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Church members
The Loughmans are both members of Flint Baptist Church but rarely attend, said the Rev. Billy Cagle, pastor.
He said he could recall seeing them at church only two times in 1½ years, once for a directory photo and once for worship.
Cagle said he and Flint Baptist are not anti-Catholic and the couple did not get their beliefs there. He said the Loughmans appear “real impressionable.”
Cagle called the Rev. Joe Culotta, pastor of Annunciation, on Monday to assure him of their concern.
“We wanted to make sure he knows that they did not get (their attitudes) from us,” Cagle said.
Hurtful act
Culotta said Cagle’s call touched him, and he appreciates the contact. Culotta said he does not harbor anger toward the four but is hurt. He said the most painful thing was the intentional breaking of the altar.
“We had just celebrated the Eucharist on it. . . . We felt violated,” he said.
The grown men who witnessed the altar breaking shed tears over that, not out of fear, he said.
The altar was made of marble left from a 1950s remodeling of a cathedral in Mobile, said parish officers. St. Ann, the original name of the Decatur parish, used the marble in several altar configurations and remodelings.
The altar has more sentimental and spiritual than monetary worth, Culotta said.
The pastor was impressed with how worshippers tried to reason peacefully with the intruders after they shouted and pushed over the altar.
“I was really proud of them,” he said.
The Catholic church does not worship idols but uses items as symbols of faith, said church leaders. They question how critics could judge what Catholics feel in their hearts when they use crosses or other symbols of Christianity in worship.
The four charged Sunday did not read a DAILY religion story published the previous day about relics at Annunciation, Wagner said.
When asked what church Turgeon would target next he replied there would be no further, “acts of destruction.” Wagner agreed.
“The only remorse I feel is that it had to come to this before anyone actually could see what they were doing,” Wagner said. “And they still don’t see it. It wasn’t intended to be like that, Mass desecration. We’re not doing anything like this again. We’re all very peaceful people. We didn’t intend to hurt anyone and no one was physically hurt. We made sure of this.”
What’s next?
Culotta said the church Pastoral Council decided Monday night to set up a security committee to form a plan in case of future incidents and to consider adding security cameras and making other changes. That recommendation came from police Chief Joel Gilliam, who attended the session. Gilliam said the incident seemed “contained” but cautioned against possible copycat crimes, the pastor said.
Culotta also said the church would send a letter to parishioners describing what happened and outlining steps being taken. He said the staff would contact Catholic Family Services in Huntsville to get help in counseling members, especially families with young children.
The pastor said he would have listening sessions after each Mass this weekend so people can talk about the incident.
The Rev. Pat Tierney of Tuscumbia, dean of the northwest area of the diocese, has called a meeting Thursday to ponder how churches might handle security differently, Culotta said.
Bishop David E. Foley will be at St. Ann Catholic School on Friday and at the church Saturday in celebration of the school’s 50th anniversary. Culotta said Foley would surely take the opportunity to reassure the school children, Culotta said.
Church members
The Loughmans are both members of Flint Baptist Church but rarely attend, said the Rev. Billy Cagle, pastor.
He said he could recall seeing them at church only two times in 1½ years, once for a directory photo and once for worship.
Cagle said he and Flint Baptist are not anti-Catholic and the couple did not get their beliefs there. He said the Loughmans appear “real impressionable.”
Cagle called the Rev. Joe Culotta, pastor of Annunciation, on Monday to assure him of their concern.
“We wanted to make sure he knows that they did not get (their attitudes) from us,” Cagle said.
Hurtful act
Culotta said Cagle’s call touched him, and he appreciates the contact. Culotta said he does not harbor anger toward the four but is hurt. He said the most painful thing was the intentional breaking of the altar.
“We had just celebrated the Eucharist on it. . . . We felt violated,” he said.
The grown men who witnessed the altar breaking shed tears over that, not out of fear, he said.
The altar was made of marble left from a 1950s remodeling of a cathedral in Mobile, said parish officers. St. Ann, the original name of the Decatur parish, used the marble in several altar configurations and remodelings.
The altar has more sentimental and spiritual than monetary worth, Culotta said.
The pastor was impressed with how worshippers tried to reason peacefully with the intruders after they shouted and pushed over the altar.
“I was really proud of them,” he said.
The Catholic church does not worship idols but uses items as symbols of faith, said church leaders. They question how critics could judge what Catholics feel in their hearts when they use crosses or other symbols of Christianity in worship.
The four charged Sunday did not read a DAILY religion story published the previous day about relics at Annunciation, Wagner said.
When asked what church Turgeon would target next he replied there would be no further, “acts of destruction.” Wagner agreed.
“The only remorse I feel is that it had to come to this before anyone actually could see what they were doing,” Wagner said. “And they still don’t see it. It wasn’t intended to be like that, Mass desecration. We’re not doing anything like this again. We’re all very peaceful people. We didn’t intend to hurt anyone and no one was physically hurt. We made sure of this.”
What’s next?
Culotta said the church Pastoral Council decided Monday night to set up a security committee to form a plan in case of future incidents and to consider adding security cameras and making other changes. That recommendation came from police Chief Joel Gilliam, who attended the session. Gilliam said the incident seemed “contained” but cautioned against possible copycat crimes, the pastor said.
Culotta also said the church would send a letter to parishioners describing what happened and outlining steps being taken. He said the staff would contact Catholic Family Services in Huntsville to get help in counseling members, especially families with young children.
The pastor said he would have listening sessions after each Mass this weekend so people can talk about the incident.
The Rev. Pat Tierney of Tuscumbia, dean of the northwest area of the diocese, has called a meeting Thursday to ponder how churches might handle security differently, Culotta said.
Bishop David E. Foley will be at St. Ann Catholic School on Friday and at the church Saturday in celebration of the school’s 50th anniversary. Culotta said Foley would surely take the opportunity to reassure the school children, Culotta said.
