Friday, October 05, 2012
Sanctuary no more
The Straight Dope looks at the concept of taking sanctuary in churches. Sadly it has been abolished by legislatures, but it is often effective regardless. Apparently newspaper photos of police storming churches don't play well. My favorite bit is
In Norway in 2007, Iranian asylum seeker Shahla Valadi, tired of hiding from deportation in church sanctuaries for seven years, had an RV fitted out as a “rolling church” so she could travel to a demonstration in Oslo. The ploy worked — not only was she not nabbed and deported, she was granted asylum less than two months later.That sounds so sweet, church in an RV. Makes it easy to find Mass if you're off in the woods camping. If we're willing to settle for a bus, I have a modest example of what it might look like.
