...I think its an encroachment ...when police park in the chyrch parking lot ...it contradicts the essence of separation of church & state ..even if it is for benign purposes, not for vigilance, it sends a message that police can do whatever they want, wherever they want, whenever they want...& what are we the people going to do about it ?1 its somewhat arrogant...almost like sticking your middle finger up at "the people"..at the church, even if they don't think of it as such..even if the cops inside the cars are nice guys, good cops, it still sends a message ...namely that there's no place, not even God's place, that is exempt even for a moment from their vigilance...they r in charge...these cops with associates degrees will do whatever they want, wherever whenever..that's the message I get... its not enough that they can observe & inspect us at anytime on any public street, but they want to come on to the private church parking lot as well ? it would be one thing if they were believers & wanted to come in to the daily mass, but I don't think they have any spiritual intent for being on the church parking lot ..c'mon guys give "the people" a break ..its 6am ...some people say, "if u have nothing 2 hide, u have nothing 2 fear" ..but I don't buy that cliche ..its not that I'm doing anything "illegal"..its that they are violating "sphere sovereignty" ......in a place where u have an expectation of privacy & reverence ...the church is like a second home to many of the parishioners...& the presence of police, even good police, or police cars, adds a tension to the atmosphere b/c we have been so trained & conditioned by years of living that the police, even good ones, are observing our behavior, our license plate, our registration, our driving, ...even in stores we know they (ore security) are watching us to make sure we are not shopliifting ..when we go to any big public even they r there at the metal detectors, with the wands, watching waiting..at the court they r there, at almost every function they r present, for better or for worse, but church is usually able to self-govern itself without too many problems. Police presence is not usually, if ever, needed, & for them to sit in the parking lot seems presumptuous, to say the least. the church is the last bastion of freedom. If u take away the slight separation of church & state that is still barely respected, we become a china or a russia or any other country where the state controls the church, or the state is, essentially, the church, & the people become merely "pawns" in the scheme of totalitarianism & dictatorship-driven governments, propelled by power-hungry people...that's NOT the America I remember being taught about when I waa growing up .
