Posted: Jan. 29, 2020
UPDATE 1/30/2020: Archbishop Hebda has spoken with Fr. VanDenBroeke, who has apologized for his hurtful sermon.
"My homily on immigration contained words that were hurtful to Muslims. I'm sorry for this," said Father VanDenBroeke in a statement. "I realize now that my comments were not fully reflective of the Catholic Church's teaching on Islam." The archbishop said VanDenBroeke is willing to learn to "see more clearly" more about Islam.
Archbishop Hebda quoted positive comments about Islam from both Pope Francis and Pope Benedict XVI, adding he is personally "grateful for the many examples of friendship that have been offered by the Muslim community in our region and we are committed to strengthening the relationship between the two communities." We are grateful for Archbishop Hebda's stance on immigration issues.
Original Page Text:
Breaking news: Father Nick VanDenBroeke, a Catholic priest in Minnesota, celebrated Immigration Sunday earlier this month by telling his congregation, "We should not be allowing large numbers of Muslims asylum or immigration into our country."
Fr. VanDenBroeke concluded his "sermon" by sharing his support for President Trump's cruel and unnecessary border wall.
The hateful message spread a dangerous false narrative about our Muslim siblings, and contradicted both Scripture's call to welcome immigrants and Christ's commandment to love our neighbors. It also undermined the spirit of Immigration Sunday, a beautiful initiative created by the Catholic bishops of Minnesota and inspired by Pope Francis.
Archbishop Bernard Hebda needs to hear from Catholics and other Christians across the country that if he wants his loving message about immigrants to be taken seriously, then he must stop Fr. VanDenBroeke from distorting church teachings to spread discrimination.
Sign the petition:
Love thy neighbor.