After making headlines last fall, Bishop Joseph Martino of Scranton is doing it again, and upping the ante in the pro-life battle.

From the local press:

In a letter to the heads of three local Irish organizations, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Scranton has threatened to close St. Peter’s Cathedral in Scranton during St. Patrick’s Day celebrations if the groups feature elected officials who support abortion rights at their annual events.

The letter, which was signed by Auxiliary Bishop John M. Dougherty, reports that Bishop Joseph F. Martino is “determined to prevent scandal,” which would be caused if the organizations “in any way” should “honor pro-abortion officials” by giving them parade or dais positions or opportunities to speak and “the Catholic Church is seen to be involved in this honoring.”

In direct terms, the letter reiterates the bishop’s publicly stated position that elected officials who vote to support abortion rights will be denied Holy Communion if they attempt to receive the sacrament in the diocese, including at St. Patrick’s Day Masses.

The closing of St. Peter’s Cathedral is offered as an additional measure to prevent the honoring of such officials.

Dougherty wrote that the bishop hopes the groups’ “judicious choices” about which elected officials to honor will make any actions by the bishop unnecessary, but that the letter was sent “to avoid any surprise should (Martino) be required to take action in this most serious matter.”

The morning Mass at St. Peter’s Cathedral has been a traditional element of the parade day celebration for decades. An additional Mass on the feast day also is offered at the cathedral and is particularly important for the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, one of the groups the auxiliary bishop addressed.

Leaders of that group, as well as the other two Irish groups, the St. Patrick’s Day Parade Association of Lackawanna County and the Society of Irish Women, reacted to the letter with surprise, disappointment and some confusion.

Evie Rafalko McNulty, a founder of the Society of Irish Women, explained that her group is not even Catholic.

“We’re not a Christian organization. We’re not ‘saint’ anything. We’re just a group of Irish women,” she said. Her group pays $500 to help defray the cost of the Mass given at St. Peter’s Cathedral on parade day, because it was asked to help contribute.

“If he doesn’t have the Mass, then we save $500,” she said.

John Keeler, president of the Friendly Sons, said the members of his group, a 104-year-old Irish Catholic organization, were chagrined by the letter but believe they already are in compliance with it.

“The suggestion that we would at any time do anything to create a scandal to the Catholic church is somewhat disappointing, considering that most, if not all, of our members are daily communicants in the Catholic faith who live their faith and support their church to the fullest extent possible,” he said.

The Society of Irish Women has not yet confirmed a speaker for its annual dinner, but McNulty said the group has not invited anyone who has a legislative voting record on any abortion issue.

Mike Harrity, the president of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade Association, did not return calls for comment.