09:01 AM EST on Wednesday, March 24, 2004

By NEIL SHEA
Journal Staff Writer

Journal photo / Mary Murphy The face of Jesus as the Good Shepherd is blackened with paint outside Our Lady of Grace Church in Johnston. A parishioner noticed the vandalism, which included the words, "anti-choice Nazis," scrawled on a stone border surrounding the statue.

JOHNSTON -- Outside Our Lady of Grace Church, black spray-paint streaked down the statue of Jesus, coating his face and throat. Near his feet, across a border of gray slate slabs, a vandal had scrawled: "Anti-choice Nazis."

In this Lenten season, about 30 parishioners missed the attack as they filed through the cold into their church's embrace for Mass yesterday morning.

Even the Reverend Douglas Spina, who lives in the rectory joined to the large brick church, had no idea of the crime.

"One of the women who is always first at church said, 'Did you see the mess in front?' " Spina said. "I went and read the words and it was very disturbing."

Spina called the police. By 9 a.m. they had hauled in crime scene investigation equipment and were photographing the vandalism.

"It's just scary," said Patricia Pallante, parish secretary, as she juggled phone calls from parishioners in her tiny office. "Because you know it's not kids who did this."

Spina said this is the first time there has been vandalism at the church. He said he had already begun hearing from his flock.

"Word travels very quickly in this town," he said. "The parishioners are very concerned. They're saddened."

As word trickled out through the quiet neighborhoods surrounding the church, a few people drifted past, stealing glances at the defaced statue and reading the unsettling message. Others called to check in.

The pastor said he imported the 4-foot statue, known as Christ the Shepherd, from Italy more than four years ago and placed it in front of the church. Jesus stands on a block of pink granite, and on his shoulders he carries a lamb, which Spina said represents the people and the Catholic Church.

On one side of the pedestal, facing the church, an inscription is cut into the granite dedicating the statue to the new millennium. On the other, facing George Waterman Road, a prayer reads "Let us pray for an end to abortion."

The connection between the prayer and the anti-Catholic graffiti seems clear, and Spina, who said the pro-life message lies at the core of Catholic belief, said he would not be intimidated.

"To identify the Catholic Church with the Nazi movement is very disturbing," he said. "It's a contradiction to the message of life. I have prayed about this today and the message I received from the Lord is to ask other people to pray for the people who did this."

In Johnston, arguably the heart of a mostly Catholic state, where the mayor is a former priest and sidewalk sandwich boards hawk crosses from the Mel Gibson film The Passion of the Christ, the vandal picked a highly visible target. Spina's parish includes the chief of police, the Town Council president, a state representative and several other town officials.

In his office yesterday, two crosses tacked to his wall and a picture of his favorite saint, Daniel Comboni, lying on his desk, Chief Richard Tamburini promised an aggressive investigation.

"It's a defacing of my church," he said. "I take it very seriously. Something like this affects the entire community."

Tamburini said the police are trying to determine if the vandalism is a hate crime. If bias against a group of people, such as Catholics, can be proved, the chief said he would notify the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

"The FBI takes over in that case," he said. "Because it goes beyond kids simply spraying paint."

Yesterday, the cavernous nave was silent and empty, save for a ticking clock. A few candles flickered beside rows of dark wooden pews. The scent of incense settled over statues, hymnals and crosses.

Standing near the altar, Spina said he had considered cleaning the statue.

"But then I said to myself, maybe I should let it sit there a little while, to show that there are other people with views distinctly different from ours."

Spina said he would discuss the crime at Mass on Saturday afternoon, when parishioners pack the pews. "I'm not going to make a big issue out of it. I'm not going to make what these people did bigger than what they deserve."