CHURCH IS COVERED IN OBSCENE GRAFFITI

FOUL-mouthed anti-  religious graffiti  daubed on the side of  a new church extension has been dismissed as merely a  “cry for help”.

Father Paul Rea admitted he was “distressed and angry” last  Wednesday when he  arrived at  St James Roman Catholic Church  in Old Road to be confronted by  the words  “**** the holy spirit”.

The blasphemous  message had been  sprayed in white paint  onto the brickwork of a  building that was only  completed last month. 

 Police  are liaising  with officials at the  Devon NHS Partnership Trust in the belief  that the culprit may be  experiencing mental  health problems. 

 And Father Rea says  those responsible need  treatment — not punishment — when they  are finally caught.

He said: “On reflection, it is not just an  incident of vandalism.  It is a cry for help in  some ways from  someone acting out their issues  with religion.

“The extension was only completed just before Christmas, we  hadn’t even had a chance to officially open it or bless it, we  were waiting to hear from the  Bishop of Plymouth when he  might be able to come along to a  celebration. We had a lovely new  porch and entrance, so it is such  a shame it has been defaced like  this.”

Mid Devon District Council  staff  had to wait until last Friday  for the arrival of the specialist  equipment they needed to erase  all trace of the graffiti.

The scrawl was first noticed on  Wednesday morning by an Old  Road resident who immediately   rang Father Rea in “great distress”.

Peter Scurr(sp corr), who has been a  worshipper at the church for 20  years, told the Gazette:  “It is always nasty to see graffiti anywhere but especially on a church  and when the words strike at the  very heart of the church.”

 Cllr Alan Griffiths, who regularly attends the church, said this  was not the first time it had been  targeted. He recalled that offensive graffiti at the entrance to the  church also had to be removed  two years ago.

He said: “I deplore this sort of  action and feel sorry for anybody  that would be capable of doing  something like this.”

Tiverton once had two Roman  Catholic churches in the town  and  the construction of the new  building was largely funded  from  the proceeds of the sale of the other building  on Longdrag Hill. The  extension was built to provide a  larger kitchen and improved toilets and disabled access.

PC Mike Martini, neighbourhood beat manager for the canal  area of Tiverton, said: “Fortunately vandalism of churches and  churchyards is quite rare. I have  been working with the Catholic  church to try to reach a mutually  acceptable outcome.”