By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist

Satanic graffiti that was spray-painted on the doors of the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul, Minnesota last weekend is being investigated by police as a possible hate crime.

TwinCities.com is reporting that sometime between Friday night and Saturday morning, someone painted upside-down crosses on five of the six main doors on one side of the Cathedral.

Sgt. Peter Crum, a spokesman for the St. Paul police department said they are investigating the incident as a possible hate crime because of what the upside-down cross has “come to symbolize in popular culture.”

Inverted crosses have sometimes been associated with Satanic cults.

The graffiti was discovered on Saturday and was quickly removed, said the Very Rev. Joseph Johnson, the cathedral’s rector.

“We don’t know if this was some silly prank from someone or a drunken rampage or something more serious,” he said.

When asked about the symbolism of upside-down crosses, the University of St. Thomas’ Rev. Erich Rutten, who is director of campus ministry and campus chaplain, told TwinCities: “An upside-down cross has traditionally been used respectfully as a sign of St. Peter who was crucified upside down. However, in this case, it seems to have been meant as an anti-Christian sign by some anti-Christian group or even Satanists.”
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