Church vandalized over Sabina issue

Race-related grafitti was discovered Sunday morning on the side ofSt. Christina's Church, a member parish of the Southwest Sideathletic league that has grappled with whether St. Sabina's, apredominantly black school, should join the conference.

The Rev. Pat Henry said the spray-painted graffiti was foundSunday morning. He said at least part of the message said: "It'srealism, not racism."

"I think it's disheartening that people would vandalize the churchwhen the appropriate response would be to write to call or write aletter--not to deface a church and to do it in the middle of thenight," Henry said. "That's purely cowardice."

A spokesman for the Chicago Archdiocese did not return a phonecall r comment Sunday evening, and Chicago police had no record ofthe incident.

Sister Anita Baird, director of the archdiocese's Office ofRacial Reconciliation, had not been notified about the incident, butsaid it could be used as a learning tool.

"I think certainly you're always sad when you hear something likethat," she said. "And I think the best way to respond is to continuemoving forward as the members of the [conference] are . . . and trustthat this can be a learning opportunity for everyone."

The Southwest Catholic Conference, a mostly white league thatincludes 21 Catholic schools on the city's Southwest Side and insouth suburbs, denied St. Sabina's entry into the league in May. Butafter St. Sabina's pastor, the Rev. Michael Pfleger, and Baird saidin early June that the decision appeared racially motivated, theconference reconsidered the issue. Two months of meetings ensued, butsome issues could not be resolved and St. Sabina's had announced theywere not going to join.

Then, about two weeks ago, archdiocesan staff invitedrepresentatives from St. Sabina's and the league to meet downtown. Afour-hour meeting produced a tentative agreement that has yet to beratified by all parishes involved. But everyone--including outgoingleague chairman Hank Lenzen and St. Sabina's staff--were confidentthe agreement would be approved.

St. Christina's is in the Mount Greenwood neighborhood. In 1997 ablack family living directly across from the school became thetargets of hate crimes. Rocks were thrown into their home and aswastika was put on the door in shaving cream. The couple eventuallymoved from the neighborhood.