Missouri church apologizes for full-page bulletin encouraging young men to join militia
A Catholic church in Missouri has issued an apology after its bulletin mistakenly featured an advertisement calling for the formation of a militia. The ad, displayed in the June 16 bulletin, urged young men aged 18 to 29 to join and protect the holy eucharist, congregation, clergy and church grounds from potential threats.
The Ascension Catholic Church in Chesterfield swiftly retracted the advertisement through a post on the homepage of its website this week, clarifying that no militia was being formed and expressed regret over the ad’s inclusion in the bulletin.
The statement emphasized that the notion of needing a militia for church protection was “inappropriate and unhelpful,” and reassured the community that there had been no threats against the church.
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The ad was from “an individual who was recruiting members for a group he called the Legion of Sancta Lana,” according to the statement. However, the church did not disclose the name of that individual.
“The advertisement, which included a QR code with an application for membership, suggests that a militia would be formed and that this group would be affiliated with Ascension parish. The is, of course, untrue,” the church said.
“To be perfectly clear, there is no militia being formed, and we regret that this item was included in the bulletin. Furthermore, the suggestion that our community might require a militia in order for us to celebrate the Eucharist is both inappropriate and unhelpful. Please be assured that there have been zero threats made against our community.”
Fox 2 Now, which said the ad featured a call to “join now” in large bold font, reported that multiple parishioners, who chose to remain anonymous, viewed the incident as an unfortunate oversight.
One parishioner was quoted as saying, “It sort of was a mistake. It was an advertisement that was printed without any review by the parish, and I think it slipped through the review process cracks, if you will.”
The church’s bulletin publication process is managed by an external agency.
“It was just kind of a surprise, because it’s contradictory to everything that the school and the church preaches in the parish,” another parishioner said.
The church further clarified that the link is now deactivated and is “no longer accepting responses.”
“We sincerely apologize for this error and the anguish it has caused, and we believe it is in the best interest of our parish and our community for us to clarify that we do not support his activity,” it said in the statement.
