According To Some Archbishops Only Some People Are Welcome To Pray At Shrines

In these darkest of days, intended to drive the masses into despair, the archbishop of Washington will go on to serve—albeit unwillingly—as a lifelong reminder that clerics and governments may be able to shut the masses out of houses of worship—but will find it frustratingly impossible to shut them out of Prayer. By shutting down all churches as an unnecessary means to curb the spread of Coronavirus, all participating governments and clerics have ingloriously painted themselves into a corner from which there is no return.

As long as it lasts, the church shutdown is only making people of faith increasingly aware that they don’t have to have brick and mortar buildings in order to pray. In other words, Coronavirus made the churches of the day, the homes of all of those denied being able to go to church. Private homes are now what churches are supposed to be—Houses of Worship where people gather to pray. Only the Almighty can rightfully lay claim to owning all churches. The archbishop of Washington cannot possibly lay claim to owning the Saint John Paul II National Shrine, which belongs to the Creator and all People of Faith. “The Rev. Wilton D. Gregory, archbishop of Washington issued a scathing condemnation of President Trump's visit to the Saint John Paul II National Shrine Tuesday with first lady Melania. (Fox News, June 3, 2020)

“Wilton Gregory opposed the long-planned visit by Trump and first lady Melania Trump, who is Catholic. "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,” the archbishop said in a statement.”

Some of us find it “baffling and reprehensible” that there was not even a meek peep of protest from the archbishop and other church hierarchy when government, without a by your leave, shut our churches down. In his public put down of the president’s long-planned visit to the Shrine, Gregory pontificated on the virtues of Saint Pope John Paul II—never once mentioning that as Bishop of KraKow, Karol Wojtyła, Pope John Paul 11, routinely faced down the guns of the Communist regime in Poland when he led outdoor Masses summer and winter at Nowa Huta (Canada Free Press, Oct, 2, 2002)

“Saint Pope John Paul II was an ardent defender of the rights and dignity of human beings. His legacy bears vivid witness to that truth," Gregory added. "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.” (Fox News). “The archbishop was referring to Trump's Monday night surprise walk from the White House to St. John's Episcopal Church, amid the protests following Floyd’s death. Trump held up a Bible and posed for a photo. Prior to his visit -- and a mandated curfew in the city -- police officers took steps to remove protesters from Lafayette Park.

Putting words into the mouth of a Saint who has already passed is, to say the least, egregious.

The archbishop’s attack on the president and his wife, who the Washington Post described as “identifying as a Catholic”, is purely partisan in nature. The archbishop’s Trump rebuke was all the more telling because both visits happen to coincide with an international religious liberty executive order.

“Brian Burch, the president of CatholicVote, a political Catholic organization, said Trump's visit to the shrine and executive order should be "celebrated" by those who love the church and religious freedom.” (Fox) “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. “Dwight Longenecker, a Catholic priest, shared an image of Gregory with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with the caption: "I find it baffling and reprehensible that any Catholic facility would allow itself to be so egregiously misused and manipulated.”

I find it baffling and reprehensible that any Catholic facility would allow itself to be so egregiously misused and manipulated... pic.twitter.com/G0cOtgy2V4

— Fr. Dwight Longenecker (@dlongenecker1) June 2, 2020

Religious freedom is under unrelenting attack by an enemy who work to deplatform prayer. They want the masses left in deep despair. Instead of despair, pray, pray, pray! Meanwhile, the closing of churches will soon see a boomerang effect on governments and clerics who went along with it. How government and clerics will be able to climb out of their self-made trap will be something to see!

Judi McLeod——Bio and Archives -- Judi McLeod, Founder, Owner and Editor of Canada Free Press, is an award-winning journalist with more than 30 years’ experience in the print and online media. A former Toronto Sun columnist, she also worked for the Kingston Whig Standard. Her work has appeared throughout the ‘Net, including on Rush Limbaugh and Fox News.