CHESTERFIELD 鈥 A full-page announcement 鈥渃alling all young men back to the Church to form a militia鈥 was published in a recent bulletin at Ascension Catholic Church.
The item in the June 16 bulletin included a link to an application form for the 鈥淪ancta Lana Legion Council鈥 that would train militia legionnaires described as 18- to 29-year-old men 鈥渢o protect the Holy Eucharist, congregation, clergy, and church grounds from violent and non-violent attacks.鈥
鈥淎scension Parish in Chesterfield, MO has been chosen as the testing ground for the militia and, if successful, we hope to establish platoons at parishes around the world,鈥 reads the application form.
The Rev. Eugene Schaeffer, associate pastor at Ascension, said Wednesday after morning Mass that the announcement was a 鈥渕istake鈥 and that he has not spoken to anyone trying to form a militia.
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鈥淲e are working on a retraction right now,鈥 Schaeffer said. 鈥淭here were several points in the process that broke down. There is no militia.鈥
The June 16 bulletin had been pulled from the church鈥檚 website and a was posted Wednesday. Ascension鈥檚 bulletins are published by Wisconsin company LPi.
The bulletin item stating that a new militia would be affiliated with Ascension was 鈥渦ntrue,鈥 the retraction states:
鈥淭o be perfectly clear, there is no militia being formed, and we regret that this item was included in the bulletin. Furthermore, the suggestion that our community might require a militia in order for us to celebrate the Eucharist is both inappropriate and unhelpful. Please be assured that there have been zero threats made against our community. 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.鈥
Brecht Mulvihill, spokesman for the Archdiocese of 50度灰视频, would not elaborate on how the item was submitted or approved for the bulletin but confirmed it came from a man.
The application form linked in the bulletin was shut down by Wednesday afternoon. It asked potential volunteers about their expertise in medicine, soldiery, Latin language, fitness, marketing and self defense.
Legionnaires who completed the 鈥減hysical fitness and combat training鈥 for the militia would also be required to serve as readers and ushers during Mass while wearing 鈥渂right white uniforms.鈥
The form said legionnaires would not be armed guards outside the church but 鈥渃ould be called upon by the Pastor of the Parish to take up arms defensively鈥 if the congregation were threatened. 鈥淎dditionally, all legionnaires will be trained in hand-to-hand combat to stop an armed intruder.鈥
Noreen McCann, an Ascension parishioner who attended Mass on Wednesday, said she supports security at the church.
鈥淚 think we should recognize the troubled times in which we live. Large community events have been targeted for violence. I don鈥檛 think church attendees should be sitting ducks,鈥 McCann said. 鈥淚t should be known that if you come to a Catholic church, where people are worshiping God, they are going to be protected and defended.鈥
A 76-year-old retired banker from Chesterfield who attended morning Mass wasn鈥檛 aware of the bulletin. Shown a copy of it, he read it aloud, starting with 鈥淐alling all young men.鈥
He stumbled on the word 鈥渕ilitia.鈥
鈥淚 think that鈥檚 a poor choice of words, but yes the Eucharist is sacred, so it does need to be protected,鈥 he said, only providing his first name, Jack. 鈥淢ilitia implies military protection. I don鈥檛 think they mean military. I think they just want a group to be outspoken about the Eucharist, you know, our religious freedom. Religious freedom is under attack.鈥
Catholics believe the sacrament of the Eucharist is the body and blood of Jesus Christ present in bread and wine.
When asked what threat the Eucharist is under, the churchgoer said, 鈥淭he Eucharist is the greatest gift Jesus gave us. Nobody is taking the Eucharist away but it is government鈥檚 movement against various religious things. There is a constant battle going on.鈥
The application form for the militia referred to a listing 333 incidents of arson, vandalism and other destruction of Catholic sites across the country since May 2020.
Ascension parish near Interstate 64 and Baxter Road is the fifth largest in the archdiocese with nearly 3,000 households and a grade school of 400 students.
The median household income in the parish is $121,400 and the percentage of white residents has declined from 93% to 75% in the last few decades, according to archdiocesan records.