A Catholic church in Missouri has issued an apology for a Sunday bulletin on its website calling on men to join a "militia" to protect the congregation, which not in any danger, according to officials.
The bulletin earlier this month on the site of the Ascension Catholic Church in Chesterfield near St. Louis called "all young men back to the Church to form a militia dedicated to protecting the Holy Eucharist, our congregation, our clergy, and the church grounds."
The militia was to be called the "Legion of the Sancta Lana Council," and would include men only, ages 18 to 29, according to the notice. Participation was to include "strict physical fitness standards, classroom study, and instruction in military operations."
The bulletin claimed the church had been "chosen as the testing ground for the militia and, if successful, we hope to establish platoons at parishes around the world."
One critic posted a statement on social media from Pope Francis encouraging Catholics to "avoid any action or word that fuels conflict. May they instead work decisively for a peaceful resolution of conflicts," Francis added.
The critic noted: "You might want to check in with the Archdiocese of St. Louis. A pastor is trying to start an armed militia at his parish."
But the church quickly retracted the recruitment notice, and apologized for it, saying that the bulletin was unauthorized.
"We sincerely apologize for this error and the anguish it has caused ... to be perfectly clear, there is no militia being formed, and we regret that this item was included in the bulletin," said the new notice.
"Futhermore, the suggestion that our congregation might require a militia ... is both inappropriate and unhelpful. There have bee zero threats made against our community," it added.
No details were provided about how the notice ended up on the church website. One church member characterized it as "sort of a mistake."
"It was an advertisement that was printed without any review by the parish, and I think it slipped through the review process cracks," the parishioner told Fox 2 in St. Louis.
