Photo courtesy of Lynn Davet About 15 crosses of a 144-cross display at St. Edward Catholic Church in Parkman Township were damaged by apparent vandals in late October, according to local pro-life advocate Denver Sallee.
Advertisement
Crosses vandalized at church
Thursday, November 05, 2009
About 15 crosses of a 144-cross display at St. Edward Catholic Church in Parkman Township were damaged as a result of alleged vandalism last month.
The vandalism took place over the weekend of Oct. 17 and 18, according to Denver Sallee, who is in charge of pro-life efforts in for several Catholic churches in Geauga County.
Sallee, who is a parishioner at St. Helen Catholic Church in Newbury Township, said that St. Helen, St. Edward and St. Lucy in Middlefield each had a 144-cross display on their respective front lawns at varying times over the past few months. The number of crosses on display supposedly represent the deaths of unborn children in one hour's time, he said.
St. Helen displayed its crosses in early September to coincide with the Labor Day holiday due to its proximity to Route 87, a major thoroughfare between Cleveland and Burton, where The Great Geauga County Fair was being held.
Between early September and late October, the displays traveled from St. Helen to St. Lucy for a "Generations of Faith" presentation, then to the Servants of Mary Center for Peace shrine in nearby Astahbula County, and finally down to St. Edward, where the vandalism occurred.
Sallee is part of a regional pro-life group known as HELP, formed earlier this year. The organization, also known as the Pro-Life Cluster Group, represents Ss. Helen, Edward and Lucy parishes in its title.
He said fellow HELP member Lynn Davet drove by St. Edward and saw the damaged crosses on Oct. 18. His first inclination was to contact the Geauga County Sheriff's Office, which is responsible for patrolling Parkman Township, but HELP nixed the idea. The damaged crosses were quickly replaced.
"It was my inclination to do it, but the others did not want to do it," Sallee said. "There might be some validity to this (their decision not to contact the police), but they didn't want to call more attention to it. They thought the person doing it was just seeking attention."
The 15-member group has an e-mail distribution list totaling 156, in addition to various auxiliary members that are used to staff events on occasion.
The group anticipated it might be the object of vandalism and had several crosses pre-made so it could quickly assemble them and replace the damaged ones if needed. As the displays moved from church to church, all of the crosses excepting a single one were removed.
"We're considering burying the pieces of the 15 crosses that were vandalized underneath the solitary crosses left at each church," Sallee said. "But we have to get the approval of the local pastors to approve us digging holes in their lawns."
He said no vandalism has occurred since the October incident.
For now, the broken crosses can be used by churches of any faith to be displayed in various settings, Sallee said.
For more information about obtaining the broken crosses or to join HELP, contact the group at (440) 693-4494 or e-mail at info@prolifehelp.org.
