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CV NEWS FEED // Two Catholic churches in New York City were vandalized in recent attacks — with statues of Our Lady damaged at both sites — that are part of a troubling surge in anti-Catholic vandalism across the city.
On October 22, a vandal wearing an orange headscarf used a brick to damage two religious statues at St. Therese of Lisieux Church in East Flatbush, according to a report from New York Daily News. The hands of a statue of the Virgin Mary were broken off, and a cross held by a statue of St. Therese was shattered.
The statues had just been repainted and restored after standing for almost a decade, the report shared.
John Quaglione, deputy press secretary for the Diocese of Brooklyn, said parishioners at St. Therese in East Flatbush “are very, very upset and disturbed by this act of hatred,” adding that “It’s not just a statue; it’s symbolic of the Mother of God.”
“When you visit the church and see her with her arms open and welcoming you … the fact that they [the church] restored it and repainted it shows that it has tremendous value to the parish,” he continued, according to the report.
The vandalism at St. Therese follows a similar attack in late September at Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Queens, where a statue of the Virgin Mary was also damaged, according to the Daily News report. The hands of the statue were broken off, and the head was struck repeatedly with a rock.
In addition, on October 6, vandals graffitied profanity and symbols across church property at the St. Frances Cabrini Shrine in Manhattan, CatholicVote reported.
The NYPD’s Hate Crime Task Force is investigating the incidents, which they do not believe to be connected. The Daily News shared that authorities have released surveillance footage of the Brooklyn suspect “smoking a cigarette and sporting a black backpack as he walked past” the Church and are asking the public for help identifying him.
Video surveillance of the crime at St. Therese shows the vandal “inappropriately kissing” the statue of Our Lady before striking her hand off with a brick.
“Everyone is entitled to worship their own God freely and safely,” Quaglione stated. “[I]t’s sad to see this vandalism happening so regularly.”
CatholicVote’s Violence Tracker reported more than 400 attacks and vandalisms against Catholic churches in the United States since May 2020.
Despite the damage at St. Therese, Quaglione stressed that the church will restore the statues and continue to stand firm in the face of hatred.
“If we take those statues down, we’re letting hatred win,” he said. “It’s important to reengage and reestablish them in their full form.”
Anyone with information about the acts of vandalism is urged to contact the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers hotline, (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.
