‘Maggots and parasites.’ Indiana pastor blasts Black Lives Matter protesters
Activists are calling for the removal of an Indiana Catholic church pastor after his derogatory remarks against Black Lives Matter protesters.
In a since-deleted post on St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church’s website, Rev. Theodore Rothrock blasted the Black Lives Matter movement, which has strengthened in the last month across the United States.
“The only lives that matter are their own and the only power they seek is their own,” Rothrock wrote Sunday, according to screenshots from Carmel Against Racial Injustice. “They are wolves in wolves clothing, masked thieves and bandits, seeking only to devour the life of the poor and profit from the fear of others. They are maggots and parasites at best, feeding off the isolation of addiction and broken families, and offering to replace any current frustration and anxiety with more misery and greater resentment.”
He also asked if “those black lives really matter to the community organizers promoting their agenda?” He called upon his parishioners to oppose Black Lives Matter and Antifa.
“They are serpents in the garden, seeking only to uproot and replant a new species of human made in the likeness of men and not in the image of God,” he wrote. “Their poison is more toxic than any pandemic we have endured.”
He issued an apology Tuesday night on the church’s site, saying it was not his intention to offend anyone. “I am sorry that my words have caused any hurt to anyone.” He said the church must condemn racial and ethnic bigotries.
“We must also be fully aware that there are those who would distort the Gospel for their own misguided purposes,” Rothrock wrote Tuesday night. “People are afraid, as I pointed out, rather poorly I would admit, that there are those who feed on that fear to promote more fear and division.”
Activists have planned a nearly 12-hour peaceful protest for July 5 outside the church in the Indianapolis suburb.
The group Carmel Against Racial Injustice, which was recently formed according to the Indianapolis Star, wrote it is “disgusted and shocked” by Rothrock’s since removed letter.
“We want the Bishop to remove him as a priest and also require training and ongoing education for priests and deacons on systemic racism and diversity,” the group wrote on Facebook.
Timmy L. Doherty, the Bishop of the Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana, wrote in a blog post that he did not approve or preview the article before it was posted.
“Pastors do not submit bulletin articles or homilies to my offices before they are delivered,” the bishop said prior to Rothrock’s apology. “I expect Father Rothrock to issue a clarification about his intended message. I have not known him to depart from Church teaching in matters of doctrine and social justice.”
Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard, who according to the Indianapolis Star attends the church, offered a comment to the newspaper but did not mention the pastor.
“My administration will continue to work to make Carmel a place where everyone regardless of background can thrive and prosper,” Brainard told the Star. “Great cities must be places where people of any race, religion or place of origin feel welcome and included.”
