Ash Wednesday panhandling protest planned

Scott Schaeffer-Duffy, of the Catholic Worker, holds signs made by Robert Peters that he says will be held during a protest against panhandling next week.

by Walter Bird Jr.
Story Created: Feb 07, 2013

Weeks after city councilors passed ordinances restricting panhandling and so-called Tag Days against an outpouring of protest, the first public challenge is being mounted - not in court, but right in the streets. The Saints Francis &Therese Catholic Worker House is sponsoring a protest Wednesday, Feb. 13 - Ash Wednesday - smack in the middle of Lincoln Square, just steps from the police department. One participant, well-known activist and advocate for the poor Scott Schaeffer-Duffy, is casting a proverbial stone right at police by planning to solicit money on a median - an act prohibited under the new ordinances.

"This ordinance is wrong," says Schaeffer-Duffy, who works at Catholic Worker at 52 Mason St. and will be joined in the protest by Robert Peters and "many others." Peters, according to a press release, will hold a beggar's bowl and wear monk's attire, while Schaeffer-Duffy will also hold a bowl and dress in a Franciscan habit. The protesters do not believe the ordinances promote safety, as city officials claim, and that they constitute a ban against free speech, despite protestations from councilors insisting the ordinances are merely restrictive and not prohibitive in nature. In the press release, the Catholic Worker House said any money collected during the protest "will be given directly to those who who continue to feel the need to appeal for help on the streets of Worcester."

"We're going to pursue this," Schaeffer-Duffy says. "The Catholic Worker does not believe in taking things to court. We'd rather work them out peacefully. But the ACLU [American Civil Liberties Union] is considering a lawsuit, I know that."

A call to Chris Robarge of the ACLU Worcester field office was not immediately returned.

http://www.worcestermag.com/blogs/dailyworcesteria/Ash-Wednesday-panhandling-protest-planned-190274291.html