>MEXICO CITY (AP) – Mexico City’s cathedral was closed Monday after leftist protesters stormed into the world-renowned religious landmark, and church officials said it would not reopen until city authorities can guarantee security.

Dozens of supporters of former leftist presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador entered the building bordering the capital’s Zocalo square on Sunday, scuffling with faithful and overturning pews.

The conflict reignited tensions between the church and some members of Mexico’s leftist Democratic Revolution Party who accuse Cardinal Norberto Rivera of overstepping Mexican law by intervening in politics, including supporting President Felipe Calderon’s election campaign last year.

Archdiocese of Mexico spokesman Hugo Valdemar Romero said there have been 24 similar but smaller incidents since the 2006 election, which Lopez Obrador’s followers allege was stolen. Election officials deny the allegation.