A church in Missouri posted an ad on its website earlier this month calling "all young men" between the ages of 18–29 "to form a militia." But after "anguish" from the community, the Ascension Catholic Church has since apologized for the "mistake."
"JOIN NOW" read the bulletin, posted on June 16. "We are calling 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 is called The Legion of the Sancta Lana."
"The militia will be composed of young men between the ages of 18-29. Training will include strict physical fitness standards, classroom study, and instruction in military operations," the ad continued, before offering a QR code and more information on how to apply. (See ad below, posted by Camry Diaz.)
The church now claims it was not aware of the ad, and has taken it down with an apology.
"To be perfectly clear, there is no militia being formed, and we regret that this item was included in the bulletin," the church announced, via MSN. "Furthermore, the suggestion that our community might require a militia in order for us to celebrate the Eucharist is both inappropriate and unhelpful."
"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," the statement said.
From The Independent:
The ad encouraged people to scan the QR code if they have experience in military, fitness instruction, Latin, business or medicine. The QR code led to an application for membership to the militia tied to Ascension parish.
The application says that the church "has been chosen as the testing ground for the militia and, if successful, we hope to establish platoons at parishes around the world," according to the St Louis Post-Dispatch.
The church clarified that the militia has no ties to the parish. "There is no militia being formed, and we regret that this item was included in the bulletin," the apology note read. …
"It sort of was a mistake," an anonymous parishioner told Fox 2. "It was an advertisement that was printed without any review by the parish, and I think it slipped through the review process cracks, if you will."
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