CNA: JPII Shrine Says Trump Visit Long Scheduled While Archbishop Gregory Opposes It

A spokesperson for the shrine said on Tuesday that the White House “originally scheduled this as an event for the president to sign an executive order on international religious freedom.”

By Catholic News Agency, 6/2/20

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Amid burgeoning conflict regarding the president’s response to riots across the country, President Donald Trump visited the Saint John Paul II National Shrine in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday morning.

While a shrine spokesman said the visit was initially planned as the signing of an international religious freedom executive order and had been scheduled some time ago, Washington’s archbishop (Wilton Gregory) called Trump’s visit to the shrine “reprehensible.”

According to the White House daily press guidance, Trump had a scheduled visit to the Saint John Paul II National Shrine in the city’s northeast at 11:20 a.m. on Tuesday.

The president’s visit now comes shortly before he will sign an executive order “to advance international religious freedom.”

A spokesperson for the shrine said on Tuesday that the White House “originally scheduled this as an event for the president to sign an executive order on international religious freedom.” ….

Read more here:  https://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/jpii-shrine-says-trump-visit-long-scheduled-while-archbishop-calls-it-repre

Trump, First Lady visit Saint John Paul II National Shrine (Video)