SAN FRANCISCO (CA)
KGO
by Elissa Harrington
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — Does the premier Catholic church in San Francisco have a confession to make? The homeless trying to find refuge at St. Mary’s Cathedral claim the church is using water not to cleanse them, but to get rid of them. The Archdiocese of San Francisco is now looking into accusations that well-timed sprinklers are preventing the homeless from taking shelter at the landmark church.
Homeless like to sleep in the church’s covered doorways to protect themselves from the elements. But if you look directly above, you’ll see a spout that sprays water on them while they sleep.
“Sometimes I come here to sleep,” said Ignacio.
Ignacio slept outside San Francisco’s Saint Mary’s Cathedral on Tuesday night. He placed his sleeping bag near the main entrance to stay dry. That’s because he says under the covered doorways, “the water comes down every 30 minutes.”
He says throughout the night, water sprays from a spout above, soaking the homeless and their things.
One person camping out in one of the nooks came prepared with an umbrella.
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