A Minnesota teen who posted a photo on his Facebook page showing his support for same-sex marriage has been denied confirmation by the Catholic Church, according to his parents. Doug and Shana Cihak said that their 17-year-old son Lennon wasn't allowed to be confirmed at their parish, Assumption Church in Barnesville, Minnesota, after he posted the picture of himself with a Minnesota for Marriage sign that he had defaced to oppose the proposed state constitutional amendment that would have defined marriage as only between a man and a woman. Following intense pressure from homosexual activists and their supporters, the amendment referendum was defeated on the November 6 ballot.

According to the Associated Press, Shana Cihak was called into a private conversation with the church's priest, the Rev. Gary LaMoine, who supposedly informed her that her son would would not be confirmed with the rest of his religion class, even though he had attended mass every week and volunteered around the community. She complained that while other students in his confirmation class had “liked” Lennon's photo on Facebook, they were still allowed confirmation. “I just thought it was wrong to single him out,” said Mrs. Cihak.

The mother said she was shocked by the treatment of her son. “You kind of know the Catholic beliefs, but I never thought they would deny somebody confirmation because you weren’t 100 percent,” she told the Forum of Fargo-Moorhead.

As for Lennon Cihak, while denigrating the sacrament of marriage closely embraced by the Catholic Church, he nonetheless insisted that “I don't want the church to be put down. I don't want the Catholic religion to be put down. It's just the way the priest has things running. He's so strict. He won't loosen up about things.”

In response to media queries about the story, the Rev. LaMoine explained that it was Lennon Cihak who ultimately chose not to go through with confirmation, although the priest conceded that in light of the revelations about the teen's views on marriage he would not have been able to confirm him anyway.

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