Church leaders disavow right-wing priest for 'likely trolling' with controversial arm gesture

30 January

At an anti-abortion rally in Washington on Saturday, January 25, Father Calvin Robinson — a right-wing priest from Michigan — made an arm gesture that critics have been comparing to a "Nazi salute." And Robinson's defenders are saying that the gesture was simply Robinson raising his arm, not an expression of solidarity with Nazi ideology.

The arm gesture followed a similar arm gesture from Tesla/SpaceX CEO Elon Musk during Inauguration Day activities. Musk's supporters maintain that the gesture was misinterpreted by the CEO's detractors.

In a late January post on X, formerly Twitter (which Musk owns), Father Matthew P. Schneider — also a priest — weighed in on the Robinson controversy and argued that the anti-abortion activist was probably "trolling" his critics.

Schneider tweeted, "I figure @calvinrobinson was likely trolling with his gesture, but he has chosen to troll over maintaining his license to minister in the Anglican Catholic Church. As priests, we must focus on moral not partisan issues in the public sphere."

Schneider posted a statement from some priests who take a dim view of political "trolling" and explain why they are being critical of Robinson.

According to the statement, Robinson's "license in this church has been revoked."

The statement reads, "While we cannot say what was in Mr. Robinson's heart when he did this, his action appears to have been an attempt to curry favor with certain elements of the American political right by provoking its opposition."

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