Protesters Vandalize 2 Catholic Facilities

In a graphic protest against the Roman Catholic clergy’s position on abortion and AIDS, vandals struck the headquarters of the Los Angeles Archdiocese and a Torrance church Sunday, leaving behind graffiti, red coat hangers, a wooden cross festooned with condoms and a mattress apparently stuffed with animal entrails.

Police had no suspects, but in a telephone call to United Press International, a group calling itself Artists Against Religious Oppression claimed responsibility for what it called the “artwork” that was left just before dawn at St. Catherine Laboure Roman Catholic Church in Torrance and at an archdiocese office building just west of downtown where Archbishop Roger M. Mahony works.

“The message is that the church should stay out of politics and medicine; that it should stop its oppression of women, gays and lesbians; that it should stop preaching sin and lies and that it should start preaching safe sex and the truth,” an unidentified spokeswoman for the group told UPI.

Archdiocese spokesman Rev. Gregory Coiro called the protest the work of “extremists” who undermine “the serious public policy debate” over the church’s stance against abortion and the use of condoms as a means to prevent the spread of acquired immune deficiency syndrome.

“This type of activity really is an assault against the First Amendment,” Coiro said. “It’s an assault on freedom of speech. It’s an assault on freedom of religion.”

In front of the archdiocese building at 1531 W. 9th Street, the vandals propped up a brown mattress stuffed with red coat hangers, in apparent reference to the era of back-room abortions; animal entrails, and what appeared to be an animal’s skin, according to witnesses. “Mahony murders women” was painted on the mattress in white.

At St. Catherine Laboure Church on Redondo Beach Boulevard, police said a 10-foot-tall wooden cross was bolted to the door. The cross was covered with about 30 fake penises--police described them as “marital aids”--covered with condoms. Red coat hangers were strewn about the sidewalk, where the vandals spray-painted the words “Safe sex saves. Mahony kills.”

Sunday’s attack was not the first time that local Roman Catholic clergy and churches have been targeted by vandals.

In December, four Los Angeles churches were spattered with red paint by demonstrators who denounced Mahony as a “murderer” for his view that chastity, rather than the use of condoms, is the only morally correct way to stop AIDS. Unnamed gay activists claimed responsibility.

A church in Silver Lake has been vandalized five times this year.

Parishioners at St. Catherine Laboure said Sunday’s attack was not the first at their church. During the last several months, they said, a concrete statue of their patron saint has been destroyed, the exterior of the church has been bombarded with Christmas ornaments filled with red paint and the rectory has received threatening telephone calls.

The pastor of the church declined to comment on Sunday’s incident and parishioners said it was not discussed during Mass. Church officials, who had been notified by police at about 5:30 a.m. that the attack had occurred, removed the cross and covered up the sidewalk graffiti with door mats long before services began. So it was not until reporters arrived that parishioners learned that their church had been hit again.

Parishioners said they believe their church has been singled out because some of its members are active in Operation Rescue, a vocal anti-abortion group, and because they provide support to a nearby maternity clinic that counsels women on alternatives to abortion. They said they were hurt, angered and saddened by the vandalism.

“It’s terrible,” said Alice Aguirre. “It’s a church and they have no respect for it.”

Said Clay Watson, who has attended St. Catherine Laboure since 1947, “This is our life. When they hit the church, they hit us.”