Here is what I wrote to Seattle times:

I was attending a Catholic church service in Shoreline last Sunday and to my shock and horror looked down from the balcony and saw the congregation giving what would look to the average person like the Nazi salute. Exactly like the Nazi salute...the same gesture that is forbidden in many countries. I have seen this done in one other Catholic church in Washington, but they thankfully don't do it any more. It is called a blessing. It is not an unbroken tradition in the Catholic church. It was not done when I was growing up in the 50s and 60s, nor have I seen it until a couple of years ago. How shocking this must be to some WWI veterans, who risked their lives against this evil. How traumatic if people of Jewish descent, or the other victims of Nazi genocide were to witness this..a churchfull of people being told to do this and just doing it.



Catholics: don't do this. Find another gesture that means the same thing; cross your arms or raise both arms or bend your arm at the elbow. But don't do this. The intentions are wonderful; the display is horrifying. This is a gesture that the world has retired, that nations have declared verboten. There is no reason whatsoever to do this, and every reason not to. The eyes of the world are on the Catholic church right now; let us not be discovered doing this.



Mary Garvey, Catholic