Pastor says he made decision to cancel speech by gay Durham City Council member

A Durham pastor says he's the one who decided not to allow a gay City Council member to speak at a Catholic school last week and later canceled classes to avoid any potential protests.

Councilwoman Vernetta Alston, who is openly gay and is married to a woman, was to speak Friday at a Black History Month event at Immaculata Catholic School in Durham. But church officials rescinded the invitation and canceled school altogether for the day.

Fr. Chris VanHaight, pastor of Immaculate Conception Church, explained what happened to parishioners after Sunday Mass.

"The theme for that Friday morning prayer was going to be a strong black woman. Vernetta Alston is that," VanHaight said. "But she’s also a politician – and a pro-gay-marriage politician – and that was problematic."

He said he was unaware that Alston, who graduated from Immaculata, was going to speak at the school until he started getting emails from parents a week earlier.

"I don’t know all the speakers who are coming to the school. I will in the future," he said, adding that the school will adopt a transparent process of choosing speakers. For now, he added, politicians won't be invited.

VanHaight called rescinding the invitation "a difficult decision" but said it was necessary to be clear about Catholics teachings, which oppose homosexuality and same-sex marriage.

"It is my role as pastor to balance, to uphold all of the church’s teachings, even the ones many people disagree with," he said. "Being an open and welcoming parish, that’s a difficult balance on a good day."

Still, he acknowledged that the situation was mishandled, noting Alston heard secondhand that she had been uninvited.

"Mistakes were made. This was not handled well," he said. "I regret that, even though I had no intention to disrespect Ms. Alston, that’s exactly what happened."

Canceling school on Friday was not a mistake, VanHaight said.

A group out of the Washington, D.C., area encouraged people in an online post to complain to the school and the Catholic Diocese of Raleigh, protest at the school or keep children out of school for the day.

"We had credible reports that came, actually, from parents that there were going to be two opposing groups of protestors," VanHaight said. "While we of course embrace free speech, I wasn’t going to have our kids put in that type of situation. There were no threats to the school, but after Charlottesville, I wasn’t going to take that chance."

One woman was killed and numerous others injured in Charlottesville, Va., during an August 2017 clash between white nationalists trying to prevent Confederate statues from being taken down and counter-protesters.

Brad Williams, whose daughter is an eighth-grader at Immaculata, said he appreciated VanHaight apologizing for the way Alston was treated. He called her "the perfect person" to speak to students because of her work on behalf of social justice and against the death penalty.

"I think you have to look at the whole person. You can’t just boil someone down to one part of their being," Williams said. "Vernetta Alston is a lot more than a gay person. She’s a lot more than a woman who is married to another woman. She is so active in social justice, which is such an important part of Catholic teaching."

VanHaight reiterated his decisions in an email to WRAL News on Monday, adding that Immaculata will continue to celebrate Black History Month and discuss racial justice issues. LGBT students and parishioners also will continue to be welcomed, he said.

"One thing I want to say right now to my gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning brothers and sisters: Not only are you welcome here, you are valued here," he said after Sunday Mass, prompting a standing ovation from the congregation.

Alston said in a Friday interview with WRAL News that she was disheartened by the incident but added that she hopes it sparks some conversations in the community and that everyone can learn from it.

"I think the values around love and inclusion should and will prevail," she said. "Now, it's just a matter of putting in the work to get there."

Officials with the Catholic Diocese of Raleigh have declined repeated interview requests. They issued a statement last week that Bishop Luis Zarama supported VanHaight's decisions.