Posted on 01/26/2007 4:56:27 PM PST by BenLurkin
LONG BEACH, Calif. A statue of Jesus at a Long Beach Catholic church was beheaded the day after Christmas, possibly by skateboarders who had been shooed off the grounds by a priest, it was reported Friday.
Skateboarders have been at odds with members of St. Cyprian Catholic Church, at Clark Avenue and Arbor Road, since September over their use of the church's bench, hand rails, stairs and other property for their sport, the Press-Telegram reported.
While it is unknown if skateboarders are responsible for the attacks on the statue of Jesus and elsewhere on church grounds, church officials told the newspaper they never had vandalism problems before the clashes over skating.
Hank Cierpich, who is chair of the parish council, said most children have been polite when stopped by staff or church members and have agreed to move, but some older skaters have been extremely aggressive, cursing at people and frightening some parishioners.
There are chips and gouges on the church's concrete steps, the wrought-iron handrails and a concrete bench, which is next to the front doors of the chapel. The bench has one side slathered in wax -- something skateboarders do to reduce friction and create a smooth glide, the newspaper reported.
Two stained-glass windows, one in front of the church and the other on a church hall, have been smashed and replaced. And several statues in the gated courtyard show signs of damage, including the chipped hands, robe and forehead of Mary. The largest statue on the grounds, depicting St. Francis of Assisi, has been pried from its concrete base.
Most upsetting for the church, however, was the Dec. 26 vandalism of the statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which had sat on a pedestal next to the front doors of the church since it opened in the late 1960s
Video at link
They were either raised feral or by liberals.
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