Catholic priest compares Black Lives Matter to 9/11 terrorists in Michigan sermon
The head pastor of a Michigan Catholic church has apologized after another priest compared Black Lives Matter protesters to terrorists behind the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
Comments made during a homily last weekend by Fr. Paul Graney of the Church of the Divine in Dearborn “brought forth division, anger, confusion and chaos,” Rev. Bob McCabe said in a statement Monday on the church’s Facebook page.
McCabe said he removed the video of the Sept. 12 homily an hour and a half after it was posted, but a woman who called for the pastor to be disciplined shared a copy of it on Facebook.
In the 12-minute clip, Graney said some Americans are “wanting to remake America into something else by destroying what it is today” in a comparison with al-Qaeda.
He said the official Black Lives Matter organization is “working against the traditional family structure.” He also also called antifa an extreme left-wing “anarchist terrorist organization.”
Protests have occurred throughout the nation and have included clashes between protesters and police, thefts, fires and other unrest. But around 93 percent of the summer’s protests have been peaceful and nondestructive, according to the U.S. Crisis Monitor.
Continuing his sermon against Black Lives Matter and antifa, Graney said the demonstrators “have now put America in their crosshairs.”
“Al-Qaeda’s goal was to come to the United States and kill Americans. Really just wanted to wipe America off the map. And they would’ve done it if they could,” he said. “But today, those who we see wanting to bring down America are Americans and they want to do it under the facade of justice, freedom and love. But it is all a big bunch of baloney. It’s anti-Christian. It’s anti-family. It’s evil.”
McCabe said he spoke with Graney about his comments, which did not mention any scriptures.
“A homily is supposed to reflect on and break open the Word of God proclaimed,” the head pastor said.
As of Tuesday morning, more than 400 people have commented on the church’s Facebook post. Some people criticized Graney’s remarks and thanked McCabe for his statement, while others backed the original homily by the associate priest.
Mary Kay Kubicek, who posted the video that has been shared nearly 300 times said “the archdiocese should absolutely discipline this associate pastor.”
This story was originally published September 15, 2020 at 6:26 AM with the headline "Catholic priest compares Black Lives Matter to 9/11 terrorists in Michigan sermon."