An Irish anti-abortion group said it was excluded once again from marching in the New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade even though organizers continued to welcome a pro-LGBTQ group to the festivities.
Irish Pro-Life USA President John Aidan Byrne called it “quite bizarre and unsettling” that the parade gave his organization the stiff arm while allowing Out@NBCUniversal members to march in the 263rd annual celebration, which drew an estimated two million spectators.
About two dozen members of NBCUniversal’s LGBTQ group marched Saturday down Fifth Avenue and waved to the crowd behind a green banner that read, “OUT@NBCUniversal/LGBTQ+ & Ally Employee Alliance.”
“Sure, we know many of the parade organizers profess their pro-life ethos. But that is not enough,” Mr. Byrne told The Washington Times. “Here we have Out@NBC in the line of march, promoting a progressive agenda that antagonizes Church leaders and the Catholic faithful.”
He said such “tolerance for so-called diversity by the parade leadership and organizers cuts both ways. A pro-life group should be permitted to march with its own banner.”
Instead, the rebuffed pro-life advocates waved signs from the sidelines in an impromptu protest.
“It is sad it has come to this, protesting on the sidewalks of a parade so rich in Irish and Catholic history,” Mr. Byrne said. “Once again, we are shocked and bewildered as to why parade organizers do not allow a pro-life group, with its banner, to march in this parade honoring the Patron Saint of Ireland and of the Archdiocese of New York.”
The parade featured primarily elected officials, including New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams, as well as high school bands, Irish dancers, pipe-and-drum corps, military units, police and firefighters.
In other words, the event was hardly a showcase for advocacy groups, with the exception of Out@NBCUniversal, the network’s self-described “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender & Straight Ally Employee Alliance.”
Out@NBCUniversal became the first LGBTQ group to march in the parade in 2015 after then-Mayor Bill de Blasio announced he would boycott the parade over its ban on gay-and-lesbian groups marching under their own banner. He ended his two-year boycott in 2016.
Also in 2015, the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights cut off its 20-year participation in the parade because organizers refused to allow the pro-life Children’s First Foundation to march.
Given that the St. Patrick Day Parade and Celebration Committee evidently plans to keep an LGBTQ group in the mix, Mr. Byrne said the organization should have accepted the Irish Pro-Life USA’s repeated requests.
“We filed an application request a few years ago and we never heard back from the parade organizers,” he said in an email. “I followed up with a complaint to City Hall saying we are being ignored. Never heard back from City Hall. Parade leaders this year never returned our multiple phone calls for clarification/explanation on our status.”
The Washington Times has reached out to parade organizers for comment.
Mr. Byrne, a dual U.S.-Irish citizen, said it would be “uplifting to hear senior Church leaders and influential voices speak up loudly and publicly in favor of a right-to-life group in the parade.”
Those issuing statements of support for the Irish Pro-Life USA include New York State Right to Life, Students for Life of America, the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts, Pro Bikers for Life, the Dublin-based Life Institute, and Personhood Education NY.
“Anyone who claims to honor Saint Patrick while refusing to defend innocent life is a hypocrite unworthy of his heritage and unfaithful to the religion of his baptism. The disciples of Saint Patrick are those who, like their Apostle, defend the defenseless,” said Catholic Action League Executive Director C.J. Doyle. “Today in Manhattan, the true sons of Saint Patrick were on the sidewalks of New York.”
Out@NBCUniversal may have the inside track, given that NBC broadcasts the annual Fifth Avenue parade.
Out@NBCUniversal’s activities include supporting Pride Month by, for example, marching in Pride Month parades, and Spirit Day, an annual event aimed at combating bullying of LGBTQ youth.
The group also promotes on social media NBC Out’s pro-LGBTQ coverage, such as its 2022 Pride 30 list honoring “a new generation of LGBTQ leaders,” including transgender swimmer Lia Thomas.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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