{"id":6404,"date":"2026-02-27T10:48:27","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T10:48:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=6404"},"modified":"2026-02-27T10:48:27","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T10:48:27","slug":"nyc-church-that-confirmed-gay-tv-anchor-should-be-disciplined","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=6404","title":{"rendered":"NYC Church That Confirmed Gay TV Anchor Should Be Disciplined"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Gio Benitez, an openly gay-identified ABC News anchor, was recently confirmed<\/a> into the Catholic Church, accompanied by his \u201chusband\u201d \u2014 who served as his \u201csponsor.\u201d<\/p>\n

The confirmation Mass took place last month<\/a> at the brazenly pro-LGBT<\/a> Church of St. Paul the Apostle in Manhattan. The historic landmark is the mother church of the Paulist Fathers \u2013 a, as writer Glenn Stanton noted<\/a>, \u201crapidly dying\u201d liberal order of priests. There were<\/a> 98 active Paulist priests in 2004 and only 50 as of 2024.<\/p>\n

Noted heretic and LGBT activist Fr. James Martin helped celebrate the Mass, alongside who appears to be Fr. Eric Andrews and Fr. Paul Rospond<\/a>. It\u2019s clear Benitez received at least two sacraments of initiation into the Catholic Church: confirmation and Holy Eucharist. (Benitez said<\/a> he was baptized more than two decades ago in a social media post celebrating the Mass, and Fr. Martin said<\/a> Benitez entered into \u201cfull communion with the Catholic Church\u201d on Nov. 8.) Benitez\u2019s \u201chusband\u201d also received the Eucharist, as seen in the video footage below.<\/p>\n

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NEW: Openly gay ABC News anchor Gio Benitez joins the Catholic church with his husband serving as his sponsor. <\/p>\n

Benitez says his confirmation mass at the Church of St. Paul the Apostle in Manhattan was inspired by the late Pope Francis.<\/p>\n

“My deepest gratitude to Fr. Eric\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/04EUaCdrkZ<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) November 12, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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\u201cMy deepest gratitude to Fr. Eric Andrews, Fr. James Martin, Fr. Paul Rospond, and Fr. [Chris Lawton] for showing me that God\u2019s loving mercy is unconditional,\u201d Benitez shared on Instagram<\/a> after the Mass. \u201c[A]nd [thanks] to my incredible husband and sponsor [Tommy DiDario] for supporting me through it all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI found the Ark of the Covenant in my heart, stored there by the one who created me\u2026 exactly as I am.\u201d<\/p>\n

Orthodox Catholics \u2014 indeed, all orthodox Christians \u2014 know the spectacle at St. Paul the Apostle is nothing less than an affront to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, an abuse of the sacraments, a direct challenge to the Catholic Church\u2019s eminently clear teaching on homosexuality, and an intentional test of faithful priests and bishops.<\/p>\n

Will lay Catholics and ecclesiastics sweep the event under the rug, acting as if nothing blasphemous happened? Or will the event rightly merit a needed rebuke and correction? Perhaps even excommunication?<\/p>\n

For 2,000 years, the Catholic Church has taught that homosexuality is disordered and homosexual relations are gravely sinful. Homosexual relationships contradict God\u2019s created order and intention for marriage: Humans are made male and female in God\u2019s image, and marriage is the union of a husband and wife.<\/p>\n

The Catholic catechism states homosexual desires are \u201cobjectively disordered,\u201d though not sinful unless acted upon (CCC 2358<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Furthermore, it adds, \u201cBasing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that \u2018homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered.\u2019 They are contrary to the natural law. \u2026 Under no circumstances can they be approved\u201d (CCC 2357<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The Catholic Church teaches all people \u2014 including homosexual-identified persons \u2014 are called to chastity (CCC 2359<\/a>). Chastity is the right integration of sexuality within a person according to their state in life; it maintains the gift of sexuality within the boundaries of marriage between a husband and wife.<\/p>\n

