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The Nativity story is being brought to life via expressive street theatre and life-size puppetry at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis.

The historic church will host In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre, which will perform a special rendition of the Nativity story on Dec. 8

The hour-long event, which starts at 2 p.m., is open to everyone interested in celebrating the holidays and the story of Christ’s birth.

The event takes place throughout different locations in the basilica and audience interaction is encouraged, according to a released statement from the church. To register or for more information, check outwww.mary.org.

A Catholic priest in northwest Minnesota is refusing to administer the sacrament of confirmation to a 17-year-old after the teen posted a photo on Facebook condemning the marriage amendment, according to a newspaper report.

The decision by the priest at Assumption Church in Barnesville, Minn., to deny confirmation to Lennon Cihak last month has surprised the teen’s family, The Forum reports:

“The Facebook post in question was a photo of Lennon in front of an altered political sign. Originally reading “Vote Yes” on the Minnesota Marriage Amendment, which would have changed the state’s constitution to define marriage as between one man and one woman, Lennon scribbled out the “yes” and replaced it with “NO!”

The teen’s mother says she was “called into a private conversation with the priest soon after the photo was discovered and was told her son wouldn’t be allowed to complete confirmation.”

The newspaper also reports that the family is being denied communion. Church officials made no comment for the story.

Aimed at banning same-sex marriage in Minnesota, the proposed marriage amendment failed to win a majority vote on the Nov. 6 ballot. The state’s Catholic bishops and clergy were among the most vocal supporters of the amendment and called on the Catholic faithful to vote for the measure.

Catholic church leaders are not giving up their fight against gay marriage and argue they’re winning the battle despite setbacks in the election last week, according to the Vatican semiofficial newspaper.

In an article published Friday in L’Osservatore Romano by historian Lucetta Scaraffia, he writes “the church has emerged in recent years as the only institution on the global stage that’s capable of resisting the forces that threaten to ‘break up ... human society,’” the Religion News Service reports:

“Voters upheld gay marriage in referendums in four U.S. states (including Minnesota) while the French government recently introduced legislation that will allow gay couples to marry and adopt children. Spain’s Constitutional Court on Monday (Nov. 5) rejected a bid to repeal the country’s 2005 gay marriage law.

“You could say that the church, on this level, is bound to lose,” writes Scaraffia. “But this is not the case.”

“According to the historian, the church’s fight on moral issues such as gay marriage and abortion has drawn support and “admiration” from many non-Catholic."

"By opposing legislation allowing gay couples to adopt in the United Kingdom or fighting the birth control mandate in the U.S., the church “made it clear for everyone that this is not about progress” but about “the loss of one of the founding freedoms of the modern State, religious liberty.”

Meanwhile this week in Baltimore, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is holding its semiannual meeting (Nov. 12-15), where defeating gay marriage is slated among the topics of discussion.

Twin Cities religious leaders from a variety of faith traditions plan to gather Sunday at a Minneapolis church for a service to celebrate the defeat of the marriage amendment.

Plymouth Congregational Church’s “Celebrating Healing Minnesota” service at 7 p.m. will feature several faith leaders, including the Rev. Grant Stevensen, faith director for Minnesotans United for All Families, the main group that worked to defeat the amendment.

The proposed measure -- which sought to change the state constitution to define marriage as a union between a man and woman -- failed to win a majority vote on Tuesday.

Over the past year, hundreds of religious leaders across Minnesota weighed in on the divisive amendment, with many supporting it while others campaigned against it.

The Sunday service of speakers, spiritual reflection and song is co-sponsored by Out Front Minnesota, Westminster Presbyterian, First Universalist Church of Minneapolis, Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church, Temple Israel, Unity Church-Unitarian, Lutheran Church of the Redeemer and the Minnesota Conference United Church of Christ.

For more information, check out www.plymouth.org
 

President Obama won the support of Catholic, Jewish and non-white voters from a variety of religious faiths in his defeat of GOP candidate Mitt Romney, though he lost ground among white evangelical Protestants compared to 2008, according to a just released report.

