Aw, how sweet. The Catholics Against Sacrilege group in St Paul apparently damaged and desecrated the city's cathedral.
An informal exorcism performed at the Cathedral of St. Paul this month was more profane than sacred and was directed toward gay Catholics, police and church authorities said Tuesday.
They said the ritualistic sprinkling of blessed oil and salt around the church and in donation boxes amounted to costly vandalism and possibly even a hate crime.
The damage was discovered Nov. 7 after the noon mass, and after words were exchanged between members of the Rainbow Sash Alliance, a gay rights group, and the opposing group, Catholics Against Sacrilege.
Police speculate that the damage could have been done anytime between late Saturday afternoon and during the mass itself.
The groups are at odds over gays participating in communion, one of the holiest rites in the Catholic Church.
Earlier this year, about 40 men, members of the group Ushers of the Eucharist, knelt in the aisles at the cathedral to block Rainbow members from taking communion.
The Rev. Michael Skluzacek, rector of the cathedral, said he immediately understood the symbolism when he was told that someone had sprinkled the oil and salt around the church. "It's a sign of exorcism," he said. "It's a sign of casting out the power of evil." [...] He estimated the cost to clean up the damage at thousands of dollars, involving crews working three days to remove the oil and salt and cleaning the doors, steps and boxes. A report was filed with St. Paul police, who said the case could be prosecuted as a hate crime if someone is arrested.
Really, you just have to love the irony, especially when it comes with such very large anvils, covered in salt and oil.
Posted by iain at November 24, 2004 02:42 PM
