Abortion foes target church
The "satirical fliers" are too much for a Catholic church, which has two people arrested.
By ABHI RAGHUNATHAN, Times Staff Writer
Published January 23, 2008
ST. PETERSBURG - Randall Terry says he just wanted to make a statement that would grab people's attention. So he decided to create a satirical pamphlet that compares politicians who support abortion rights to politicians who support slavery.
The title: "Real Solutions for the 'Negro Problem.'" The argument: Voting for politicians who support abortion rights is equivalent to supporting murderers.
Turns out, a local Catholic Church didn't find the satire amusing. And when two members of Terry's organization returned to pass out pamphlets at the Cathedral Church of St. Jude the Apostle on Sunday, despite being told to leave by church officials, they ended up behind bars on trespassing charges.
On Tuesday, several members of Terry's group returned to the sidewalk directly in front of St. Jude's. This time, they were protesting the church's decision to kick them out and call the police.
"It's our duty as Catholics to promote the pro-life message and encourage Catholics to vote pro-life," Terry said outside the church Tuesday, the 35th anniversary of the Supreme Court's Roe vs. Wade decision that legalized abortion.
The showdown began Sunday afternoon in the parking lot of St. Jude's at 5815 Fifth Ave. N. Several members of Terry's organization, the Society for Truth and Justice, were passing out pamphlets. Joseph Landry, 26, said he spoke to church officials who told him to leave.
Landry says he asked church officials not to call police, but that they did anyway. Police told Landry and other members of Terry's group that they could be arrested if they returned. They complied.
But on Sunday evening, after Landry and Terry's wife, Andrea, 32, returned to pass out more fliers, police arrested them on charges of trespassing after a warning.
Landry said he was stunned that a Catholic church would have him arrested.
"I should be like the poster child for young Catholics doing pro-life work," he said. "I pleaded with them St. Jude's to not call police. They said no. The cops still came."
St. Jude's did not respond to a request for comment. But police spokesman Bill Proffitt said that "the church felt that it was too much of a hate message."
Here's an excerpt from the pamphlet:
"Should a Christian vote for a racist who supports segregation? No! Then how can a Christian vote for a candidate that supports the murder of children by abortion?!"
Terry says his group has passed out the pamphlets at churches in Kansas, Iowa, New Hampshire and Florida without incident. St. Jude's is the first church that has called police, Terry said.
"It's political satire," he said. "It's a shot at Rudy (Giuliani) and Hillary (Clinton) and all pro-abortion candidates."
Abhi Raghunathan can be reached at araghunathan@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8472.