Catholics Denounce Latest ‘Photo Op’
The Archbishop of Washington, D.C. is denouncing President Donald Trump’s late Tuesday morning trip to visit a Catholic shrine that honors Pope John Paul II, specifically noting Trump teargassed protestors who were peacefully standing at St. John’s church just one day prior. Catholics came to protest, with some holding signs saying, “Our Church is Not a Photo Op,” as they chanted, “Black Lives Matter!” (video below.)
Archbishop Wilton Gregory, the nation’s highest-ranking African-American Catholic prelate, issued a strongly-worded statement calling Trump’s decision to visit the Saint John Paul II National Shrine “baffling and reprehensible,” as The Washington Post reports.
Gregory said it “violates our religious principles, which call us to defend the rights of all people even those with whom we might disagree.”
Tavo says
I don’t see anything wrong with the president visiting a Catholic shrine that was nearly destroyed by a fire apparently started by rioters.
I tend to believe that the protesters who stood near the shrine were asked to move by police, and when they did not move the police took action. Were the police supposed to let protesters surround the area all night and if so who would have taken responsibility for the consequences?
Who set fire to the shrine? That question needs to be answered.
Armenian-owned and other businesses throughout the US have been broken into and looted or set on fire and the employees put out of their jobs.
Who is doing that and what is the justification?
Businesses are already struggling during the Covid-19 pandemic.