Washington D.C. Archbishop Wilton Gregory decided to weigh in on President Donald Trump’s visit to the shrine of Pope John Paul II. “I find it baffling and reprehensible that any Catholic facility would allow itself to be so egregiously misused and manipulated,” Archbishop Wilton said. He went on trashing the president and said John Paul II would not condone Trump’s visit because he used “tear gas” on protesters. Well, that’s when he got blasted by the truth.
A number of prominent Catholics are blasting leftwing DC Archbishop Gregory who is a well-known supporter of “social justice” issues that deviate from Church teachings. Gregory trashed the president for visiting the Saint John Paul II shrine, which is under his jurisdiction as Archbishop of Washington, D.C.
“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 his statement Tuesday.
“Saint Pope John Paul II was an ardent defender of the rights and dignity of human beings,” Gregory said. “His legacy bears vivid witness to that truth. 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.”
Pope John Paul II would be grateful for all President Trump stands for. The deceased pope hated the leftwing American politicians who supported abortion.
Also, this tale of violent, jack-booted cops running rampant through the streets over innocent docile protesters, using tear gas to clear the area, is a total lie.
After thousands of false tweets, print stories, and broadcast stories to the contrary, local journalist Neal Augenstein of WTOP reported that a Park Police source said “tear gas was never used — instead smoke canisters were deployed, which don’t have an uncomfortable irritant in them.”
Further, the source said the crowd was dispersed because of projectiles being thrown by the “peaceful protesters” at the Park Police and because “peaceful protesters” had climbed on top of a structure in Lafayette Park that had been burned the prior night.
In a column titled “Baffling and Reprehensible,” Catholic author and journalist Phil Lawler enumerated seven problems underlying the archbishop’s statement, including his blatant partisanship and divisiveness.
The archbishop published his “inflammatory statement” without bothering to check the facts, Lawler observes, noting that the president’s visit to the shrine had no connection with the demonstrations but had been planned well ahead to coincide with the release of an executive order on international religious freedom.
Lawler also notes that Archbishop Gregory has “given over the pulpit of his cathedral” to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, an ardent defender of abortion on demand, suggesting a “hypocritical” double standard.
Archbishop Gregory “so blithely overlooks the most evident display of racial disparity on our nation: the systematic extermination of African-Americans in the womb, aided and abetted by the liberal Catholic politicians who welcomed the archbishop’s latest petulant outburst,” said Lawler.
Making matter worse for the Archbishop, Carlo Maria Viganò, who served as the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, went so far as to call Archbishop Gregory a “false shepherd” for his unjust reproach of the John Paul II National Shrine for allowing President Trump to visit.
“Unfortunately, the Catholic Church is led by many false pastors,” stated Viganò in a June 3 letter to the Catholic faithful of the Archdiocese of Washington.
“Over the past twenty years, your [Archdiocese] of Washington, in particular, and now for the third time, has been and continues to be deeply afflicted and wounded by false shepherds whose way of life is full of lies, deceits, lust, and corruption,” Vigano added.
Archbishop Gregory is good buddies with Pope Francis. They both are political activists, not spiritual leaders. Gregory has appointed abortion activists to prominent places in his diocese. He goes against the teachings of the Catholic Church on most issues, just like Nancy Pelosi, Joe Biden, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who all profess to be members of the Catholic Church.
Gregory is a disgrace as a priest, and President Trump should be honored to be trashed by such an anti-Christian bishop who is truly a wolf in sheep’s clothing.