A Catholic Priest has suggested anyone who disagrees with US President Donald Trump should kill themselves by jumping off a tall building.

Father Philip J. Pizzo shared a post on Facebook which appeared to encourage suicide, just hours after he led Sunday Mass at Saint Benedict Joseph Labre Church in New York, .

“Show your hate for Trump. Do it for social justice. #JumpAgainstTrump,” said a meme he posted to his personal account, accompanied by an illustration of a man falling from a skyscraper.

The 67-year-old cleric deleted the post shortly after sharing it with his friends and followers, but not before several members of his congregation had seen his offensive comment and some users had taken pictures of the post.

The priest said he shared the post because that he thought the meme was “funny”.

“I do not promote suicide,’’ Mr Pizzo told The New York Post. “I’ve helped many people over the years, and it does not promote suicide. It was funny.”

Philip J. Pizzo @fatherpizzo, catholic priest in Richmond Hills Queens thinks anti-Trump folks should kill themselves. @Pontifex thoughts? pic.twitter.com/3e3sqNdzS3 — Matthew R. Bautista (@matthewbautista) January 31, 2017

The priest, whose congregation come largely from immigrant backgrounds, previously posted a photo of Barack Obama with the words: “He’s not my president’’.

A snapshot of Hillary Clinton captioned “Ugly Face’’ in Italian and “Happy Halloween“, has also appeared on his social media page, The New York Post reported.

Some parishioners said they would stop attending the church as a result of the suicide meme, while others have called for Mr Pizzo to be investigated.

“Suicide is not funny, plain and simple,” said Carlos Coburn, who attended the church for 20 years.

Mr Coburn added that he once sought counselling from Mr Pizzo because he had experienced intrusive thoughts about killing himself, but he said he will now start worshipping elsewhere.

“It’s disturbing for someone in my situation,’’ Mr Coburn said. “I know this man, he baptised me, and I don’t want to go back to his church”.

Others said the post was “tone-deaf” considering the area's large Latin American and Caribbean immigrant population.

The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

A spokesman for the Diocese of Brooklyn said the post does not reflect the church’s stance and has been removed.

“Father Pizzo did share the meme in question on his personal Facebook page,” he said. “He says he intended it as satire only, regrets the offense it has caused and has deleted it. This post does not, in any way, represent the view of the church.”