The archbishop of Kansas City, Kansas, decried the recent attack on a local Catholic church, which occurred only days before the state voted on a pro-life amendment.
“This attack and others targeting Catholic churches in Kansas and across the country are not only vulgar but un-American,” Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann said in a July 10 statement.
The parish buildings and a statue of the Blessed Mother at the Church of the Ascension in Overland Park were “extensively defaced” with red spray paint over the weekend in a “overt act of hatred and incivility,” according to the archdiocese.
“The intention is clearly meant to intimidate and threaten the Church’s pro-life beliefs and position of support for the Value Them Both amendment,” Naumann commented.
Kansans will vote on a pro-life proposal known as the “Value Them Both” amendment on Aug. 2. If passed, it would allow state legislators to propose legislation regulating abortion. After the Kansas Supreme Court declared in 2019 that abortion is protected under the state constitution, politicians are typically banned from regulating abortion.
The archdiocese noticed an “escalating pattern of theft, vandalism and intimidation targeting members of the Catholic Church and other supporters of the Value Them Both amendment.”
Naumann stressed that this latest attack does not deter the Church’s pro-life mission — or its support of the pro-life amendment.
“Value Them Both will secure protections from an unlimited and unrestricted abortion industry that is attempting to buy this election so it can further prey on women facing unplanned or challenging pregnancies,” he said. “The Catholic Church remains firm in its support of mothers and preborn babies and our members are more firmly dedicated to our mission than ever before.”
The attack happened at 1 a.m. on Sunday, July 10, according to the archdiocese’s newspaper, The Leaven.
“The school’s doors and building were spraypainted with hateful messaging, and a statue of Mary was also spray painted,” the newspaper tweeted. The Leaven shared photos showing the words “MY BODY MY CHOICE” spray-painted across a building in big, red lettering.
Around one o’clock this morning, Church of the Ascension in Overland Park was vandalized. The school’s doors and building were spray painted with hateful messaging, and a statue of Mary was also spray painted. We are following up with a story that will appear in the next Leaven. pic.twitter.com/c2mhzjyFX7
— The Leaven (@theleavenkc) July 10, 2022
The newspaper added: “For those asking, the school doors were vandalized with wording we will not repeat here.”
The Leaven also posted a photo of a vandalised Mary statue that it said it acquired from a parishioner. It depicted crimson paint spreading like blood from the heart of the statue to her feet.
For those asking, the school doors were vandalized with wording we will not repeat here.
Here is a photograph a parishioner captured of the statue of Mary that was spray painted. pic.twitter.com/XDIF7PiIYS
— The Leaven (@theleavenkc) July 10, 2022
According to the archdiocese, the authorities were notified.
According to Mackenzie Haddix, deputy communications director for Value Them Both, supporters of the pro-life legislation have previously been attacked. Kansans for Life, the Kansas Catholic Conference, and Kansas Family Voice are leading the alliance.
“The attacks on the Church of the Ascension in Overland Park are heartbreaking and inexcusable,” Haddix told CNA. “This is not the first time vandalism has taken place at churches expressing support for the Value Them Both Amendment.”
Haddix called on pro-abortion groups opposing the amendment, such as Kansans for Constitutional Freedom, to condemn the “hateful actions that took place at Ascension and the vandalism and theft that has taken place across Kansas.”
She pointed to the vandalism of church signs and signs in support of the pro-life amendment.
“We continue to receive reports of individuals who have their signs vandalized on a daily basis,” she said. “Most of the time, they are spray-painted with vulgar messages, but many have also been punched or destroyed completely.”
In a statement responding to the recent attack on his church, the pastor of the Church of the Ascension, Father Gary Pennings, said that the parish’s signs in support of the amendment “have been repeatedly vandalized and many parishioners have reported their yard signs stolen.”
“While this is a sad event, it is not surprising,” he said of the attack, which he called “likely an angry reaction to the Church’s advocacy for the passage of the Value Them Both Amendment.”
He encouraged his parishioners “to not lose heart, to stand firm and to never tire of doing good.”
“Let your faith, informed by the teachings of Christ’s Church, guide your conversations and your actions,” he concluded. “Learn the true facts about the Value Them Both Amendment and do not shy away from reasoned dialogue about the issue.
“Never fear telling others why we Catholics believe what we believe, always doing so, of course, with patience and charity. Last but certainly not least, please pray for peaceful dialogue, mutual respect and a sincere pursuit of truth.”