Lizz Dyer knew it was a long shot, but when the Omaha Archdiocese refused to print her wedding announcement, she was nevertheless disappointed.
Dyer and her partner, Katie Brown, recently married in Iowa, and when she posted photos of the ceremony of Facebook, a friend offered to submit an image to Marian High School's alumni newsletter, KETV reports.
But when a worker at the Catholic school saw the announcement, he or she went to the Archdiocese. Officials ultimately decided the announcement shouldn't run because homosexuality is against the church's beliefs.
"On a personal level it's almost saying my relationship with my wife isn't good enough or it's not valid," Dyer told KETV, saying the newsletter often features wedding announcements.
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Although they're from Nebraska, the couple flocked to the neighboring state to tie the knot, since Iowa allows gay marriage.
Conservative lawmakers have been trying to ban gay marriage in the state, but their efforts are beginning to slow, the Associated Press recently reported.
"People are getting comfortable with it and that's a shame to tell you the truth," Susan Geddes, an Iowa Republican, told the AP.
As of May, six U.S. states and the District of Columbia allow gay marriage, CNN notes. Conversely, 39 other states prohibit it.
Although the Catholic Church doesn't believe in same-sex marriage or relationships, it does encourage respect and justice toward
gays, according to AmericanCatholic.org.
And some Catholic clergy members have even come out in support of gay marriage.
Father Bob Pierson, who said he knew he was gay when we was ordained, recently asked church members in Minneapolis to vote "no" on a proposed anti-gay marriage amendment that will be put to a vote in November.
"Too many of us have been thought to think of God in terms of God's judgement, rather than God's tremendous love and mercy," he said. "I do not believe the church has the right to force its moral teaching on others outside our fold."