Washington’s Roman Catholic archbishop has actually roundly slammed President Donald Trump‘s visit to the Saint John Paul II National Shrine on Tuesday.
One day after Trump used federal authorities to forcefully distribute a serene demonstration in front of a D.C. Episcopal church for a photo op with the Bible, Archbishop Wilton Gregory firmly insisted that the previous pope the shrine is called after would never have condoned the president’s techniques.
” I find it complicated and wicked that any Catholic center would enable itself to be so egregiously misused and manipulated in a style that breaches our spiritual principles, which call us to safeguard the rights of all individuals even those with whom we may disagree,” Gregory, the very first Black archbishop of Washington, said in a statement
Saint Pope John Paul II, understood for opposing communism in his native Poland during his papacy, was an “ardent protector of the rights and self-respect of people,” the archbishop said.
” He definitely would not excuse using tear gas and other deterrents to silence, scatter or intimidate them for a photo chance in front of a place of worship and peace,” Gregory included.
Trump briefly visited the Saint John Paul II National Shrine with very first girl Melania Trump, who determines as Roman Catholic. They likewise laid a wreath of flowers at the shrine.
The president then went back to the White Home and signed an executive order planned to promote worldwide religious freedom.
The Saint John Paul II National Shrine is handled by the conservative ordinary Catholic guys’s organization, the Knights of Columbus.
In a declaration, its leaders said that the shrine ” invites all individuals to come and hope and learn about the tradition of St. John Paul II.”
” The White House initially scheduled this as an occasion for the president to sign an executive order on global religious freedom. This was fitting offered St. John Paul II was a tireless supporter of spiritual liberty throughout his pontificate,” the shrine’s statement read.
Numerous hundred individuals collected outside the shrine to oppose Trump’s visit. Catholic activists hoped the rosary, listened to a reading of the Beatitudes, and held indications, including one that checked out, “Our church is not a media event.”
We’re here to express our dismay at #45’s check out to the JPII center @jackmjenkins pic.twitter.com/nkyObB4GDV
— Jud