seville. Hurtado alleges that after attending Mass on May 30, his parish priest asked him to remain behind for a private conversation regarding his reception of the Eucharist.
According to LifeSiteNews, Hurtado later recounted the exchange in a Facebook post, saying the priest told him that although he had received Communion that day, he would not be permitted to do so in the future because he is publicly “married” to another man.
“He manifested to me that he would never give me communion again,” Hurtado wrote, according to LifeSiteNews.
Hurtado further alleged that the priest told him that when distributing Communion he was giving him “poison” and that both he and his husband were “unworthy” and destined to “live eternally in purgatory.”
The parishioner said he reacted emotionally to the conversation and publicly voiced his frustration outside the church. “I got very nervous and humiliated by my pastor,” Hurtado stated, according to LifeSiteNews.
The controversy has since drawn attention throughout the local community. Hurtado claimed that other parishioners had approached him saying they had experienced similar interactions with the priest regarding their personal situations, including divorced individuals and couples in irregular unions.
According to a report by Viva Seville cited by LifeSiteNews, the priest later contacted Hurtado by telephone and apologized for the manner in which he had spoken to him. However, during a subsequent meeting, the priest reportedly maintained his position regarding Communion.
According to Hurtado’s account, the priest explained that because Hurtado is publicly known to be in a same-sex civil marriage, distributing Holy Communion to him could be interpreted as endorsing that situation. Hurtado said the priest reiterated that he could not administer Communion under those circumstances.
The Archdiocese of Seville is reportedly gathering information regarding the incident and is expected to issue a statement, according to LifeSiteNews.
The controversy has reignited discussion about Catholic teaching on the worthy reception of Holy Communion and the Church’s pastoral approach toward persons who experience same-sex attraction.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that persons with same-sex attraction “must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity” and that “every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided” (CCC 2358).
At the same time, the Catechism states that homosexual acts are “intrinsically disordered” and “under no circumstances can they be approved” (CCC 2357). Catholic teaching distinguishes between the person, same-sex attraction itself, and sexual acts, teaching that experiencing same-sex attraction is not sinful in itself while sexual activity outside God’s plan for marriage is considered gravely sinful.
The situation has drawn comparisons to a widely publicized 2012 incident in the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., in which a priest declined to give Holy Communion to a woman in a same-sex relationship during her mother’s funeral. According to LifeSiteNews, the priest involved in that case, Father Marcel Guarnizo, was later stripped of his priestly faculties by then-Archbishop Donald Wuerl.
As Catholics await clarification from the Archdiocese of Seville, the case continues to raise questions about the intersection of Church doctrine, sacramental discipline, and pastoral care in parish life.
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