In 2017, faithful prelate Cardinal Robert Sarah penned a much-needed correction to Fr. James Martin in The Wall Street Journal<\/a>, writing, \u201cThe sexual liberation the world promotes does not deliver its promise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Any Christian\u2019s heresy-detector alarm should be blaring when a church\u2019s message and teachings \u2014 whether its pro-LGBT or pro-abortion \u2014 look indistinguishable from the surrounding culture.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo not be conformed to this world,\u201d the (real) St. Paul the Apostle wrote, \u201cbut be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect\u201d (Romans 12:2<\/a>, ESV).<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a mother, the church seeks to protect her children from the harm of sin, as an expression of her pastoral charity,\u201d Cardinal Sarah wisely counseled. \u201c[S]ame-sex\u00a0relations<\/em> \u2026 are gravely sinful and harmful to the well-being of those who partake in them. People who identify as members of the LGBT community are owed this truth in charity, especially from clergy who speak on behalf of the church about this complex and difficult topic.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 1983, Ernesto Cardenal, a Catholic priest and liberation theologian, greeted<\/a> Pope John Paul II on the tarmac at Augusto Sandino International Airport in Managua, Nicaragua. Cardenal held the position of minister of culture in the country\u2019s Marxist government. <\/p>\n

Kneeling to kiss<\/a> the pontiff\u2019s ring, Cardenal received something unexpected: a firm rebuke from the bishop of Rome. Pope John Paul II famously<\/a> wagged his finger at Cardenal and told him to, as the National Catholic Reporter summarized it, obey church authorities \u201cwho had ordered him to quit his post \u2026 in the revolutionary government.\u201d The pope<\/a> eventually suspended<\/a> Cardenal from carrying out his duties as a priest. <\/p>\n

Cardinal Dolan, who has a strong reputation for maintaining church orthodoxy, should take a page out of the great pope\u2019s playbook. Nothing less than a clear and firm correction of the priests who conspired to abuse the sacraments and confuse the Catholic Church\u2019s unambiguous teaching on homosexuality will suffice.<\/p>\n

Such a correction is his prerogative, as St. Paul the Apostle Church resides in the Archdiocese of New York. According to the Catholic Church\u2019s code of canon law<\/a>, \u201cThe diocesan bishop is to administer confirmation personally or is to take care that another bishop administers it. If necessity requires it, he can grant the faculty to one or more specific presbyters.\u201d Likewise, the Church\u2019s law states<\/a>, \u201cA person who deliberately administers a sacrament to those who are prohibited from receiving it is to be punished with suspension.\u201d<\/p>\n

Until such a correction comes, the cardinal\u2019s silence will be seen as acceptance.<\/p>\n

Frs. Martin, Andrews, and Rospond\u2019s clear and egregious heresy has confirmed Gio Benitez, a man made in God\u2019s image, in his sin, led him astray, and confused him about what following Jesus Christ requires.<\/p>\n

Love of Christ is never divorced from obedience to Christ, who taught, \u201cIf you love me, you will keep my commandments\u201d (John 14:15<\/a>, ESV).<\/p>\n

Every convert must pledge to \u201cbelieve and profess all that the holy Catholic Church believes, teaches and proclaims to be revealed by God.\u201d To confirm openly unrepentant sinners is to make a mockery of the good Catholics and Christians who, while struggling with same-sex attraction, have nevertheless chosen chastity and the way of the cross, bearing witness to the power of the Gospel to change and transform lives.<\/p>\n

Cardinal Dolan should say so. Until then, faithful Christians must firmly proclaim what many ecclesiastics have failed to teach. Only by speaking the truth in love will more people be saved and come to know their Savior, Jesus Christ, who proclaimed, \u201cThe time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel\u201d (Mark 1:15<\/a>, ESV).<\/p>\n

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\n Zachary Mettler works as a staff writer and communications liaison for the Daily Citizen at Focus on the Family. In his role, he writes about current political issues, U.S. history, political philosophy, and culture. Mettler earned his bachelor\u2019s degree from William Jessup University and is an alumnus of the Young Leaders Program at The Heritage Foundation. In addition to the Daily Citizen, his written pieces have appeared in the Daily Wire, the Washington Times, the Washington Examiner, Newsweek, Townhall, the Daily Signal, the Christian Post, Charisma News, and other outlets.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n