Bring your pets to church, Haitian immigrant priest tells worshippers. 'I am not going to eat them.'

CONCORD, N.H. (RNS) — As pet lovers gathered in a church garden here Saturday (Oct. 5) with dogs and photographs for the annual Blessing of the Animals, they were greeted with an assurance unlike any in years past.

“I say: Bring your pet. Bring your dog and cat. I am a Haitian, and I am not going to eat them,” said the Rev. Jean Beniste, a Haitian immigrant and rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, minutes before the crowd of about 60 took their seats. “I will bless them. I will embrace them. I will embrace you. I will make community with you.”

It was the first of several laugh-triggering allusions that speakers made in reference to a Sept. 10 debate remark by former President Donald Trump, who falsely alleged that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, are “eating the pets of the people that live there.”

Such rumors, which spread like wildfire on social media, have been debunked. But advocates remain concerned about the effects of hostile rhetoric aimed at Haitians and other immigrants.

___

This content is written and produced by Religion News Service and distributed by The Associated Press. RNS and AP partner on some religion news content. RNS is solely responsible for this story.