The Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh has cancelled a parish festival in Allegheny County due to what officials are calling a “disturbing message.”
The Our Lady of Grace Parish Festival in Scott Township was to begin Wednesday, but won’t go on after the diocese received a handwritten letter that read, in part, “Cancel August 14-17 Festival Security Problem is Huge.”
Our Lady of Grace was the only parish scheduled to hold a festival during those dates.
Although the letter didn’t specify a direct threat, church officials said it raised “grave concern” in light of the recent mass shootings across in the country.
“The loss of income to Our Lady of Grace Parish and School, and to vendors who were scheduled to work at the festival, pales in comparison to the loss of lives in Dayton, El Paso, Squirrel Hill and too many other places,” according to a letter for the Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese. “The diocese supports the decision not to risk becoming another name in that tragic litany.”
There are several Catholic churches in Butler County that fall under the Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese.