Mayor Bill de Blasio has reopened an old controversy by his announcement that he would not participate in the annual New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade. The new mayor, who seems to get in his own way with every step he takes, has declared that the Ancient Order of Hibernians and the Catholic Church are bigoted organizations who discriminate against homosexuals and he wants nothing to do with them.

By so doing, de Blasio has denied the Church’s right to teach its understanding of sexuality, which dates back thousands of years. Instead, he favors the politically correct version that redefines marriage and threatens the very bedrock of contemporary society.

The mayor says that gays and lesbians are being denied an opportunity to march in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade when nothing could be further from the truth. No one is denied access to the parade because of his or her sexuality. Presumably, gays and lesbians always have marched in the parade, a tribute to the great patron of the Irish people. No one is asked about their sexuality when they apply for admission to the ranks of the marchers. You march because you’re Irish or because you want to join with the Irish as they celebrate their Catholic roots.

Make no mistake about it, this is a Catholic parade. It is dedicated to the fifth-century bishop who converted the Emerald Isle to Christianity. Its organizers are the members of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, a noted Irish society that has been fighting against anti-Catholic bigotry for 200 years but traces its mission back to more than 500 years ago when the Queen of England attempted to wipe out the Church loyal to the pope.

The parade begins with Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. It is reviewed by the Archbishop of New York, who is joined on the steps of the cathedral by other members of the Church hierarchy, which in recent years has included the Bishop of Brooklyn.

The Parade Committee does not allow banners that advocate positions or opinions. It certainly would not allow representation of any ideas that oppose the Church’s teaching on anything.

Mayor de Blasio is way off base with his boycott of the parade. He preaches about a tale of two cities, and yet he is doing everything he can to perpetuate that myth by furthering divisions among people. His decision to walk in an alternative parade in Sunnyside – instead of the Rockaway St. Patrick’s Day Parade – was a slap in the face of all traditional Irish Catholics.

The Catholic Church has a carefully honed teaching on specific distinctions between the roles of men and women. These natural differences have been blurred by a well meaning but misguided notion of tolerance that blends everyone into a homogenized concept of person.

The Church does not declare anyone anathema because of sexual orientation. All are welcome. But it does realize differences, and those distinctions should be respected in a society that prides itself on diversity. The first freedom in America is freedom of religion, and the Church has every right to maintain its teaching and not have it formed by political oppression.

Mayor de Blasio – joined unfortunately by the leadership of the N.Y.C. Council – had his opportunity to try to bring people together by building a bridge between opposing viewpoints, but instead he has resorted to some tired political rhetoric that continues to divide the community.