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Dear CV Friend,
This morning President Trump and the First Lady visited the National Shrine of St. John Paul II.
According to a spokesperson for the shrine, the visit
was long planned to mark the signing of an Executive Order by the President on international religious freedom. The order includes several
provisions, all of which will help protect religious minorities around the world, especially vulnerable Christians in the Middle East.
But get
this... the Catholic Archbishop of Washington D.C. attacked him for it.
Archbishop Wilton Gregory, former Archbishop of
Atlanta, and recent replacement for the defrocked Theodore McCarrick, called Trump’s visit to the Catholic shrine “reprehensible.”
He did what???
Shockingly, the Archbishop of Washington took the
opportunity to attack the President for clearing Lafayette Park yesterday evening -- the same park where rioters faced off against police, where
monuments were defaced, where Secret Service agents were injured, and where the historic St. John’s Episcopal Church was set ablaze.
A little
bit ago, I released this statement to the media:
"The fact that the President of the United States
chose the shrine of Saint John Paul II to announce a new Executive
Order protecting religious minorities should have been celebrated by all those who love the Church, religious freedom, and the courageous example
of St. John Paul II.
“It is regrettable that the Archbishop of Washington chose this occasion to engage in a partisan attack on the President,
especially when the country is in desperate need of healing and unity. Millions of Catholics in the United States, including many within the
Archbishop’s own flock, are grateful for today's Executive Order. The protection of religious minorities is a bipartisan issue that has enjoyed
unanimous support in Congress as well as the Trump and Obama administrations. Today's unfortunate partisan attack needlessly politicizes this
important issue, and distracts from the plight of vulnerable religious minorities around the world."
Given the terrible plight of vulnerable Christians in the Middle East, you would think the
Archbishop of Washington would have thanked President Trump for prioritizing this issue at a time when he is understandably occupied by the threat of
anarchists sowing violence around the country.
But Archbishop Gregory chose otherwise.
You may also be interested to know that Archbishop Gregory has
allowed radical pro-abortion politicians to not just visit a shrine, but to participate in a Mass! Just months ago, Archbishop Gregory allowed Nancy Pelosi to deliver remarks at the funeral Mass of
ABC’s Cokie Roberts at St. Matthew’s Cathedral in Washington, DC.
What to make of all of this?
There is no doubt that in this
difficult hour, we need pastors and shepherds who will help heal divisions, not try to score political points. Archbishop Gregory is a leading bishop
in the United States. He deserves our respect and prayers. But we vehemently disagree with his decision to attack the President. And as laypersons,
we have every right to say so. To refuse to speak out would be to surrender to an unfounded and unjust clericalism.
It’s no secret
that our Church is politically divided. Some Catholics admire the President, some detest him. Likewise for many priests and bishops. Just ask
Cardinal Dolan. He took the lead last month in pushing for relief for Catholic schools, and had the gall (gasp!) to compliment the President for
pledging to help. The Catholic Left has been relentlessly attacking Cardinal Dolan ever since.
Sadly, today politics reigns over all, even at the
expense of our kids.
Likewise, back in March liberal Catholics were incensed that President Trump would have the audacity to host a Catholics for
Trump event in Milwaukee. They demanded that Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome Listecki attack the President for hosting such an event.
Archbishop Listecki
responded with dignity, by making clear to all Catholics and to the media that the event was Trump’s alone -- and not an official event of the
Archdiocese of Milwaukee. And the archbishop was right to clarify that.
But Archbishop Listecki refused to take the bait of the Catholic Left by
attacking Trump:
“The mission of the Church is religious, not political. For reasons
that are both theological and legal, the Church’s involvement in public life does not extend to endorsing candidates for election to public
office nor calling for their defeat.”
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