I’ve covered the plight of the homeless in America in recent years as another manifestation of the erosion of decency, empathy, morality and kindness throughout much of our culture. As a society, we’ve become increasingly obsessed with youth, materialism, power and short-termism, tossing aside wisdom, real joy, soulfulness and connectivity. One of the symptoms of this unfortunate transformation can been seen in how we treat the least fortunate and most vulnerable around us, particularly the homeless (see: In 33 U.S. Cities, Feeding the Homeless Has Been Criminalized).
Of all the institutions you’d hope to take a different stance toward the weak and struggling, places of worship would be at the top of the list. Not so for Saint Mary’s Cathedral in San Francisco, which admittedly sprays sleeping homeless people with water in order to keep them away.
From CBS:
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) — KCBS has learned that Saint Mary’s Cathedral, the principal church of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, has installed a watering system to keep the homeless from sleeping in the cathedral’s doorways.
The cathedral, at Geary and Gough, is the home church of the Archbishop. There are four tall side doors, with sheltered alcoves, that attract homeless people at night.
The shower ran for about 75 seconds, every 30 to 60 minutes while we were there, starting before sunset, simultaneously in all four doorways. KCBS witnessed it soak homeless people, and their belongings.
The water doesn’t really clean the area. There are syringes, cigarette butts, soggy clothing and cardboard. There is no drainage system. The water pools on the steps and sidewalks.
A neighbor who witnessed the drenching told KCBS, “I was just shocked, one because it’s inhumane to treat people that way. The second thing is that we are in this terrible drought.
Jennifer Friedenbach, executive director of the Coalition on Homeless said, “It’s very shocking, and very inhumane. There’s not really another way to describe it. Certainly not formed on the basis of Catholic teachings.”
A cathedral staff member confirmed to KCBS the system was installed, perhaps a year ago, to deter the homeless from sleeping there.
KCBS has also learned from a review of city permit records that the system was installed illegally, and may violate water use regulations.
Drought or no drought, when it comes to spraying the homeless, there seems to be plenty of water available.
Speechless.
For related articles, see:
Caught on Video – LAPD Guns Down Homeless Man in Broad Daylight
90-Year-Old WW2 Veteran and Two Clergymen Face 60 Days in Jail for Feeding the Homeless in Florida
In 33 U.S. Cities, Feeding the Homeless Has Been Criminalized
In Liberty,
Michael Krieger
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I hope the report is false, but it know it may be correct.
Mankind lost contact with reality (truth, God) in 1945 when frightened world leaders agreed to hide from the public the source of energy that destroyed Hiroshima – NEUTRON REPULSION !
The sad fact is just this:
1. Energy and food sustain our lives.
2. In the last paragraph of his Nobel Lecture in 1922, Aston promised humans access to “powers beyond the dreams of scientific fiction.”
3. For the last ninety-three years we were denied access to that source of energy after it was misused in 1945 to destroy Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/10640850/Solar_Energy.pdf
I say crucify them. Nothing like a guy hanging on a cross in front of a church to keep the riff raff away…
[face palm, quiet weeping]
WE ARE IN THE LAST DAYS:
http://www.groundzeromedia.org/red-heifer-prophecy/
This article is just the tip of the iceberg in how far removed too many Americans are from The Least Among Us. Until a person experiences an economic collapse themself, which is typically brought on by health issues combined with lack of sufficient income, resources, and capacity to generate more income, the average American is incapable of “seeing” what is all around them. This especially includes the marginalized Human Beings around them. This lack of connectivity sets them up for a critical state of psychological, spiritual, and material unpreparedness for the many impending changes coming to us all. The other angle to this is the missed opportunity many people do not realize they have incurred, to actually learn to deal with Reality while you have some choices. I myself am in a nearly “homeless” position, with multiple medical issues, and with “poverty level” income. However, I consider myself so much better prepared and able to cope and adapt and therefore, adept at solving problems than anyone around me; I feel sorry for everyone else who has not opted to deal with their addictive lifestyle habits and attachment to things which are not sustainable. I may look shabby around the edges, but if you look closer, my standard of real living is priceless and a life-boat in a stormy sea.
Matthew 25:40
This is certainly as important, or more so, than many of the problems that distract us today.
We have an institution that follows(?) Christ chasing away those without a place to sleep.
We have a government(?) that calls itself a constitutional republic that is so completely corrupted and abusive it exists only to serve the .01%
We have corporations run by those with no conscience, preoccupied only with the personal fortunes they amass and not how they gained it.
We have a military that once was a synonym for a force standing for good in the world. Now, we annihilate wedding parties filled with women and children from our safety a half-world away.
What has become of us? I do not know. But Ariel Gail MacLean’s words are so true. We can learn compassion and virtue the easy way–by practicing it now while times are still good–or we will learn it the hard way when everything we are so attached to is taken from us and we ourselves must rely on the goodwill of others to survive.
God help us all when that happens…and it will happen.
Maybe your mistaken and the saintly men where only doing Gods work and providing much needed free showers.
Update: The Archdiocese of San Francisco has issued the following statement:
The Archdiocese of San Francisco is, along with the Catholic St.Vincent de Paul Society, the largest supporter of services for the homeless in San Francisco. Every year, it helps many thousands of people through food, housing, shelter programs for people at risk includinghomeless mothers and families, and in countless other ways.
St. Mary’s Cathedral is a huge partof that program, and does more than any other Catholic church. The Cathedral itself serves hundreds of homeless people giving them food and shelter, as an integral part of the San Francisco Interfaith Council’s efforts in that regard, for example, opening its doors for shelter and food for fiveweeks over the holidays.
This sprinkler system in alcoves near our back doorways was installed approximately two years ago, after learning from city resources that this kind of system was being commonly used in the Financial District, asa safety, security and cleanliness measure to avoid the situation where needles, feces and other dangerous items were regularly beingleft in these hidden doorways. The problem was particularly dangerous because students and elderly people regularly pass these locations on their way toschool and mass every day.
When the system was installed, after other ideas were tried and failed, the people who were regularly sleeping in those doorways were informed in advance that the sprinklers were being installed. 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. We have also now learned that the system in the first place required a permit and may violate San Francisco water-use laws, and the work to remove this system has already started, and will be completed by the end of the day.
Yeah sure…that’s it. The Catholic church is a disgrace to humanity.
How about the some reality for a change, huh?
The Catholic Church provides more direct services to the homeless and underprivileged than any other NGO in San Francisco, America and the whole damn world. The “homeless” sleeping, shitting and pissing on the Cathedral grounds are those who refuse to take advantage of the shelters and services the Diocese has encouraged them to use. Why? Because they’re drunken, stoned out bums and want to wallow in their sins instead of picking themselves up!
The Church has a hand extended to everyone with charity and forgivenees but you have to accept it with peace and repentance not bitterness and pride. Do you self-righteous jerks think it would be better to let them remain in their pig sty or to guide them toward cleaning up their lives? If Bishop Sal turns off the water he should set bars on the alcoves to keep them out like many businesses do.
I read this on ZeroHedge, and this article is suspiciously out of character for the author. Other comments there have also pointed out why it isn’t even accurate. It seems more like something Michael Moore, Paul Krugman, Rachel Maddow, Nancy Pelosi, or Bill Maher would say.
It is not even a good example of the author’s putative point about an increased obsession with youth, materialism, power and short-termism.
I would like to think his account was hijacked because he was the only author at ZH that I always liked, and now he seems to have gone to the dark side.
Perhaps his hatred of churches trumps all of his principles. I don’t like churches either. They’re kind of creepy, but I would never let them change my principles.