Washington Archbishop Condemns Trump's Visit To Catholic Shrine
Washington’s Roman Catholic archbishop has roundly criticized President Donald Trump’s visit to the Saint John Paul II National Shrine on Tuesday.
One day after Trump used federal police to forcefully disperse a peaceful protest in front of a D.C. Episcopal church for a photo op with the Bible, Archbishop Wilton Gregory insisted that the former pope the shrine is named after would never have condoned the president’s tactics.
“I find it baffling and reprehensible that any Catholic facility would allow itself to be so egregiously misused and manipulated in a fashion that violates our religious principles, which call us to defend the rights of all people even those with whom we might disagree,” Gregory, the first Black archbishop of Washington, said in a statement.
Saint Pope John Paul II, known for opposing communism in his native Poland during his papacy, was an “ardent defender of the rights and dignity of human beings,” the archbishop said.
“He certainly would not condone the use of tear gas and other deterrents to silence, scatter or intimidate them for a photo opportunity in front of a place of worship and peace,” Gregory added.
Trump briefly visited the Saint John Paul II National Shrine with first lady Melania Trump, who identifies as Roman Catholic. The pair posed for media photos before turning to gaze at a statue of the former pope for a few minutes. They also laid a wreath of flowers at the shrine. Trump did not make any public comments at the shrine, The Washington Post reported.
The president then returned to the White House and signed an executive order intended to promote international religious freedom.
The Saint John Paul II National Shrine is managed by the conservative lay Catholic men’s organization, the Knights of Columbus.
In a statement, its leaders said that the shrine “welcomes all people to come and pray and learn about the legacy of St. John Paul II.”
“The White House originally scheduled this as an...
