I was playing for Stations and Benediction a short few years back when a street person climbed the stairs to the loft. He wanted a handout, of course. I was alone, and also too busy to deal with him. After that, I started locking the loft door when alone. We have had a couple of serious shootings at churches in my town. It could happen anywhere.

Now, when I saw "bums" I thought this was going to be about inappropriate attire.

Can this problem be addressed merely by employing security personell who are on duty at all parish functions?

Not at all meaning to belittle the danger of truly undesirable and disturbed persons lurking about, but do we run a danger of paranoia directed at anyone, homeless or otherwise, who approaches or enters who happens to be shabbily attired because he or she is just some poor soul seeking the Lord's blessing and peace but has no 'soft clothing' like the rest of us? The danger of dangerous persons is real, but so is the danger of that pride which immediately shuns anyone who doesn't look like us and may need us.

we run a danger of paranoia directed at anyone, homeless or otherwise, who approaches or enters who happens to be shabbily attired because he or she is just some poor soul seeking the Lord's blessing and peace but has no 'soft clothing' like the rest of us

Absolutely, Jackson.

A number of my choir members have concealed carry permits, so anyone causing trouble at a Sunday mass might get caught in the crossfire. I have never felt the need to carry weapons and am in a radically different situation if someone wanders into the loft, where they have no business being to start with. The diocese has never addressed any of this, as far as I know, and leaves it up to the parishes. Pay a security guard? Getting a good laugh over that one.

That has happened with us when someone walked in and sat down. Given current standards of dress, some of our wealthier members often dress as if they are homeless. Those strangers are left alone unless they approach members and ask for money, act in a threatening manner, or go into areas where they clearly don't belong.

" . . . so anyone causing trouble at a Sunday mass might get caught in the crossfire."

FTFY.

A verger might be a good addition if security is a concern.. I forgot to put that in purple the first time.

Interesting. Both of our deacons are healthy and capable men, one is an emergency room physician. I wouldn't be surprised if one of them carries...

https://d1wsaxfu7b8rcr.cloudfront.net/fbec791e-5cc6-4f5b-9668-9a25837e12b9/Letter to CCD Parents 0317.pdf


Well, this was their response to the incident. Typical.

One of our deacons is the director of our county's JROTC program. Not that he's incredibly young, but I'd assume his first response to an issue wouldn't be to hide.

OUR deacon with a verger

> Guy with backpack shows up and is weird.
> Mass attendance is no longer mandatory.

I am so confused.

Also, please find some word to describe the unfortunate victims of mental illness, poverty, and homelessness other than "bum."

Well, it should be understood that, traditionally, in most Catholic parishes in the USA, the front pews are the penalty boxes, with the rear pews being the most coveted.

@Adam Wood: attendance is no longer mandatory for CCD kids. Makes a lot of sense, I know. Did you see their letter to the parents I shared a few posts earlier? That's how they deal with real-life interactions with the less fortunate. Oh, and no harm meant by my word choice so take your PC word policing and shove it. :-)

Are homeless people very frequently the perpetrators of shootings? I really doubt it, the kind of mental illness that keeps people homeless seems like it would also keep people from executing a plan to attack people.

In fact, after looking it up, only 11% of the perpetrators mass shootings had mental health problems, and I can't find any case in which the perpetrator was homeless, and it's in fact the opposite.

http://everytownresearch.org/reports/mass-shootings-analysis/

This is a perfect example of suburban paranoia. It's much easier to stigmatize the stranger, the outsider than to look around and realize the vice and depravity among our peers within our social class, to point at the problem of absent black fathers in other neighborhoods and ignore the distant white fathers in our neighborhoods. If our peers can be messed up, then I could be too, and that's much too uncomfortable. Really Christian, right? It's so much easier to scapegoat an "other" rather than addressing the moral decay of one's society, especially that caused by radical moral relativism and other heresies.

As an example, there's a lot of paranoia in my parents neighborhood, which is in a relatively affluent part of town, but in every instance I know of in the past 20 years they've lived there, the vandalism and troublemaking, (a friend of mine got mugged by someone who went to his school for instance) has been perpetrated by locals.

There have been a couple of local incidents where "homeless" have shot and killed others. The percentage is small, but it never hurts to be on guard. Many of our homeless, bums, panhandlers, or whatever anyone wants to call them, are mired in alcohol and drug addictions. Local charities want to help them, but they have little desire to help themselves, limiting the effectiveness of any help available to them. Yes, they can be dangerous at the right time and in the right circumstances, both unpredictable as to when the times and circumstances might occur. There is no need to mistreat them, but it is a good idea to be "wise as serpents" around them.

Remember the word "burglary"? If you're young, you may only know "home invasion".

OUR deacon with a verger

francis, right actor, wrong role.
Oldman in "The Fifth Element" was "Zork."
In "Hannibal" he was Mason VERGER.