CNN’s Chris Cuomo explained a central Catholic doctrine to Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) Wednesday evening after Gaetz called the five months of missing FBI texts between FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page “the biggest coincidence since the Immaculate Conception” but did not actually know what the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception was.
“What do you mean by the Immaculate Conception?” Cuomo asked Gaetz.
Chris Cuomo takes GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz to task over his claim that FBI's explanation of missing texts would be the "greatest coincidence since the immaculate conception" https://t.co/zqELwRqZGG
— New Day (@NewDay) January 25, 2018
Gaetz said he was just “making the point that this is an absurd coincidence.”
“Where is the analogy?” Cuomo asked. “That’s what I don’t understand. What do you think happened with the Immaculate Conception?”
“Look, did you really bring me on to discuss my religious views, Chris?” Gaetz asked. “I’m a Christian. I believe that the Immaculate Conception was how Jesus was born.”
“No. it wasn’t,” Cuomo said. “It was Mary’s conception. It was the mother’s conception without original sin. It was not the conception of Jesus. Facts matter, congressman, if you’re going to make an analogy at least know what you’re talking about because you’ve got to have a basis for these things.”
The idea that the Catholic doctrine of the Immaculate Conception refers to the conception of Jesus is a very common misconception, particularly among non-Catholics. The doctrine was officially declared in 1854 by Pope Pius IX.
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Gaetz concluded saying Congress will get to the bottom of a possible “secret society” within the FBI.
FBI agent Peter Strzok and FBI lawyer Lisa Page sent anti-Trump text messages during the 2016 election. One of the texts after Trump’s election says “perhaps this is the first meeting of the secret society.” Five months of text messages between December 14, 2016 and May 17, 2017 are missing and federal law enforcement officials blamed it on technical issues.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions has vowed to investigate the missing texts.
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