Veronica is right about the heartbreaking changes in St Elizabeth's church. I've been going to their prayer rm for 40 yrs now & many of my friends, some who graduated from St Liz school, all left the church over 10 yrs ago. At one time, much of the Fruitvale area in that vicinity use to be crime ridden & infested w/ prostitution, homeless alcoholics & heroin addicts ..until Ignacio De La Fuentes became a council member & decided to rebuild his district. We'd find needles & empty balloons along the side of the church & on the school ground ..yes, that's how it was at one time. The lowly & disadvantaged from all walks of life & all races would come straggling in the church for comfort, prayer & help at any given hr. The priest & bishops embraced & spoke to everyone, not just non-American spanish-speaking members who attended church services or ppl who look like they had money...as I've observed over the yrs while our community changed. Five yrs ago we lost our 18 yr old 'only' boy to violence in the streets & a misidentity while on his way to the beach w/ his girlfriend. Midway through the murderer's trial, I felt like I was going to have a spiritual & emotional break down after trying so hard to be strong, so I asked nice as possible, the priest walking past if he had a few minutes. I wanted to ask if I needed to make an appointment b/c I remembered how he snapped at a unemployed father who later explained to my niece that he had lost his daughter & couldnt speak English well. The priest I seen then (2006-07),was a thin Caucasian-looking much older man.He kept trying to ignore me & when he finally did stop & turned it looked the hardest thing he ever did in his life! Tears in my swollen eyes I knew he could see my soul was in a million pieces. His whole face frowned up & he blurted out, "FIND SOMEONE ELSE TO TALK TO!!, etc" as his voiced trailed off b/c he turned around & proceeded to the back. I was shocked! But it later brought me back to earth & I realized he had no business representing God, etc. The priest we have now, 2011 seemed very attentive & nice. read more