The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life's report issued Wednesday  -- based on results from the National Election Pool exit polls -- finds that the basic “religious contours of the 2012 electorate are similar to recent elections – traditionally Republican groups such as white evangelicals and weekly churchgoers strongly backed Republican Mitt Romney, while traditionally Democratic groups such as black Protestants, Hispanic Catholics, Jews and the religiously unaffiliated backed Obama by large margins.”

“Mormon voters were firmly in Romney’s corner, with 78 percent voting for him. Catholics as a whole were evenly divided (50 percent voted for Obama and 48 percent backed Romney), while white Catholics swung strongly in the Republican direction relative to 2008.”

To read the full analysis, check out the Pew Forum website, which includes more details on how major religious groups and the religiously unaffiliated voted, vote choice by religious attendance, and the religious composition of the 2012 electorate.

Minnesota Catholic leaders issued statements on Wednesday expressing deep disappointment over the defeat of the proposed marriage amendment.

The Minnesota Catholic Conference, the public policy arm of Catholic bishops in Minnesota, said that despite the setback, “our efforts to promote and defend the cornerstone social institution of marriage will continue.”

Here’s the rest of the statement:

“MCC’s support of Amendment 1 was rooted in the complementarity of the sexes, the public significance of their ability to procreate, and the fundamental right of all children to be born into an intact family with a married mother and a father, even though this is not always possible. These basic human truths remain with or without the passage of this amendment.
 
“Our position on the amendment was never “anti” anyone, but “for” marriage. We continue to emphasize that everyone, including those with same-sex attraction, must be treated with charity, dignity, and respect. The Catholic Church welcomes all and remains committed to affirming the irrevocable dignity of all persons created in the image and likeness of God.
 
“We thank the thousands of Minnesotans, particularly our partners in the Minnesota for Marriage coalition, who worked tirelessly to bring about the amendment’s passage.”
 
“MCC will continue to support and advocate for public policy that best serves all of society, human dignity and the basic rights of children. Marriage needs to be strengthened, not redefined. We look forward to finding ways we can all work together as Minnesotans to strengthen marriage and family life.”

Minnesota Catholic bishops have been instrumental supporters in the campaign to pass the amendment, which sought to change the state’s constitution to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman -- essentially banning same-sex marriage.

 Key among the amendment’s religious backers is Twin Cities Archbishop John Nienstedt. The archdiocese dedicated over $650,000 to the cause of trying to pass the amendment.

The archdiocese posted a statement on its website Wednesday, lamenting the outcome of the amendment:

“Minnesota’s voters have spoken. Although the defeat of the amendment is a very serious concern to us, it will not deter us from continuing to serve this community and the whole state in pursuit of the common good. We are grateful to the thousands of Minnesotans, particularly those who lent their support to Minnesota for Marriage, for their commitment to proactively protect the timeless definition of marriage.”

“The Church’s public advocacy of support for the Minnesota Marriage Protection Amendment has always been rooted in our commitment to advance the common good for human society. This is the same spirit that guides the Church’s unwavering pursuit of economic justice, healthcare and immigration reform, and the defense of human life and dignity from conception to natural death.

“We proposed, and continue to do so, that the good of society is best served by maintaining the traditional understanding of marriage as a union between one man and one woman. This proposition finds its intelligibility in the order of reason and in the testimony of the Bible.

“The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis will continue to build up this community according to our principles, including giving voice and unwavering defense to the unborn, the poor and forgotten, the abused and the lonely. And we will continue to work to strengthen marriage, and defend it against all forms of its weakening, for the good of all society. We can do nothing less than continue to propose and do our best to live out what we believe.”

Meanwhile, the Rev. Mike Tegeder, a frequent critic of Nienstedt, who serves as pastor at two Minneapolis churches, submitted an e-mailed letter to The Star Tribune on Wednesday calling for Nienstedt to vacate his post.

“As a priest of the Archdiocese I would ask our Archbishop, John Nienstedt, to prayerfully consider stepping down from his office,” the letter states. “It would be healing for our state and our church and would show some magnanimity on his part.”

Jim Accurso, a spokesman with the archdiocese, said Wednesday afternoon the archdiocese was not aware of the letter but would take a look at it and possibly respond to it.