We’ve said this so many times before: Church leaders should always get a teenager to read over the signs outside their buildings so they don’t embarrass themselves.

Rev. Roy T. Herberger, pastor at SS. Columba-Brigid Catholic Church in Buffalo, New York, didn’t get the memo. Instead, he just looked up “funny church signs” on Google, came across one that made him laugh, and put it up outside the building.

The Catholic leader had no idea that “Jesus had 2 dads and he turned out just fine” is actually a slogan often used by people who support gay marriage.

Herberger said the only message behind the sign was to provide encouragement to many in the congregation who grow up outside a nuclear family, but with birth parents, stepparents or sometimes others. Children who grow up in that situation often have difficulty, he said. “My only purpose was to say, ‘Look, hang in there. People understand what you’re going through. Don’t give up on yourself,’” he said. Herberger never thought about another meaning that many see in the message, which some interpret as being suggestive about gay couples raising children, he said. … Bishop Richard J. Malone of the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo spent “a good deal of time Monday afternoon fielding phone calls from around the world, from callers protesting the contents of the sign,” a diocesan spokesman said.

Remember: This is the Catholic Church. Suggesting that gay parents are fully capable of raising kids and deserving of equal rights goes against everything they stand for. They’re opponents of basic decency. People could have mistaken the church of being welcoming. Can’t have that happen now, can we?

Herberger quickly changed the sign after he realized his mistake, simultaneously removing whatever glimmer of hope some people may have had.

(Mockup image via Church Sign Generator. Thanks to Cynthia for the link)



