Early the morning of Sunday July 3, vandals targeted Holy Family Catholic Church in Hillsborough, N.C., with anti-Christian and pro-abortion messages in bright yellow spray paint.

Those arriving for the morning services had to walk past a large message of “F*CK THE CHURCH,” which was painted directly in between the two main entrances. In the parking lot there was a message that said, “I love abortion,” and on a concrete wall, there was an anarchy symbol.

The pastor of the parish, Fr. Ryan Elder, said he could not comment to the press because of diocesan policy, but he addressed the issue during his homily.

The Gospel reading for the week was from Luke 10, where Jesus sends out his followers to different cities to proclaim the Kingdom of Heaven. He said some would receive them and celebrate their message, while others would meet them with hatred and oppose the message. Fr. Elder said the vandalism showed that this remains true to the present day when people present “the full Gospel.”

A member of the church council said the incident was reported to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and that the parish has active video cameras.

At 1 p.m. on July 3, members of the parish also gathered to clean up the damage and to pray for those who had vandalized the property, for pregnant women in crisis, and for the nation.

UPDATE: Later in the day, some men from the Spanish Mass got to work and cleaned up the vandalism. A post from the parish’s Facebook page said: “Thanks to the men of our parish who helped to clean up this afternoon after our church was vandalized last night …. At approximately 12:15 am our church received some spray paint, and after Spanish Mass, a big dose of Love.”

The church said that Bishop Luis Rafael Zarama, who leads the Raleigh Catholic Diocese, was also planning a special Mass at the parish for healing.