The State - News from March 22, 1985

The Roman Catholic order of Franciscan Fathers in seven western states announced in San Francisco that it will offer sanctuary, including housing and food, to refugees from El Salvador and Guatemala. “This declaration of sanctuary is in keeping with the Franciscan values of solidarity with the poor, the disadvantaged, the outcast,” said Father Floyd Lotito of St. Anthony’s Dining Room, which is operated by the order. The order’s 60 communities in California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico will offer, as available, food, housing, financial, legal and medical aid, a spokesman said. “The Franciscan community in San Francisco is currently offering shelter to Central American refugees at a house in San Francisco,” the spokesman said.