SAN FRANCISCO — Water sprinklers installed in the doorways of Saint Mary’s Cathedral in San Francisco by the Archdiocese of San Francisco to deter homeless people from sleeping there at night will be dismantled.
KCBS reported that the San Francisco Archdiocese has apologized for the ‘misunderstood’ and ‘ill-conceived’ effort to keep the homeless out of alcoves used to enter and exit the church.
Yesterday, the Human Rights Campaign criticized the Archdiocese: “It is difficult to comprehend just how far the hierarchy of the Catholic Church in San Francisco has strayed from the basis of our faith,” said Lisbeth Melendez Rivera, director of Latino/a and Catholic Initiatives for HRC Foundation’s Religion and Faith Program. “Compassion, working tirelessly for economic justice, and serving the marginalized are traditions that are at risk under San Francisco’s Catholic leadership.”
According to the story first reported by KCBS Radio’s Doug Sovern, the principal church of the San Francisco Roman Catholic Archdiocese used the watering system to keep the homeless from sleeping in the cathedral doorways. The archdiocese acknowledged Wednesday it had been using the system for the past two years.
The rector of Saint Mary’s Cathedral and the Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese, Bishop William Justice, issued a statement apologizing, but at the same time defended the role of the archdiocese and the cathedral in supporting homeless programs:
“The idea was not to remove those persons, but to encourage them to relocate to other areas of the Cathedral, which are protected and safer. The purpose was to make the Cathedral grounds as well as the homeless people who happen to be on those grounds safer.
We are sorry that our intentions have been misunderstood and recognize that the method used was ill-conceived. It actually has had the opposite effect from what it was intended to do, and for this we are very sorry.”
SF Archdiocese to dismantle water system set up to repel homeless at Saint Mary’s Cathedral; issues apology
