Last month, US President Joe Biden was given a VIP tour of Ireland’s holiest shrine at Knock.
What was he praying for on his visit? The reestablishment of Roe vs Wade? Perhaps, or perhaps for success in his administration’s efforts to persecute Catholic chaplains.
In Oklahoma, Biden declared war on chaplains and threatened to strip them of Federal recognition unless they extinguished a candle permanently kept alight in representation of Christ’s presence in the tabernacle.
In a statement the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty addressed the Biden administration:
You have threatened to deny accreditation because Saint Francis keeps a candle— an eternal flame—in its hospital sanctuary. For 15 years, that flame has burned without problem or concern in Saint Francis Hospital South in Tulsa; and for 63 years, the eternal flame has burned at Saint Francis Hospital Yale Campus, the largest hospital in the state of Oklahoma, without problem or concern. From the moment Saint Francis opened its doors in 1960, this flame has been maintained without interruption. In requiring Saint Francis to extinguish its flame, you are trying to extinguish not just a candle, but the First Amendment rights of Saint Francis Health System, as well as vital healthcare for the elderly, poor, and disabled in Oklahoma.
In an updated statement, the organisation said:
"The government has seen the light and has abandoned its attempt to force an Oklahoma hospital to blow out a small candle or stop serving elderly, disabled and low-income patients, [HHS] has told Saint Francis that it can keep its living flame — a sacred candle housed in the hospital chapels."
"The government knew it was playing with fire — today it announced its decision to allow the living flame so Saint Francis can continue to serve God and its community, as it always has.
For Biden to be celebrated at Knock Basilica, then at Saint Muiredach’s Cathedral in Mayo, all while persecuting Catholic chaplains, just shows the depth of schizophrenia in his political career.
