President Trump’s Tuesday visit to the John Paul II National Shrine in Washington, D.C., laid bare divisions among Catholics, as the president drew nationwide scrutiny for using religious imagery to address violent protests.
Trump’s visit, which came less than a day after he cleared protesters behind the White House to visit St. John’s, an Episcopal church burned during a Sunday riot, was widely perceived to be a photogenic stunt. Even before Trump’s motorcade reached the shrine, hundreds of protesters gathered outside, holding signs with such captions as “Black Lives Matter” and “My Church Is Not A Photo-op.”
Amid a chorus of religious leaders denouncing Trump for the St. John’s visit, Washington Archbishop Wilton Gregory dropped a statement tearing into Trump and the shrine, just minutes before the president was scheduled to arrive at the John Paul II Shrine.
“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 calls us to defend the rights of all people even those with whom we might disagree,” Gregory said.
The shrine responded to Gregory’s statement after Trump’s visit, which consisted of the president laying a wreath at the foot of a statue of the pope and praying at the chapel within. The visit, the shrine explained, had been planned weeks in advance to coincide with the signing of an executive order promoting international religious freedom.
“This was fitting given St. John Paul II was a tireless advocate of religious liberty throughout his pontificate,” the shrine stated, adding that it was pleased that Trump had taken the time to “come and pray and learn about the legacy of St. John Paul II.”
After the shrine released its statement, CatholicVote.org, a pro-Trump organization that is working with the Knights of Columbus to drive voter turnout for the president in swing states, released its own statement criticizing Gregory and defending the visit as an attempt to heal the country during riots about police brutality, which have overtaken nearly every major city.
“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,” the organization’s president, Brian Burch, stated.
The visit, according to the shrine, was unrelated to Trump’s visit to St. John’s. Nevertheless, Gregory added in his criticism that the visit was a mockery to the legacy of John Paul II, who “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, although he controls the majority of the Catholic churches in the district, does not have jurisdiction over the shrine. It is run by the Knights of Columbus, a fraternal organization that has been vocal in its support for the president, especially on abortion issues. And Gregory himself is no stranger to inviting political figures to churches: Many Twitter users were quick to post pictures of him presiding over a mass at which Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi read from the Bible.
Several nuns and priests also participated in the protests, posting pictures to Twitter and Facebook. Along with the other protesters, their grievances were centered on the fact that the president had allegedly ordered the Secret Service to clear protesters outside the White House with tear gas so that he could walk to St. John’s. Trump then stood outside the church and held an unopened Bible aloft while photographers snapped pictures.
Prominent Catholics in public life said the gesture, which received heavy television coverage, only deepened already fraught divisions.
Former Vice President Joe Biden and Pelosi, two of the most high-profile Catholics in the country, both spoke out against Trump’s use of religious imagery. Biden joked that Trump should “open” the Bible and learn from it. Pelosi, reading from the book of Ecclesiastes, said that she was disappointed that Trump had not been a “healer in chief” during the crisis.
Several Catholic bishops also laid into the president online, with John Stowe, bishop of the diocese in Lexington, Kentucky, noting that it was fitting that the president should visit the shrine, when in the Gospel for the day, Christ’s enemies are “called out for their hypocrisy.”
James Martin, a Jesuit priest who often weighs in on political issues, said that Trump’s visit dishonored John Paul II’s legacy.
“Using a Catholic shrine honoring a man dedicated to peace and justice as a photo op, a few hours after turning out peaceful protesters in front of a church with tear gas for another photo op, was ‘reprehensible.’” he tweeted.
Simone Campbell, a Catholic nun and liberal activist who has clashed with the Catholic Church hierarchy on abortion rights, was equally censorious.
“President Trump is now using the Catholic faith in another photo op to defend his appalling refusal to address racism and police violence in the United States,” she said after Trump visited the shrine.
On the other hand, the controversial priest activist Frank Pavone, who serves as an adviser to the Trump campaign, said that Catholics should be happy for the visit.
“You honor us who are Catholic, and you continue to fight for all believers & all Americans!” Pavone tweeted about Trump. “Those who don’t appreciate these actions of yours can’t recognize leadership when it’s right before their eyes!”
The polarized response to the visit brought forward Catholics’ divided opinions on the president. CatholicVote.org and people such as Pavone have told the Washington Examiner that their support for the president is founded on his opposition to abortion and his support for religious freedom. Burch, in March, declared Trump’s administration the “most Catholic” in American history.
Trump’s Catholic detractors base their opposition on his support for increased border security as well as allegations that he encourages racism and hatred in the U.S. Biden often invokes Catholicism when speaking on social justice and environmental issues. Pelosi has gone a step further, invoking her faith in 2019 when rebuking Trump accusing her of hating him.
Instead, Pelosi said, she prays for Trump.
“I don’t hate anybody,” Pelosi said. “I was raised in a Catholic house. We don’t hate anybody, not anybody in the world.”
Catholics were integral to Trump’s 2016 victory, with many voting in Michigan and Wisconsin, where Trump arguably won the election.
