The State - News from Aug. 24, 1987

Coalition leaders organizing demonstrations during Pope John Paul II’s Sept. 17-18 visit to San Francisco have canceled a “no-violence” pact with local church officials. Attorney John Wahl, head of the Papal Visit Task Force, said the archdiocese had betrayed the gay activists, who are opposed to the Catholic Church’s position on their life style, by leaking information about the agreement. The informal agreement was designed to “create an atmosphere of understanding and nonviolence,” said the Rev. John O’Connor of Mission Dolores Basilica. But the agreement never ruled out several planned large-scale demonstrations, Wahl said. He stressed, however, that violence is neither condoned nor expected.