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CNN anchor Jim Sciutto blatantly refused to comment on a story about Catholics flocking to Missouri to see the preserved remains of a nun.
On Monday’s episode of CNN’s News Central, anchor Boris Sanchez covered the story of faithful Catholics making the pilgrimage to Gower, Missouri to see the remains of Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster, who died in 2019 but whose corpse seems to not have decayed.
Sanchez noted that visitors are being given the opportunity to kiss the remains before turning the camera over to Sciutto.
‘Not touching that story,’ Sciutto replied, before going on to report about convicted fraudster Elizabeth Holmes heading to prison.
CNN anchor Jim Sciutto refused to comment on a story about about Catholics flocking to Missouri to see the preserved remains of a nun
Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster died in 2019 but whose corpse seems to not have decayed
The bizarre interaction began with Sanchez talking about the miracle discovery of Sister Wilhelmina’s body and the fervor it caused in a Missouri town.
‘Thousands of Catholics are flocking to Gower, Missouri to view the body of a deceased nun which appears to show no sign of decay, though she’s been dead for some years,’ he said.
‘The Catholic News Agency reports that Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster was 95 years old when she passed away in 2019. It says her body was recently exhumed so it could be moved inside a chapel at the convent she founded,’ Sanchez continued.
‘When they opened her wooden coffin, the nun’s remains were found to be intact, even though her body had not been embalmed.
‘The discovery [is] prompting widespread interest,’ he said, before cutting to interviews with some of those who made the pilgrimage to see the nun’s body. They called the experience ‘rare’ and ‘powerful.’
When the camera turned back to him, Sanchez said: ‘Visitors are being given limited opportunities to touch and even kiss the deceased nun’s body, Jim.’
That is when Sciutto, who grew up attending Catholic school, said he would not comment on the story.
On Monday’s episode of CNN’s News Central, anchor Boris Sanchez covered the story of faithful Catholics making the pilgrimage to Gower, Missouri
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People wait to view the body of Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster at the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles abbey on Sunday
Sciutto has spoken out in the past about his Catholic upbringing.
In a 2018 interview with Fatherly, he said his mother in particular raised him and his siblings ‘very Catholic.
‘I had 12 years of Catholic school, church every Sunday, celebrated all the feast days, was also an altar boy and a choir boy,’ he said, noting he is not raising his own children to be as religious.
‘But I certainly take my kids to church on the holidays and make them aware of their faith as much as possible,’ he said.
It is unclear why he refused to comment on the miraculous story about the nun.
Lancaster’s body will be laid out for public viewings until Monday, where visitors are allowed to touch her body and pray
Since the discovery of Sister Wilhelmina’s intact body, the abbey in Gower has seen about 1,000 visitors each day, Ashlie Hand, a spokesperson with the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph said.
She noted that it was possible the monastery would receive up to 20,000 visitor this over the weekend.
But crowds have already grown to the point that police have added a mobile command center, and more land has been cleared to park cars.
The street outside the monastery, 316th Street, even became a one-way thoroughfare on Saturday, carrying cars west to east, according to Fox 4.
Lancaster’s body will be laid out for public viewings until Monday, where visitors are allowed to touch her body and pray. Visiting hours run from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
After May 29, visitors will still be able to see the nun and visit the site, but they will no longer be able to touch her body as it will be encased in glass. Lancaster’s body glass encasement will be placed near the altar to ‘welcome her growing number of devotees.’
The Benedictine sister planned to hold a public rosary procession Monday at 4:30 p.m., according to statement they posted online.
