A Roman Catholic bishop opposed to
marriage equality on Tuesday lamented a “gay Nativity” scene with
two Josephs wearing pink robes.
A photo of the Nativity scene went
viral on social media after being shared by a neighbor.
“Our neighbors' two Joseph nativity
is up & I'm beaming,” wrote California's Cameron Esposito in
sharing the scene on Twitter.
In a Facebook post, Rev. Thomas Tobin,
bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Providence, called the Nativity an
“attack on the Christian Faith.”
“A Gay Nativity?” Tobin wrote.
“Just came across this photo of a ‘gay nativity’ scene – two
Josephs dressed in pink watching over the Christ Child. How sad that
someone believes it’s okay (or funny or cool) to impose their own
agenda on the holy Birth of Jesus. Pray for those who did so, for
their change of heart, and that Jesus will forgive this sacrilege,
this attack on the Christian Faith.”
After passage in 2011 of a Rhode Island
bill that recognized gay and lesbian couples with civil unions, Tobin
said that such unions “mock” the institution of marriage and pose
“a threat to religious liberty.” He later called marriage
equality “immoral and unnecessary.”
Last year, Tobin fired a music director
over his 2015 marriage to another man.
(Related: Rhode
Island Catholic Church fires gay music director.)