Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned “Jesus Christ Superstar” in an interview with EWTN’s “The World Over.”
When asked if he would consider bringing the show to the Kennedy Center, Rubio said, “I mean, obviously, look, that stuff’s done to be provocative and to insinuate, but I think for people of faith, none of this should be new.”
“It’s been true from the beginning in Christianity, it’s been – Christianity has been mocked, Christianity has been attacked from its very inception,” he said. “In fact, the Church has traditionally been at its strongest when it’s the persecuted church, it’s been at its weakest when it sort of gets consumed by the culture.”
Rubio added that “by definition, Christianity has always been countercultural. It was from its earliest days, and it’s been at its strongest and most vibrant.”
“Now, that doesn’t mean we seek persecution or we don’t take it on. It does,” he noted, “But I think we should understand that, that Christ’s own command and Christ’s own words, he tells us they’re going to hate you because of me.”
During the same interview, Rubio discussed several peace agreements, including those with Cambodia and the Congo, that affect Christians in the region.
“Well, unfortunately in those places, you have these Islamist jihadist elements operating inside the country that deliberately target Christian communities and others, but they target Christians, especially in Nigeria, as you pointed out,” Rubio explained. “And so, I think what we want to do is work closely with Nigerian authorities to prevent that. They have to make it a priority to prevent it.”
