Catholic Cemetery Rejects Gay Couple's Headstone
After purchasing a joint burial plot in a Catholic cemetery in Kentucky, this same-sex couple's headstone design was rejected for its celebration of marriage equality.
Greg Bourke and Michael De Leon, who have been together for 34 years and have adopted two children together, purchased the plot at St. Michael Cemetery in Louisville. After acquiring the plot, the pair mocked up a design for their headstone.
The illustration featured their names joined by interlocking wedding bands atop a depiction of the United States Supreme Court in order to commemorate the landmark Obergefell v. Hodges ruling.
A Louisville gay couple's cemetery headstone proposal was denied by @ArchLouKY: https://t.co/C50lNJLlbG pic.twitter.com/1yQZRWLAhW
— WDRB News (@WDRBNews) May 17, 2016
Upon receiving the design proposal, Javier Rajardo, executive director of Catholic Cemeteries for the archdiocese, promptly sent the couple a letter telling them that the cemetery could not approve their headstone as it went against the teachings of the Catholic Church.
"Having reviewed your proposed gravestone inscription please note we can approve your shared stone with both your names and dates of birth and of course the religious symbol of the cross," Rajardo's letter begins.
"Inscriptions on grave markers are permitted so long as they do not conflict with any teachings of the Church. Your proposed markings are not in keeping with this requirement."
Bourke and De Leon are both devout Catholics and have not only been members of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish for 28 years, but were also named persons of the year by The Catholic Reporter in 2015.
In protest of the Church's decision, the couple will hold a "Freedom to Bury" press conference on Wednesday at St. Michael Cemetery.
Unfortunately, this isn't the first time the pair have made headlines for discrimination they've faced at the hands of the Church.
In 2015, Bourke was dismissed from the local Boy Scout troop he led as a result of his sexual orientation. Even after the Supreme Court made this removal unconstitutional in its Obergefell v. Hodges ruling, Bourke's church wouldn't allow him to reapply.
