The Anglican Catholic Church has removed a Grand Rapids priest for making an alleged Nazi salute.
Calvin Robinson, priest-in-charge at St. Paul’s Anglican Catholic Church, was defrocked Thursday, Jan. 29, after church leadership learned he’d made the controversial salute to a crowd at the National Pro-Life Summit on Jan. 25 in Washington, D.C.
As someone who used to live in Grand Rapids, MI, I’m not surprised at all. West Michigan is a place of polar opposites: Both progressive in pockets, but also deeply bible-belty. You can’t drive more than a mile without passing at least a half dozen churches.
Also, it’s where Betsy Devos’ company and one of the largest for-profit charter school organizations in the country is based.
You’re drawing a line between progressives and catholics, but the catholics just defrocked a nazi.
As someone who grew up in a Catholic environment, I’m amazed that many Americans look upon highly on Catholics. It’s just as bad as any religious groups, I assure you. History is repeating (or rhyming again depending on your pov) of several ultraconservative Catholic clergies being far right sympathisers. Just before World War 2, there was a Nazi sympathising American Catholic priest who regularly broadcast on the radio berating Franklin Roosevelt and his policies (his radio station was shut down after the US entered the war). The Vatican has also been criticised by many for being quiet on the persecution of the Jews by the Nazis. Although, on the one hand, many parish did shelter Jews and called out the Nazis, but many Catholics were fans of Hitler and his party.
Huh? A priest did a nazi solute and was exiled for it. Refusing to give them credit for doing the right thing just makes you look bad. This is Lemmy, everyone here knows how bad the church can be.
If you’re not aware, there are plenty of Catholic clergies who are known to be ultra conservative and Trump supporters. There are rumours around that they dislike Pope Francis and are planning to usurp him if given the chance. If it is so happens that the current leader is also ultraconservative, then they will turn a blind eye to that priest in the article.