Pro-Life Display Vandalized at St. Louis County Catholic Church

A pro-life display at a Catholic Church near St. Louis, Missouri, was vandalized with red paint between October 2 and 3, Catholic News Agency reported.

According to the report:

Parishioners attending daily Mass Tuesday morning discovered the display — which consisted of a cluster of white crosses and a white banner facing the street reading ‘Pray to End Abortion’ — with red spray paint all over the crosses and the words ‘Pro-life is a lie, you don’t care if people die’ scrawled on the banner.

The display was located on the grounds of St. Paul Catholic Church, which also has a school and is located roughly 20 minutes outside the city. The church is one of several around the archdiocese that held a public pro-life prayer service on October 1 for Respect Life Month, the report notes.

Another Catholic parish vandalized in what looks to be a hate crime – this time in Fenton. I trust prosecutors will soon file charges and prosecute the perpetrators to the fullest extent of the law https://t.co/VDPur21QxY

— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) October 4, 2023

St. Paul’s pastor, Father John Nickolai, told the outlet there is no permanent damage to the property.

“The police came here this morning but I haven’t heard any more from them as of 3 this afternoon,” Nickolai said in an email.

St. Louis County Police told the outlet on Tuesday that it was investigating the “destruction of property/vandalism,” although it did not have any suspect information to share at the time.

Missouri is notably one of several states that have passed a total ban on abortion with limited exceptions following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in June 2022.

Buffalo, N.Y.: The local office for pregnancy resource center CompassCare was firebombed & destroyed in an attack on June 7. "Jane was here" was written, referencing #antifa terrorist group Jane's Revenge. The group's manifesto promises more attacks. https://t.co/yRgIy9NwPZ pic.twitter.com/4iilspFBdA

— Andy Ngô 🏳️‍🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) June 7, 2022

Catholic News Agency said it has tracked 112 incidents of vandalism attacks against Catholic Churches, pro-life pregnancy centers, maternity homes, and other pro-life organizations across the United States since someone leaked the Dobbs decision overturning Roe in May 2022. A tracker kept by CatholicVote shows 198 attacks on Catholic Churches and 88 attacks on pregnancy centers and pro-life groups since the Dobbs leak.

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Christopher Wray admitted in November 2022 that approximately 70 percent of abortion-related threats of violence in the United States since the Dobbs decision have been against pro-life groups. Even so, President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice has only indicted four pro-abortion activists under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act within the last two years while indicting over 30 pro-life activists in the same time frame.