One of Hollywood’s few devout Catholics slammed what he views as a double standard with Chinese Virus lockdowns. Jim Caviezel, the man who played Jesus in The Passion of the Christ, asserted that the fact people can fly on airliners during Chinese virus season, but are barred from going to Church in some parts of the country, is evidence that Christians are being persecuted.
While promoting his new middle east thriller, Infidel, a film about an American abducted by the Iranian government, Caviezel made several remarks to Breitbart News on various peoples of faith being persecuted or denied their rights throughout the world. One would assume that the actor was referring to Christians killed in Syria or perhaps the abuse of Muslim Uighurs in Communist China, however he said that Christians, right here in America, are persecuted for their faith due to draconian coronavirus lockdowns.
Enumerating current places where people are “persecuted for their faith, whether it be in Iran or in China or other parts of the world,” Caviezel included the “United States” in the list, describing the country as a place “where you’re not allowed to go into churches.”
Of course Caviezel was referring to certain state government mandates that houses of worship were required to close down for the sake of preventing the spread of coronavirus, lest they incur steep fines or be closed down permanently In July, California Governor Gavin Newsom extended closing houses of worship for an indefinite period of time for nearly 30 of the state’s counties, where 80% of California residents live.
Christian leaders in the state criticized the governor for trusting “big box stores like Costco and Target more than churches and synagogues.” Even President Trump criticized state government efforts like these, blasting the fact that abortion clinic and liquor stores are deemed “essential” businesses that can stay open, while Churches are not.
Caviezel described church lockdowns as a denial of “inalienable rights, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” and asked “Why can’t I go to church?” It’s an obvious question considering that the “free exercise of religion” is part of the first amendment.
The actor mentioned that these struggles are like those faced by “this character that I’m playing in Infidel, where his rights are taken from him.” He added his hope that American moviegoers should be able to relate, saying, “And you’re an American. You’re standing here, and say, ‘Why should I go to this film? What is going on here?’ Let’s put this together.”
The Passion star then mocked the lockdown double standards, saying, “You go into an airplane. You see a lot of people. They’re wearing masks. They’re right next to each other. But the COVID-19, for some reason, doesn’t spread.”
He quipped, “It’s so smart. It knows not to do that. But when you go into a church, the COVID-19 goes everywhere.”
Caviezel blamed his distrust for the Chinese Virus-hysteria narrative on the failing influence of the mainstream media. He claimed, “this is the conversation that we’re having right now” because “the media no longer represents a lot of Americans.”
“But most of us, we don’t trust them anymore,” Caviezel stated. We couldn’t have said it any better ourselves.
