HuffPost report suggests Pentagon excluded Catholics from Good Friday service
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A report by the liberal HuffPost raised eyebrows among critics who suggested Catholics were excluded from Good Friday services at the Pentagon.
HuffPost senior politics reporter Jennifer Bendery wrote He said the Pentagon “invited more than 3,500 of its employees to attend a Good Friday service at its on-site chapel.”
“Except it is for Protestants only, not Catholics,” Bendery wrote.
The report cited a memo sent to personnel by Air Force leadership that read, “Just a friendly reminder: A Protestant Mass (there will be no Catholic Mass) will be held today at the Pentagon Chapel for Good Friday.” A spokesperson for the Pentagon confirmed to HuffPost that this was the only ceremony held at the Pentagon’s interfaith chapel on Good Friday.
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HuffPost published a report suggesting that the Pentagon, under War Department Secretary Pete Hegseth, banned Catholics from attending the Good Friday service. (Oliver Contreras/AFP via Getty Images)
“I guess it’s so Catholics know their kind is not welcome,” an anonymous Pentagon employee who shared the memo told HuffPost. “This is ridiculous.”
Bendery continued: “Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, a far-right evangelical Christian, attempted to inject his religious views into Pentagon activities.”
But many on social media took issue with the framing of HuffPost’s report, noting that Catholics do not attend Good Friday services.
“Catholic here…we don’t celebrate Good Friday Mass,” Washington Examiner reporter Salena Zito told Bendery. “This is the only day of the year when there are no services as the church commemorates the death of Jesus.”
“Yes. It says there’s no Catholic Mass on Good Friday because Catholics don’t have Catholic Mass on Good Friday. Is there really no one you could ask for? Not a single person? Not even Google?” National Review senior editor Charles C.W. Cook reacted.
Critics targeted HuffPost on social media for its report on the Pentagon’s Good Friday service. (Thomas Fuller/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
“Catholics [technically] “We don’t have ‘Mass’ on Good Friday because the Eucharist is not blessed on Good Friday,” Fox & Friends Weekend co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy replied. “We have a ceremony where we read the passion from the Gospel of Jesus, venerate the cross (we line up to kiss Jesus’ feet on a large cross or a large crucifix board), and distribute the ceremony celebrated the day before on Maundy Thursday.”
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“FYI: Catholics do not hold mass on Good Friday. It is a service because there is no transubstantiation. When communion is offered, it is with hosts who have previously been consecrated. This appears to be a misunderstanding of terms by sources or reporters,” Hot Air executive editor Ed Morrissey wrote.
“This person continues to write about Christianity and continues to prove that he is completely ignorant about Christianity. Catholics do not celebrate Good Friday Mass,” said conservative radio host Erick Erickson.
Townhall editor Larry O’Connor wrote: “Is anyone here surprised that Jennifer doesn’t have a good understanding of Catholicism? Me too. But it’s extraordinary that not a single person in the editorial chain has the slightest knowledge of Catholics.”
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“Catholics don’t hold mass on Good Friday. It would be offensive to them to try to hold a mass. It’s incredible how much the left is trying to create divisions that don’t actually exist,” RedState writer Bonchie said.
The Pentagon holds daily Catholic mass, according to a Pentagon schedule obtained by Fox News Digital. (Tom Brenner/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“The crazy thing about the arrogance of journalists like this lady at @HuffPost is that literally THOUSANDS of Catholics are correcting that there are no Catholic masses on Good Friday,” Daily Wire reporter Megan Basham wrote. “And yet his arrogance is so great that, even though his religious ignorance has been so widely exposed, he still refuses to accept these corrections. He also suggests that Catholics would be banned from attending the Pentagon’s Good Friday service if they wanted to, which I’m pretty sure is untrue.”
A War Department official told Fox News Digital that Catholic services are held daily at the Pentagon and that religious services are open to all Pentagon employees.
HuffPost’s parent company, BuzzFeed, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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