A priest in Queens, New York has a message for anti-Trump protesters: jump off a building.
Father Philip Pizzo, a conservative pastor in the largely immigrant parish of St. Benedict Joseph Labre Roman Catholic Church, posted a meme to social media of a man falling from a skyscraper with the words, “Show your hate for Trump. Do it for social justice. #JumpAgainstTrump,” the New York Post reported Monday.
Pizzo told reporters that he made the meme in jest, “I do not promote suicide.” Rather, his reason for posting the meme was because he thought “jump against trump” was “funny.” Pizzo is known as a President Donald Trump supporter.
This is not the first time Pizzo dabbled in politically charged memes. He previously posted a photo of former President Barack Obama with the caption, “He’s not my president.” Last Halloween, the priest put up a shot of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton titled “Ugly Face,” and below it in Italian, “Happy Halloween.”
Pizzo’s social media posts have sparked widespread outrage from his fellow priests and the local Catholic dioceses, which ordered Pizzo take down the Trump meme.
The Catholic Church’s leader, Pope Francis, gave advice to Trump on Inauguration Day, urging the new president to help advance humanitarian causes around the world.
“At a time when our human family is beset by grave humanitarian crises demanding far-sighted and united political responses, I pray that your decisions will be guided by the rich spiritual and ethical values that have shaped the history of the American people and your nation’s commitment to the advancement of human dignity and freedom worldwide,” Francis said in a statement released by the Vatican.
Dantheman