Demonstrators Gather Outside Biden’s Church To Protest ‘Pride Mass’
Despite frequently professing his Catholic faith, President Joe Biden has long been accused of blatantly violating the church’s teachings — most notably through his defense of abortion rights.
Now, the D.C.-area church where the president frequently attends mass is coming under fire for hosting an LGBT-focused “pride mass.”
Many critics participated in a protest outside of the Holy Trinity Catholic Church to express their opposition to the event. Organizers shared social media posts about Wednesday’s “Rosary Rally of Reparation,” which they asserted would be “peaceful and legal, asking for God’s mercy and offering reparation.”
At the root of the backlash appears to be the perception that the church is encouraging individuals to be proud of a lifestyle that the church still teaches is sinful. Although Pope Francis has spoken out against laws criminalizing LGBT behavior, he reiterated earlier this year that the church’s stance on such activities has not changed.
“It’s not a crime,” he said. “Yes, but it’s a sin. Fine, but first let’s distinguish between a sin and a crime.”
In a statement addressing the protests against the controversial mass, Holy Trinity Catholic Church attempted to defend its actions.
“Our celebration of Pride is not celebrating personal vanity, but the human dignity of a group of people who have been for too long the objects of violence, bullying and harassment.”
The pride mass came on the heels of various public statements by Biden extolling the supposed virtues embodied by the LGBT community.
A Pride Month event over the weekend attracted widespread criticism not only for remarks by the president and first lady Jill Biden, but due to the behavior of participants — including some who engaged in public nudity on the White House lawn.
At least one transgender activist who stripped down to bare skin during the event later shared videos of meetings with both Bidens.
A White House spokesperson released a statement decrying the “inappropriate and disrespectful” behavior of such participants, adding: “It is not reflective of the event we hosted to celebrate LGBTQI+ families or the other hundreds of guests who were in attendance. Individuals in the video will not be invited to future events.”
