JULY 23, 2020 BY MICHAEL STONE
Thoughts and Prayers: Bishop Henrique Soares da Costa of Palmares, a conservative Catholic bishop from Brazil who claimed COVID-19 was a “sign from God,” is dead from the virus.
Catholic News Agency reports:
Bishop Henrique Soares da Costa of Palmares, Brazil, became the latest bishop to die of COVID-19 on July 18. He died at the age of 57 after being hospitalized for more than two weeks of treatment in the intensive care unit of the St. Joseph Memorial Hospital in the northeastern Brazilian state of Pernambuco.
In a recent video, Dom Henrique stated that the coronavirus is “a sign from God” and that “science is always precarious.”
Bishop Costa, who campaigned for Christian fascist Jair Bolsonaro, was an outspoken advocate for ultra-conservative Christian values, often arguing that there was a “war on Christianity,” at one point declaring:
The war against Christianity is clear, heavy and methodical. You can’t play with that. Today, it is our greatest urgency.
While campaigning Costa warned that Christians must always vote for conservatives, advising:
He should never vote for anyone who defends values contrary to faith: abortion, dissolution of the family, gender ideology, aberrant sex education in schools, secularism, etc.”
In addition, Costa was an outspoken homophobic bigot, who made headlines last year by complaining about a Netflix comedy special called “The First Temptation of Christ,” which depicts Jesus as gay.
At the time Costa wrote on his popular Facebook page:
In the middle of preparing for the Lord’s Christmas, Netflix slapped all Christians in the face; spat in our face, mocking our faith…
Freedom of speech is an excuse when someone hides behind this concept to attack what is sacred, holy and precious to others…
Despite, or perhaps because of his harsh political rhetoric, conservative Catholics consider Costa a saint, and want the Catholic Church to open a beatification case for the conservative bishop.
Catholic News Agency reports:
More than 48,000 people have signed an online petition asking the Brazilian bishops to open a beatification cause for the most recent bishop to die from the coronavirus.
Bottom line: Conservative Catholic Bishop Henrique Soares da Costa,” who claimed COVID-19 was a “sign from God” while warning that “science is always precarious,” has died from the virus.
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