Edsel Ford II calls out St. Paul's in Grosse Pointe Farms on anti-abortion signage

Edsel B. Ford II is not happy with the anti-abortion political signs and crosses outside the prestigious St. Paul On the Lake Catholic Church in Grosse Pointe Farms, and he fired off an email to City Manager Shane Reeside on Sunday afternoon demanding immediate action.

Ford also sent the message to the Rev. Jim Bilot — the pastor of St. Paul's — Grosse Pointe Farms elected officials and executives at the Detroit Free Press, The Detroit News and The Grosse Pointe News, among others.

Ford, great-grandson of industrialist Henry Ford and a member of the Ford Motor Co. board of directors for more than three decades before retiring last year, wrote:

"Once again, I am writing to you with dismay concerning St. Paul Catholic Church's use of their front lawn on Lake Shore Road to place signs and crosses advocating their political/moral/ethical position against abortion.

"As one drives down Lake Shore Road, the view and expanse of yards in Grosse Pointe Farms has been a beautiful asset of our City which our community has taken great effort to protect. Signs and crosses such as those erected by St Paul Catholic Church diminish the character of our neighborhood and quality of life for residents and visitors.

"Again, while I respect and defend the right of St. Paul Catholic Church to hold its position on the issues involved, I firmly believe protecting the aesthetic value of our community obligates the City of Grosse Pointe Farms to require St. Paul Catholic Church to remove this improper blight immediately. Shane, we have this identical conversation every year and there is never any action taken by you or the City of Grosse Pointe Farms.

"Because of your current position as City Manager of the City of Grosse Pointe Farms, I assume you give special dispensation to St. Paul Catholic Church to display these controversial signs and crosses. As a taxpayer I also have the right to express my concerns.

"My wife and I will assume if no further actions are taken to have the signage removed from St. Paul Catholic Church, we may then proceed to install sign(s) in our yard of the same dimension, expressing our own views."

'Too extreme'

A large sign next to the church and facing Lake Shore says, "64,000,000 LOST U.S. LIVES: Pregnant? Need help? 313-882-1000. pregnancyaiddetroit.org" It is surrounded by white crosses planted on the lawn.

Another sign says, "No Proposal 3: Too Confusing, Too Extreme." It is surrounded by white crosses planted on the lawn.

Cynthia Ford, who was also copied on the email, confirmed to the Free Press the veracity of the letter late Sunday. Edsel Ford declined to comment further on the letter. They live in Grosse Pointe Farms. They are members of a church in the community that is not Catholic.

City officials investigate

Meanwhile, Reeside said he came into work Monday and took immediate action in response to the Ford letter, the Grosse Pointe Farms city manager told the Free Press.

"Our public service director will go out and review the signs that were placed out by the church to make sure they conform with the city sign ordinance," Reeside said. "The signs are located in the community service district, so the sign requirements are a little bit more expansive than they are for the residential area. Schools, churches and libraries are zoned a little bit differently in terms of what the zoning standards are, than a residential home would typically allow. Political signs on front lawns are restricted in size not to exceed 6 square feet."

While discussion with Edsel Ford has been ongoing, it has been every other year not every year, Reeside said. It is biannually, during election season, when St. Paul On the Lake uses signage "to state their position, obviously a pro-life position, of the Catholic Church."

He added, "I think in the past they (St. Paul's) had to reduce the size of the signs to conform."

St. Paul's responds

The church released a statement Monday afternoon on behalf of Bilot that said, "Our parish has carefully followed pertinent laws and city ordinances when assembling lawn displays, including this year’s collection of crosses, a message offering assistance to pregnant mothers, and a sign sharing our position on Proposal 3."The statement continued, "In response to the concern raised, we have reached out to city officials to confirm that this year’s display conforms to the size, place, and manner requirements for display within a Community Service District. Regarding political activity, both the Internal Revenue Code and the Michigan Campaign Finance Act permit parish participation in ballot proposal campaigns. We will continue to follow all applicable laws while remaining firm and direct in our commitment to protecting the inherent dignity of all people, including the unborn, and offering support to mothers and their families."

This year is especially volatile politically with the recent Roe v. Wade decision from the U.S. Supreme Court, putting abortion in the spotlight for statewide candidates and ballot measures seeking to protect a woman's access to abortion.

Fight to defeat Proposal 3

In recent weeks, the Catholic Church in Michigan has been involved in a campaign to help defeat a statewide measure on the November ballot that would revise the Michigan Constitution to protect abortion rights. The U.S. Supreme Court in June overturned Roe v. Wade, the case that provided a constitutional right to abortion access in the United States. The ruling in turn revived a 1931 Michigan law banning abortion in most cases. In September, the Michigan Court of Claims blocked the ban from being enforced.

The Catholic campaign has featured prayer services, text messages and canvassing of neighborhoods.

More:Michigan judge rules 1931 law criminalizing most abortions is unconstitutional

Michigan had more than 1.8 million Catholics in 2020, according to the Michigan Catholic Conference website, citing the Official Catholic Directory, P.J. Kenedy & Sons. Protestant groups such as evangelicals and Lutherans for Life of Michigan are also working against Proposal 3.

More:Catholics in Michigan 'fight like heaven' against abortion ballot proposal

More:The abortion rights amendment made Michigan's ballot. Here's exactly what it says

More:Michigan abortion proposal has strong support, poll shows

Contact Phoebe Wall Howard: 313-618-1034 or phoward@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @phoebesaid

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Edsel Ford II calls out St. Paul's in GP on anti-abortion signage