St. Paul, Minn., Jan 30, 2020 / 14:22 pm
A priest of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis has apologized for a homily that described Islam as the biggest threat in the world to the United States and to Christianity.
"My homily on immigration contained words that were hurtful to Muslims," Fr. Nick VanDenBroeke, pastor of the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Lonsdale, Minn., said in a Jan. 29 statement posted on the website of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.
"I'm sorry for this. I realize now that my comments were not fully reflective of the Catholic Church's teaching on Islam," he stated.
Archbishop Bernard Hebda also issued a statement on the homily, in which he said that he addressed the issue with VanDenBroeke, who "has expressed sorrow for his words and an openness to seeing more clearly the Church's position on our relationship with Islam."