As Catholics across the world celebrated the holiest of holy days during Easter, the secular world intruded in so many ways to put blemishes on the day of Resurrection. 

On Saturday, March 30, pro-Palestinian protestors disrupted the Easter Vigil service at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Midtown by unfurling a banner bearing the message “Silence = Death” and calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. 

The New York Police Department needed to respond. Police made three arrests and charged those arrested with disruption of a religious service. 

Also, on Good Friday, President Joe Biden, the second Catholic president, issued a proclamation stating that March 31 — Easter Sunday — would be “Transgender Day of Visibility.” 

“I, Joseph R. Biden Jr., president of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 31, 2024, as Transgender Day of Visibility,” the White House announced Friday. 

This drew much ire from Christians, since it was such a public rebuke of the holy day. 

As Cardinal Wilton Gregory of Washington said on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” “I would say that he’s very sincere about his faith. But like a number of Catholics, he picks and chooses dimensions of the faith to highlight while ignoring or even contradicting other parts.” 

“There is a phrase that we have used in the past, a ‘cafeteria Catholic’ — you choose that which is attractive, and dismiss that which is challenging,” Cardinal Gregory added. 

Cardinal Gregory mentioned that abortion was a topic that “cafeteria Catholics” waffle on. 

“Especially in terms of life issues, there are things that he chooses to ignore, or he uses the current situation as a political pawn,” Cardinal Gregory said about Biden’s stance. 

However, that was not the only gaffe coming from the Biden White House concerning Easter. 

A flyer for the children’s Easter egg design contest states that submissions “must not include any questionable content, religious symbols, overtly religious themes, or partisan political statements.” 

How can you call it an Easter egg design contest and declare the acceptable design should not have a religious theme? 

As Bishop Robert Brennan said in his Easter Sunday homily, some things in life can pull us down, but the resurrection of Jesus Christ pulls all of us back up toward heaven. 

Certainly, at times the secular world this past Holy Week has been pulling Catholics down, but at last, Christ has risen to give us salvation.