'He was using our church as the backdrop and the Bible as a prop in ways that I found to be deeply offensive,' says the bishop.
Protesters were dispersed with tear gas before Donald Trump's photo opportunity outside St John's Episcopal Church in Washington DCThe bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington has said she is"outraged" after police officers used tear gas to disperse peaceful protesters from her churchyard for Donald Trump to stage a photo-op outside holding a Bible.
The US president walked from the White House to St John's Episcopal Church, and holding aloft the religious text, he said:"We have the greatest country in the world. We're going to keep it safe." It followed days of nationwide protests - some of which have turned violent and have involved rioting, looting and police officers being shot at - over the death ofReverend Mariann Budde, whose diocese St. John's belongs to, said she was given no warning about Mr Trump's visit on Monday, and no permission was sought for the photo opportunity.Advertisement
"He was using our church as the backdrop and the Bible as a prop in ways that I found to be deeply offensive". In a separate interview she said the president used the opportunity to share"a message antithetical to the teachings of Jesus and everything that our churches stand for".
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