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A report from the liberal HuffPost raised eyebrows among critics for suggesting Catholics were being excluded from a Good Friday service at the Pentagon.
HuffPost senior politics reporter Jennifer Bendery wrote that the Pentagon “invited more than 3,500 employees to attend a Good Friday service at its in-house chapel.”
“Except it’s only for Protestants, not Catholics,” Bendery wrote.
The report cited a memo sent to staff by Air Force leadership that read, “Just a friendly reminder: There will be a Protestant Service (No Catholic Mass) for Good Friday today at the Pentagon Chapel.” A spokesperson for the Pentagon confirmed to HuffPost that it was the only service being held on Good Friday at the Pentagon’s interfaith chapel.
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HuffPost published a report suggesting the Pentagon under Department of War Secretary Pete Hegseth had barred Catholics from attending its Good Friday service. (Oliver Contreras / AFP via Getty Images)
“I guess so the Catholics know their kind ain’t welcome,” one anonymous Pentagon employee who shared the memo told HuffPost. “It’s so ridiculous.”
Bendery continued in the piece, “Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a far-right evangelical Christian, has tried to infuse his religious views into Pentagon activities.”
However, many on social media pushed back against the framing of HuffPost’s report, pointing out how Catholics don’t attend mass on Good Friday.
“Catholic here… we do not celebrate Mass on Good Friday,” Washington Examiner reporter Salena Zito told Bendery. “It is the only day of the year without a Mass, as the church commemorates Jesus’ death.”
“Yes. It says that there is no Catholic Mass on Good Friday because Catholics do not do Catholic Mass on Good Friday. Is there literally nobody you could have asked? Not one person? Not even Google?” National Review senior editor Charles C.W. Cook reacted.
Critics took aim at HuffPost on social media for its Pentagon report on its Good Friday service. (Thomas Fuller/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
“Catholics [technically] don’t have ‘Mass’ on Good Friday because there is no consecration of the Eucharist on Good Friday,” replied “Fox & Friends Weekend” co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy. “We have a service where we read the Gospel passion of Christ, venerate the cross (we line up to kiss the feet of Jesus on a large crucifix or the wood of a large cross), and distribute host that was consecrated the day before on Holy Thursday.”
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“FYI: Catholics do not have Mass on Good Friday. It’s a service, as there is no transubstantiation. Where communion is offered, it’s with previously consecrated hosts. This sounds like a misunderstanding of terms by the sources or the reporters,” Hot Air managing editor Ed Morrissey wrote.
“This person continues to write about Christianity and keeps proving to be completely ignorant of Christianity. Catholics do not celebrate Mass on Good Friday,” conservative radio host Erick Erickson posted.
“Anybody here surprised that Jennifer doesn’t have a good working understanding of Catholicism? Me neither. But, It IS extraordinary that not one person in the editorial chain has even the slightest knowledge of Catholics,” Townhall editor Larry O’Connor wrote.
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“Catholics do not do Mass on Good Friday. It would be offensive to them to try to hold one. Just incredible how hard the left is trying to cause divisions that don’t actually exist,” RedState writer Bonchie said.
The Pentagon holds daily Catholic mass, according to the Pentagon’s schedule obtained by Digital. (Tom Brenner/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“What’s wild about the hubris of journalists like this lady at @HuffPost is she has literally THOUSANDS of Catholics correcting her that there is no Catholic mass on Good Friday,” Daily Wire reporter Megan Basham wrote. “And yet her arrogance is such that even though she has been exposed as religiously ignorant on a massive scale, she is still refusing to acknowledge these corrections. She also suggests Catholics would be barred from attending the Pentagon’s Good Friday service if they wanted to attend, which I am quite certain is not true.”
A War Department official told Digital that Catholic Masses are held on a daily basis at the Pentagon and that religious services are open to all Pentagon employees.
HuffPost’s parent company BuzzFeed did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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