Old Plaza Church to Become a Sanctuary

Los Angeles’ Old Plaza Church will declare itself the first Catholic sanctuary church in the city for Central American political refugees, and an archdiocesan spokesman said Thursday that Archbishop Roger Mahony will not oppose the action.

Claretian Father Luis A. Olivares, whose church in downtown Los Angeles is the city’s oldest and draws more than 10,000 worshipers weekly to Masses, said Thursday that his church will welcome two families in a religious ceremony next Thursday.

Olivares also said in an interview Thursday morning that the archbishop gave his approval “in late October or early November.”

However, an archdiocesan spokesmen, Father Joseph Battaglia, said Thursday afternoon that Mahony “is not taking a stand on approval or disapproval” of the step by the church, known formally as Our Lady Queen of Angels Church. “(Mahony) wants to distance himself from the sanctuary movement, which is a red flag to some people,” Battaglia said.

Olivares termed Mahony’s stance “heroic because of the risk of his being misinterpreted.”

Battaglia said the archbishop will not attend the ceremony. Instead, Mahony’s three-page letter of Nov. 26 to Los Angeles City Councilman Michael Woo will be read at the ceremony. Mahony wrote the letter before the City Council voted last week to declare Los Angeles a sanctuary city.

Mahony’s letter urged that Los Angeles be recognized as a “City of Refuge” for all people fleeing in fear of persecution. But Mahony also wrote that he did not believe that designating the city a member “of the so-called ‘sanctuary movement’ is critical.” The archbishop urged that attention be devoted to caring for the refugees themselves and working to get Congress and the President to grant extended stays until war-like conditions subside in Central America.

Even without Mahony’s endorsement, however, the action by the Old Plaza Church, also called La Placita , was seen as a significant boost for the religious sanctuary movement, which has 35 Protestant, Unitarian and Jewish congregations in Southern California and about 300 nationwide.

Sister Jo’Ann De Quattro, who chairs the sanctuary committee for the Interfaith Task Force on Central America, said the action should encourage other churches to make a similar commitment despite the legal risks. Eleven religious workers in the movement are currently on trial in Tucson, Ariz., on charges of illegally smuggling aliens from El Salvador and Guatemala.

‘Very Unfortunate’

An Immigration and Naturalization Service official in Los Angeles said Thursday that it was “very unfortunate and unwarranted that any church . . . would align itself with the sanctuary movement.”

“It’s just another in a handful of churches being misled in this effort,” said John Belluardo, INS director of congressional and public relations. “We would encourage churches to use their money to further the legal process rather than breaking the law.”

Belluardo said 503 Salvadoran refugees were granted asylum in fiscal year 1984, although he admitted that many more were deported who were unable to establish a well-grounded fear of persecution. INS officials strongly objected last week to the public declaration of sanctuary by the Los Angeles City Council, however symbolic the gesture, on the grounds that it would encourage an even greater influx of illegal aliens.

Olivares said that the two Central American families receiving the church’s aid would not be literally housed at the church. “We have the network to place them,” he said.

‘Left in a Hurry’

One couple receiving sanctuary from the parish “left in a hurry” from El Salvador, Olivares said. “They felt it was too dangerous to try to take their children with them. The children are staying with relatives,” the priest said.

Our Lady Queen of Angels Church has been functioning as “an unpublic sanctuary” for some time, Olivares said. A counseling center on the church grounds has helped Central Americans for the last couple of years.