A
week after Hispanic Catholics experienced racial harassment and taunts
from a group of men during a Spanish Mass, the local community in
Portland, Oregon sprang into action to show their support for the
churchgoers.
Despite
the chill and the rain, an estimated 200-300 people created a human
barrier on Sunday, Feb. 5, protecting parishioners of St. Peter Catholic
Church from possible harassment.
It
was a different scene than what had greeted parishioners the week
before, when a group of about eight men dressed as hunters shouted
racial and sexual slurs at parishioners during Spanish Mass, and taunted
the congregation for being made up of many immigrants, according to the Catholic Sentinel. The group of men was nowhere to be seen the following week.
The
harassment came at an already tense time for the parish because of new
federal immigration policy proposals. Pastor Fr. Raul Marquez, a native
of Colombia who has been pastor at St. Peter’s for 5 years, said he had
never seen anything like it.
“All that Sunday I felt upset and didn't understand,” he told the Sentinel.
But
the next Sunday came as a pleasant surprise. News of the previous
attacks had spread on social media through two videos of the incident,
and local community members banded together, with one post reading:
"ATTN WHITE PEOPLE – USE YOUR WHITE BODY TO INTERRUPT RACISM!" It urged
people to place themselves "between violent bigots and people of color"
to form a "strong human chain to stand as a buffer between Latino
worshippers and those who hate them."
And
it worked. Catholics, Christians and non-believers showed up in force
to provide support, complete with welcoming signs in both English and
Spanish and a table of coffee and sweets.
Local
priest Father Ron Millican from nearby Our Lady of Sorrows parish and
Rev. Elizabeth Larson from St Mark Lutheran Church came to show their
support for Fr. Marquez, as well as Matt Cato, director of the
Archdiocese of Portland’s Office of Life, Justice and Peace.
Archbishop
Alexander Sample expressed his support to St. Peter’s through a letter
to the parish, saying that he was saddened by the harassment and
offering his prayers for healing.
“Please
be assured that I, as your Archbishop and shepherd, stand firmly with
you in the face of such ignorant and hateful words. You are our brothers
and sisters, and as members of the same family of faith, we must hold
fast to our unity in Christ,” he said.
He
added that the incident was not isolated and that the same group had
been harassing other churches in the area. The men were reportedly part
of a Portland-based group called "Bible Believers"—hard-right street preachers who appear at protests against President Donald Trump.
“Be
assured of my love and prayers for all of you. May Our Lady embrace you
all in her mantle of love and protection,” Archbishop Sample concluded.
Brenda Ramirez, a 21 year-old parishioner, told the Portland Tribune
that she was shocked to hear about the attack at her church, but was
happy with the large showing of support from the local community.
"It's just beautiful. This is what America is — not racism or hate. This is what it should be."