Aw pooor baaaybies. San Francisco cathedral to remove sprinkler system that drenched homeless people at night.

[Liebert]

SAN FRANCISCO – The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco
on Wednesday dismantled a sprinkler system it had installed at
the city's cathedral during one of the worst droughts in
California history to soak the alcoves and prevent homeless
people from sleeping there.

The archdiocese took down the sprinklers after a barrage of
criticism because the system installed at St. Mary's Cathedral
was drenching homeless people at night.

KCBS Radio first reported undeterred homeless people were using
umbrellas and waterproof gear, but they were still getting
soaked as they slept in the doorways. The sprinklers ran for
about 75 seconds, about every half hour, starting before sunset
in all four doorways, soaking homeless people and their
belongings, a KCBS reporter who saw the sprinklers at work
reported.

The archdiocese, which supports and helps the homeless,
apologized and said its intentions were misunderstood. It said
the purpose was redirect homeless people to safer areas on the
cathedral grounds.

"We are sorry that our intentions have been misunderstood and
recognize that the method used was ill-conceived. It actually
has had the opposite effect from what it was intended to do, and
for this we are very sorry," said Auxiliary Bishop William
Justice, rector of the cathedral.

The system had been dismantled as of Wednesday afternoon, said
Larry Kamer, a spokesman for the archdiocese. No homeless people
were using the cathedral's alcoves until recently, he said.

The sprinkler system was installed two years ago, after the
archdiocese learned that kind of system was being commonly used
in the Financial District as a safety and cleanliness measure.
Feces, needles and other dangerous items were regularly found in
the doorways, Justice said.

"The problem was particularly dangerous because students and
elderly people regularly pass these locations on their way to
school and Mass every day," Justice said.

Homeless advocates welcomed the archdiocese's decision to remove
the sprinklers, but they said they weren't surprised water was
being used to get homeless people to move away from the area.

"It's so indicative of how dehumanizing we've become about
homeless people," said Paul Boden, organizing director of the
Western Regional Advocacy Project, which advocates for homeless
people. "If you are going to hose somebody down, they are
probably going to move. Water is a very effective tool to get
someone to move, and it's become a tool in addressing homeless
in America today. It's pretty sad."

The archdiocese has also been criticized in recent months for
wanting to add morality clauses to the faculty handbook used by
teachers at four of its high schools that outline the church's
teaching that sex outside of marriage, homosexual relations,
abortion, masturbation and the viewing of pornography are
"gravely evil."

Justice highlighted Wednesday that the archdiocese of San
Francisco is one of the largest supporters of services for the
homeless in San Francisco. "Every year, it helps many thousands
of people through food, housing, shelter programs for people at
risk including homeless mothers and families, and in countless
other ways," he said.

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