Mahony Vows Not to Be Intimidated by Gays : Religion: Archbishop responds to vandalism at churches. Activists say their anger over what they view as church interference in issues is mounting.

The day after four Roman Catholic churches were spattered with red paint by gay activists angry over the church’s condemnation of the use of condoms for safe sex, Archbishop Roger M. Mahony said he would not be “intimidated by threats or attacks.”

Meanwhile, AIDS and abortion rights activists said that anger toward what they call the church’s interference in public health policy issues is mounting. The groups said they were planning demonstrations at four other Los Angeles Catholic churches on Sunday.

Posters of Mahony with the word “murderer” printed in large letters were posted at the four churches that were spattered with red paint Sunday morning. “Safe sex is a lie and a fraud” was printed above the pictures, a reference to Mahony’s statement last month at the National Conference of Catholic Bishops meeting in Baltimore that rejected the use of condoms as a means of fighting the spread of AIDS.

A group calling itself Greater Religious Responsibility, or GRR, claimed responsibility for the vandalism, but as of late Monday, no one had been arrested in connection with the incidents. Authorities and AIDS advocates say it is the first time they have heard of this organization.

Mahony, in a written statement Monday, said the acts of vandalism do not change the church’s position that chastity, rather than the use of condoms, is the only “morally correct and medically secure way” to prevent the spread of AIDS.

“It is both sad and ironic that those who will not accept God’s revelation as taught faithfully by the Catholic Church with respect to human sexuality would attack God’s houses within Los Angeles,” Mahony said. “Neither I nor the Archdiocese will be intimidated by threats or attacks against proclaiming the truth as God has taught.”

But he also said the church’s position on chastity and condoms does not mean an end to compassion and understanding for those suffering from AIDS or infected with the virus.

“We will continue to condemn discrimination against all who are affected by HIV, and we will continue to increase our many pastoral and care outreach efforts to all so affected,” he said.

AIDS activist Mark Kostopoulos, reacting to Mahony’s statement, said: “We don’t need compassion when we are sick and dying. What we need is help in staying alive.” Kostopoulos is a member of ACT UP, or AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, which disavowed any involvement in Sunday’s vandalism.

Connie Norman, another ACT UP member, said her group is opposed to the church attempting to set public health policy. She pointed out that the church is preaching chastity over condoms while countless health experts, including former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, have said that the use of condoms is an effective way to cut down on the spread of AIDS.

ACT UP is helping to organize the “informational pickets” next Sunday, where AIDS and pro-choice activists will pass out literature disputing the church’s position to those attending Mass at La Placita Church in downtown Los Angeles, St. Francis of Assisi on Golden Gate Avenue, Blessed Sacrament on Sunset Boulevard and Church of the Good Samaritan in Beverly Hills, a spokesman for the group said.

The picketing is planned in conjunction with a “Stop the Church” demonstration at New York City’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral on the same day.

National ACT UP organizers said they want to send the “Catholic Church hierarchy a clear message: Stop peddling your religion’s morality. . . . This chronic meddling is a violation of the legal separation of church and state.”