The cancellation follows public outrage over the desecration of a Child of Prague statue and planned mockery of Catholic penance on Croagh Patrick, a holy site of the eponymous saint.
(LifeSiteNews) -- A controversial LGBT “Pride” event scheduled for Ireland’s holiest mountain was cancelled Sunday due to winds forecasted to rise precisely at the hour of the climb.
Mayo Pride’s “Big Gay Hike,” part of its weekend-long festival, had been set to begin on Monday, June 2, at noon on Croagh Patrick – the mountain where Saint Patrick fasted for 40 days.
Mayo Pride has hosted the hike regularly since at least 2018. Hikers were advised, “Hiking boots essential, glitter optional.” But on the day, organizers pulled the event, citing weather conditions.
Journalist Louise Roseingrave noted that the stronger winds were forecast to begin at midday – the planned start time – and to ease as the climb was due to finish.
The cancellation follows backlash over a now-deleted promotional image of the Child of Prague – a traditional Catholic statue of the Infant Christ – altered with "transgender pride" colors and makeup, and renamed the “Child of Drag.”
Critics accused the event of mocking the Catholic faith and desecrating sacred symbols long venerated across Ireland.
Pilgrims traditionally climb Croagh Patrick barefoot as an act of penance. Roseingrave reported the event was originally advertised as “penance” for sins committed during "Pride" – a phrase she saw as a deliberate mockery of Catholic belief. The term was later removed.
The controversy also placed sponsors under scrutiny, including Irish Rail, Mayo County Council, and pharmaceutical company AbbVie, known for producing puberty blockers.
In contrast to the cancelled event, a public Rosary rally took place at 4 p.m. the day before, at St. Patrick’s Statue in the town center of Westport, Mayo, close to the foot of Croagh Patrick. Organized by the TFP-affiliated Ireland Needs Fatima, the gathering called for public reparation for the festival’s sins and blasphemies.
“As many saints teach, public sins need public reparation,” said organizer Damien Murphy. “Faithful Catholics must not stand by and let this happen again.”
The Church teaches that blasphemy is not merely offensive to Catholics but a direct offense against God Himself.
While acknowledging that murder harms one’s neighbor more than God is harmed by blasphemy, St. Thomas Aquinas taught that the latter is “more grave than murder,” since it is intended directly against God Himself.
For this reason, Pope Pius XI urged the faithful to make public acts of reparation, reminding them that:
[T]he just and merciful God who would have spared Sodom for the sake of ten just men, will much more be ready to spare the whole race of men, when He is moved by the humble petitions and happily appeased by the prayers of the community of the faithful praying together in union with Christ their Mediator and Head, in the name of all.
