A Catholic church in Missouri has apologized after issuing a call for young men to “form a militia” to protect the congregation.
The Ascension Catholic Church in Chesterfield, Missouri posted a bulletin on its website on June 16. “We are calling all young men back to the Church to form a militia dedicated to protecting the Holy Eucharist, our congregation, our clergy, and the church grounds,” the message read.
The militia would be called “The Legion of the Sancta Lana Council” and will be “composed of young men between the ages of 18-29. Training will include strict physical fitness standards, classroom study, and instruction in military operations.”
The ad encouraged people to scan the QR code if they have experience in military, fitness instruction, Latin, business or medicine. The QR code led to an application for membership to the militia tied to Ascension parish.
The application says that the church “has been chosen as the testing ground for the militia and, if successful, we hope to establish platoons at parishes around the world,” according to the St Louis Post-Dispatch.
The church has since retracted the announcement and apologized for it, running a banner on its website. “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 this activity,’ it reads.
The church clarified that the militia has no ties to the parish. “There is no militia being formed, and we regret that this item was included in the bulletin,” the apology note read.
The suggestion that the community needed a militia is “inappropriate and unhelpful,” adding there have been “ zero threats made against our community,” the church wrote.
“It sort of was a mistake,” an anonymous parishioner told Fox 2. “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.”
