A group of students at the University of Portland, a Catholic institution, confronted a resident priest on Tuesday over his social media activity and comments he made critical of the gay pride flag.

The Rev. Dan Parrish, a member of the religious order the Congregation of the Holy Cross and a business professor at the university, had made comments in an October email to staffers that the gay pride flag was a “political symbol” misaligned with Catholic teaching and should not be displayed publicly at the university.