San Francisco, USA - Parishioners of the Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in San Francisco's Castro neighborhood plan to arrive early for morning Mass today so they can paint over walls that were scrawled with swastikas and other graffiti.
A priest walking his dog early Sunday outside the church at 100 Diamond St. found the black swastikas and angry messages about Proposition 8, the state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage that voters approved in November, a church employee said Monday. The vandalized walls were washed Monday morning to remove most of the scrawlings.
Prop. 8 received prominent support from Catholics, including San Francisco Archbishop George Niederauer, who used his position as former bishop of Salt Lake City to organize the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to campaign for Prop. 8.
The vandals wrote Niederauer's name on the side of the church along with the question, "Where is the love?"
However, Most Holy Redeemer is widely known as a gay-friendly parish that in years past has sent contingents to march in the San Francisco Gay Pride Parade. A majority of parishioners opposed Prop. 8, church officials have said.
Police are investigating the vandalism as a hate crime, said department spokesman Lt. Neville Gittens. There are no suspects and no known witnesses, he said.