Concrete life sized statues of Holy Familys heads cut off and Statue of Joseph cut in half. Hail Mary, Full of grace... Religious Statues Vandalized At 2 Churches In Vineland,” CBS, Philly, January 24, 2014 (thanks to Claude) — Police in Vineland are searching for the suspects who vandalized statues outside two churches overnight. According to the Vineland Police Department, officers were dispatched to the Sacred Heart Church at 922 E Landis Avenue for reported criminal mischief. An investigation revealed that sometime during the night, the suspects had vandalized several religious statues on church property. The vandals hacked off the head of a statue of the Virgin Mary. In addition, the vandals also chopped a statue of Joseph in half. A few hours later, officers were dispatched to St. Francis of Assisi Church at 23 W Chestnut Avenue for the same incident. A subsequent investigation revealed statues at this church had been damaged in the same manner as the ones at Sacred Heart. At the St. Francis of Assisi Church, the vandals hammered in the faces of Jesus, Mary and Joseph on a statue. “ They are not just statues, but pictures and images of people that should be remembered,” parishioner Jose Rodriguez said. For the faithful, it is an emotional attack. “I cannot imagine what is going through the mind of a person that would deliberately go deface statues that are dedicated to our savior,” Deacon Richard Sampson of Christ the Good Shepherd said. In September, statues were also vandalized at St. Mary’s in Malaga. It is not just violent manner in which these statues were attacked, it’s the fact that these parishes are several miles apart that leads Catholics to believe that they are clearly being targeted.
Posted on: Wed, 29 Jan 2014 14:27:21 +0000
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