There will be no investigation into
vandalism of a mural of the Virgin Mary that once was the centerpiece of
Our Lady of Guadalupe Church.
Parish business manager Karla Guizar told Denver police investigators
that the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Denver has declined to pursue
the case, which began Friday when Guizar reported that someone had
scrawled the Spanish word for "enough" across the 36-year-old artwork in
white spray paint.
"Our Lady of Guadalupe Church and the archdiocese are the victims and
refuse to prosecute," Detective George Gray said in his report Tuesday.
"This case will require no more investigation."
Archdiocese spokeswoman Jeanette DeMelo said the parish has handled
contact with the police.
"The parish is seeking the best way to find
resolution to the situation," she said in an e-mail.
Parish officials have not returned any of The Post's calls.
The Lady of Guadalupe mural has been obscured from view since late
2009, when a wall was put up behind the altar and in front of the mural,
encasing the painting in something like a closet with two locked
entrances.
The space has been used for storage, but people could arrange
to view the mural.
The police report states that Guizar said the wall was built because a
visiting bishop from Rome found the painting a distraction from Jesus,
for whom Mass is celebrated, and he ordered the pastor, the Rev. Benito
Hernandez, to cover it.
The walled-off mural has divided the parish's Spanish-speaking
community. It led to the formation of an activist group, including
former parishioners, called Faithful United, which has been working to
get church officials to tear down the wall and restore the mural,
painted in 1976 by Carlota EspinoZa.
Faithful United organizer Mike Wilzoch said he believes the decision
to build the wall was Hernandez's, not that of a visiting dignitary.
However, Wilzoch said, another visitor from Rome to the church,
Valentin Arteaga, the superior general of Hernandez's order of Clerics
Regular, told parishioners at a Feb. 26 Mass the wall should come down.
"Guizar advised that the two sides of the disagreement had attempted
to contact the archdiocese (officials) and get their opinion," according
to a March 4 police report. "They told the church they wanted to 'wash
their hands of the matter.' "
Police said Guizar told them that the vandalism occurred sometime between March 1 and Friday 4th.
Wilzoch said defacing the mural was likely "an inside job" because access to the mural space is limited to people with keys.
Officer Gordon Seib Jr. reported Friday that he observed that a
security camera had been pushed up so it could no longer record the area
where the damage occurred.
Police could not find anyone to provide
access to the camera's contents.