Monday, March 10, 2008
MORMON MISSIONARIES DESECRATE CATHOLIC SHRINE
SAN LUIS, Colo. - Members of the Sangre de Christo parish of the Roman Catholic Church voted Sunday to pursue criminal charges against three Mormon missionaries who allegedly vandalized a shrine and committed sacrilegious acts in the church.
Although the incidents occurred in 2006, they only came to the attention of the parish when they were seen on the Internet site ''Photobucket."
Alonzo Payne, a parishioner and lawyer, said he was asking the Costilla County Sheriff to pursue charges on behalf of the parish.
Sheriff's Cpl. Scott Powell told the Pueblo Chieftain that the men, who were not identified, could face up to six charges, including felonies for criminal mischief and conspiracy.
Robert Fotheringham, in charge of the LDS church's missionary program in parts of four states, and whose region includes the San Luis Valley, declined to release names of the missionaries. He confirmed the three missionaries seen in the photos, which have been removed from the Internet, were Mormon missionaries. He said they would be disciplined, though he declined to go into detail.
''We're just mortified this has happened. This is not what we're about," he said.
The Internet photos showed the three vandalizing the Shrine of the Mexican Martyrs in 2006 and mocking the Roman Catholic faith.
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