Image via Brooklyn Diocese
CV NEWS FEED // A man was recently caught on camera as he vandalized a Catholic church in New York City while parishioners were inside.
CBS News reported that a security camera caught a man throwing a construction cone outside St. Rita’s Church in New York City’s borough of Queens on February 9. He apparently was trying to hit a religious statue outside the church, but instead smashed a 60-year-old stained glass window.
Father Jose Carlos da Silva, pastor of St. Rita, told the LIC Post that “It was very disturbing and unsettling to hear breaking glass as a prayer group was gathered in the church.”
“Luckily no one was injured, and the suspect did not try to come in,” Fr. da Silva said.
“I believe the orange construction cone that was thrown was intended to hit the Blessed Mother statue, but the vandal missed,” Fr. da Silva continued.
“Instead, it hit one of our original stained-glass windows behind it. This is a hate crime against the Catholic Church and the perpetrator must understand that he has caused pain for the entire parish community of St. Rita’s.”
According to the Diocese of Brooklyn, the cost of the damage to the 60-year-old stained-glass window is estimated at $10,000.
