USA: Fwd: VANDALS DESECRATE COLORADO CATHOLIC CHURCH
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Dear Friends in Christ:
We are saddened to forward this abomination.
Let us pray for those responsible.
God Bless:
Clare & Pat
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From: "Father Richard Gant, S.T.D., J.U.L." <rgant@stx.rr.com>
To: "cinjub" <cinjub@cin.org>
Date: Tue, 13 Jan 2004 10:55:07 -0600
Subject: Catholic News:? Vandals Desecrate Colorado Catholic Church
Church fire tests Burlington's faith, trust
Parishioners seek reasons for vandalism
By Eileen Kelley -- Special to The Denver Post
Tuesday, January 13, 2004 -
BURLINGTON - Standing behind a soot-covered altar, the Rev. Frank Quezada
took handful after handful of holy water and sprinkled it over a statue of
St. Catherine and other symbols, trying to cast out any evil left in the
wake of a fire set over the weekend.
"Begone, Satan," Quezada ordered during the exorcism Monday at St. Catherine
of Siena, Burlington's Catholic church.
The statue of St. Catherine, the patron saint of firefighters, was knocked
from its stand in the rear of the church early Friday morning after vandals
set fires inside the church. They also destroyed pages of scriptures, tore
down the 14 Stations of the Cross and attempted to set afire wooden statues
of the Virgin of Guadalupe and Jesus.
In addition, Quezada's vestments were set on fire and the holy Eucharist was
taken from its tabernacle and thrown about the church.
The fire started sometime between 2 and 4 a.m. Friday.
Church leaders said Monday that it is a miracle the entire building did not
crumble.
"I think Catherine is responsible for this," said the Rev. Gus Stewart of
Colorado Springs, whose parishioners raised money for their fellow Catholics
in Burlington.
A seminarian staying at the church awoke to the smell of fire about 4 a.m.
He was not injured.
Now Catholics in this border town of 3,500 people are struggling to find
peace amid the destruction to one of the community's cornerstones.
"This is an explicit attack against Roman Catholics," Quezada said.
The town's resident priest for 1 1/2 years, Quezada said he wondered whether
the attack was also directed at Hispanics, not just Catholics.
"Am I the first Hispanic leader in this community? Yes, I am," he said,
adding that shortly after his arrival he began saying Mass in Spanish for
the area's bilingual and Spanish-speaking residents, something rare in rural
communities.
On Monday, Quezada said he was trying to maintain strength and faith in the
area throughout all the turmoil.
Until the fire, trust was about as common as wheat fields here. Several
dozen parishioners have keys to the 27-year-old church on the town's east
side. Investigators said Monday that they were trying to compile a list of
everyone who had keys to the building.
Just a 10-minute drive from the Kansas border, Burlington exudes small-town
hospitality during the day. But after nightfall, it's a different story,
Police Chief Randy Millburn said.
"There are some bad people in this town, and I am not sure why," said
Millburn.
Millburn said he expects to speak with all who have keys to building by the
week's end.
During Mass at Stewart's Colorado Springs church over the weekend,
parishioners donated about $6,000 to help rebuild the Burlington church.
Church leaders estimate the damage at $400,000.
"A building is a building, but this is a repository of people's hopes and
wishes, a place of pain and suffering. A church is rich with a community's
soul. There are so many memories that come from within here," Stewart said.
On Monday, 70-year-old Bud Pekarek knelt in the back row at St. Catherine of
Siena and prayed for strength for the church and its community. A resident
of Burlington since 1974, Pekarek said he and his wife reared nine children
in the church.
"It's a sad, sad situation," he said. "It is one of those things that you
just cannot believe can happen."
Still, Pekarek said he believes that over time, the destruction will bring
strength to the community.
Church leaders say they hope to reopen their doors for regular Masses in the
next two to three months.