Act of Hate
Satanic symbols are found spray-painted at St. Joseph's Seminary
By CLAUDIA McDONNELL
Shock and sadness were the reaction at St. Joseph's Seminary in Dunwoodie when it was discovered June 7 that one or more vandals had sprayed satanic symbols on the building and the base of a statue.
"It seems to me that this is a direct assault on Christianity," Msgr. Peter G. Finn, seminary rector, said in an interview. He called the action both anti-Christian and anti-Catholic.
The symbols, sprayed in black paint, suggested that whoever committed the act is involved in satanism.
"I feel sorry for them," Msgr. Finn said.
As CNY went to press June 20, a spokesman for the Yonkers Police Department said that the FBI and the Yonkers police are continuing to investigate the incident, and that police are interviewing youth in the area. She added that "a local expert believes it's local youths" who are involved in the incident, and that the more publicity they receive in the media, the more likely they are to repeat the offense.
Msgr. Finn told CNY, "We're happy that the authorities continue to try to determine who the culprits were, and we are prepared to follow their advice in terms of future security."
The painted symbols were removed the day they were found.
"Everything seems to be back in order," Msgr. Finn said.
The vandalism was discovered by men on the seminary's maintenance staff between 6 and 6:30 a.m. on the morning of June 7. Upside-down crosses had been painted on a plaque bearing the seminary's name at the entrance to the grounds; on the pedestal of the statue of Christ in front of the seminary building, obscuring the dedication to Archbishop Michael Corrigan; and on the twin pillars at the building's front entrance.
On the rear side of the pillars, facing into the building, were the spray-painted words: "Better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven,"with the first part of the sentence on the left pillar and the rest, beginning with "than," on the right pillar.
The line is spoken by Satan in John Milton's poetic epic, "Paradise Lost."
A pentagram-the five-pointed star that satanists use as a symbol-was spray-painted on the left and right sides of the base of the statue and on the outdoor stone floor of the seminary's entrance. In front of the pentagram were the words "Reign in Blood." On the first three steps leading up to the entrance were the numerals 666-one 6 on each step. The number 666 is cited in the Book of Revelation as standing for "the beast," often identified as the antichrist.
The date of June 6 this year had received media attention because its numerals, 6-6-06, correspond to the number in Revelation.
"Reign in Blood" is the title of an album by Slayer, a "thrash metal" band. A Web site that promotes the band touted June 6 as a "National Day of Slayer" and urged fans to "spray paint Slayer logos on churches, synagogues or cemeteries." It also celebrated the desecration at the seminary, which it referred to as "a church" in Yonkers.
A day after the seminary vandalism was discovered, anti-Semitic graffiti was found on the Lincoln Park Jewish Center in the area. The following week, anti-Semitic propaganda was left in front of homes and on cars on Valentine Street, which is adjacent to the seminary grounds.
The seminary desecration seemed planned to coincide with the date of June 6, though it probably took place in the early hours of June 7. Msgr. Finn said he had stopped in his office, which is near the main entrance, between 11 and 11:30 p.m., and "there was no indication that there was anyone outside."
The men on the maintenance staff who discovered the desecration immediately notified Robert Scully, director of buildings and grounds, who called Yonkers police. They arrived quickly and were "very cooperative," Msgr. Finn said.
A steady, drenching rain fell as detectives examined the markings and discussed them, standing under the roof that extends from the front of the building.
Sgt. Eugene Drain, a detective with the Yonkers Police Department, told CNY, "We're leaning toward a cult or a person who's a member of a cult." He speculated that the spray-painting was the work of one person, but said, "We don't know how many are involved." He added that police will rely on "good old-fashioned detective work" and forensics to solve the crime.
"Whatever we have at our disposal, we'll use to find out who's responsible," he said.
After detectives finished examining the spray-painted markings June 7, maintenance men began removing them. The men sprayed a foaming chemical solvent on the surfaces marked with graffiti, then hosed them with a power-washer. Clouds of white mist rose through the falling rain as the satanic symbols disappeared.
Msgr. Finn and Scully both said that no one associated with the 110-year old seminary could recall a similar incident in its history. Scully has worked at the seminary for 37 years. Msgr. Finn said that priests and lay people who work there now were "very upset" by the desecration. He said that he felt "great sadness."
"I was raised up in a generation that was taught to respect people, places and things, and foremost, after the respect for human life...was the respect for sacred objects and places such as churches, temples and mosques," he said. "It was beyond our imagination to even consider the possibility of defacing or doing anything malicious to a sacred place."
He said that acts of desecration have become so common that they constitute "a wake-up call to parents, educators and community-minded citizens to say enough is enough."
"It is time for action on the part of good-willed people who care about each other" and respect each other," he added.
Commenting on the desecration as an attack on faith, Msgr. Finn said that he believes that good and evil are engaged in battle "until the coming of Christ at the end of time."
"Therefore, we can't be too surprised that things like this can take place," he said. "We can be very concerned and saddened by the fact that some people...obviously do not believe in God and are involved in satanic practices, which is the epitome of negativity in a creation that I find to be filled with hopefulness, light and redemption."
He said that he hopes all people of good conscience, whatever their faith, "will come together to work to create a real enlightenment in the 21st century that redirects the conscience of all creation to the existence of God and the obligations we have to our Creator."
The seminary's front entrance is the spot where Pope John Paul II greeted crowds during his visit to St. Joseph's in 1995. Msgr. Finn remarked that the entrance also is the place where photos were taken recently of the archdiocese's newly ordained priests.
"We shall have pictures in the future of men of faith going into the world to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ," he said.