Your analysis is incorrect. As Catholics, they have a right to attend that service, in that Church, or any other Catholic Church (we are not a congregational Church.)

And the Cardinal himself ackowledged the validity of their message.

Nobody's freedom of religion was infringed in any way, shape or form.

You must not be Catholic, or you'd get that.

Please, spare us the preaching about how our religion works. We know it better than you do.

I'm a Catholic, and like most of my fellow Catholics I'm as much against the war as anyone in this room.

But this was NOT a non-violent protest; they destroyed other people's property, which is an act of violence.

Some of you are suggesting that the Church should request that the charges be dropped. If they did, it would be a further act of violence to everyone whose property was vandalized during the demonstration.

How is the 70 year old usher supposed to buy a new hearing aid? Will your legal defense fund pay for that? I sincerely hope you consider doing that, and I think it would go a long way towards getting the charges reduced or dropped. Instead of spending a lot of money on lawyers, why don't you foot the bill for the damages? I think the judge would look kindly upon that, don't you?

I'd like to clear up a few rumors, as well. I would imagine that we're mostly Chicagoans here. But, for anyone who doesn't know, Holy Name Cathedral is the archdiocesan church - it's like the main regional Catholic church. There have been rumors, probably spread by those who don't live in the area, that it is where the rich or important Catholics go to church. That's not true at all! Mostly, people go there for special events. I've been to ceremonies there twice, and I don't have a pot to piss in. :)

Also, the Church is very much against this war. I don't recall attending a mass since the war began where we have not, as a congregation, prayed for an end to all this. And I go every Sunday. So, we've been "on" since year 1 as well. Some of you have said that we're all talk, and no action. Well that may be true, but what these kids did wasn't a direct action against the war either; it was a demonstration. Demonstrations are, by definition, just talk.

I think you need to take a clear look at what the Church has said about this war, and leave your preconceived notions about who we are as a people out of it.

In the course of spilling fake blood on themselves, they inadvertantly splashed some on others. That's not criminal. It is, at worst, inconsiderate, or careless. This was not a violent demonstration.

I'd be really happy to contribute to a fund to pay for fixing or cleaning anything damaged by the fake blood.

Sure, our Church has, to its great credit, opposed this war from the beginning. The message these demonstrators sent to us is that we, as Catholics, haven't done enough to stop the war. They are, unfortunately, right about that.

And, yes, they used our Church as a staging area for a publicity stunt, which appeared to be the principal reason for their choice of venue and date. Doing this in the Archdiocesan cathedral, on the holiest day of our liturgical calendar, was almost certainly designed to generate maximum publicity.

I guess I can see why congregants found it offensive. Had it been done by non-Catholics, I too would have been offended. But these were Catholics, sending an important message of peace to the world, a message entirely consistent with both the Gospel and the Church's magisterum.

Whatever personal offense we might feel should, I think, yield to the importance of the message, its consistency with our faith and, most important, our tradition of forgiveness.

His Eminence the Cardinal himself echoed the message from the altar in reaction to the demonstration.

I think we should focus on the message, and not any personal slight involved. But, yes, to the extent property was damaged, we should make the owners whole.