Gesture was supposed to be a "joke

Priest probably shows Hitler salute – removed from office

Grand Rapids - A priest of the Anglican Catholic Church in the USA publicly stretches his right arm upwards during a speech, for which he has now lost his office. His church emphasises something fundamental in its explanation of the move.

Published  on 31.01.2025 at 10:57  – 

A priest of the Anglican Catholic Church (ACC) in the USA has been removed from office after making a gesture that is interpreted as a Hitler salute. "He no longer serves as a priest in the ACC," the church said in a statement on Wednesday about Calvin Robinson, who was previously a priest at St Paul's Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. "We condemn Nazi ideology and anti-Semitism in all forms. And we believe that anyone who imitates the Nazi salute, even as a joke or provocation, trivialises the horror of the Holocaust and downplays the sacrifice of those who fought against its perpetrators."

Robinson had mimicked the conclusion of a speech by billionaire Elon Musk at a meeting of anti-abortion activists by shouting "My heart goes out to you" and then showing the salute. Musk had done something similar after the inauguration of US President Donald Trump. In a statement, Robinson later described the gesture as a joke and emphasised: "I am not a Nazi".

The Anglican Catholic Church split from the Anglican Communion in the 1970s because it perceived the latter's work as too zeitgeisty. Later, other communities also split from it. (cph)