Posted on 04/14/2009 6:12:09 AM PDT by NYer
CALIFORNIA AVE. — Santa Monica Police are investigating an alleged hate crime after officials with St. Monica Catholic Church discovered a statue of the Virgin Mary beheaded shortly before Easter services commenced.
A priest found the 55-year-old marble statue, which stands on the corner of Seventh Street and California Avenue, decapitated around 5:45 a.m. on Sunday, spotting the head on the ground just a few feet away. The top of the statue was covered with a white plastic bag before service began.
“Even though it was a sad event, it didn’t take away from the joy of Easter and celebrating Christ’s resurrection,” Jason Farmer, the church spokesman, said. “The joy was still sustained and celebrated throughout the day.”
Police have not identified any suspects.
“Anytime a church or school is targeted, we look at it as a possible hate crime,” SMPD Lt. Darrell Lowe said. “In this case, since the vandalism was of a very important figure within the Catholic religion, we’re classifying it and investigating it as a hate crime.”
Authorities said they are not sure how the head was removed, but Farmer said that the top is not detachable.
The statue, which stands at about 5.5 feet tall and is mounted on a 3.5-foot-tall pedestal, was dedicated in 1954 in memory of Monsignor N. Conneally, who was the head of the church from 1923-1949.
The statue was vandalized in 2002 when both hands were taken off. The perpetrator was never caught, Farmer said.
The statue will be repaired and restored, Farmer said. A cost estimate was not available at presstime.
“The church considers it to be sad and there are certainly questions about why this was done,” Farmer said. “But our sadness is brief, especially in the celebration of Easter.
He said the church considers the incident as a challenge to be more welcoming and caring to those who are struggling or hurting in the community.
“What has happened to the statue is an invitation for us to live out a deeper, more profound love for others,” he said.
Anyone with information is urged to contacted the SMPD at (310) 458-8419.
melodyh@smdp.com
Mary without a head: still smarter than allah
ROP alert?
Maybe Catholic churches should start putting leather collars on their Mary statues to protect her. It would also send message and bring back the word “leatherneck.”
Not sure THAT was the wisest of decisions.
Time to blow up that ugly, black cardboard box they worship in Mecca.
Not sure I want to see the mother of Christ in a bondage scene. Although, I'm sure that would qualify for some kind of "arts" grant!
Those silly Buddhists at it again?................
Not a defender of Islam, but I'm willing to bet that this was more likely the work of punks instead of Muslims.
Probably not - islam reveres Mary. She is the only woman mentioned in the koran.
Agreed. Actually Mary is held in high asteem by Islam.
But there are no hate crimes in my lexicon.
There are just crimes....anything else is the purview of Thought Police, Newspeak, 1984, Brave New World etc.
Perhaps.
Don’t know if punk vandals would recognize the significance of performing this deed on Easter.
But even “moderate” Muslims should know that when it comes to decapitation, one “faith” pops into mind immediately.
Here you have the statue of Our Blessed Mother decapitated in the city named after Saint Monica. Of course, anyone who is familiar with Santa Monica knows what a Leftist toilet it is! And lets not forget that CINO's like RINOld attend Mass at this parish. It's a wonder the crucifix in the church hasn't fallen down by now.
There are a whole lotta converts running around with names like "Malik" and "Shabbaz" who don't have a clue what the Koran says or doesn't say. Converting to Islam is just a thing to do to show off your Blackness.
That said, this was done by a group. That statue would have required more than 2 people to move... probably 3 or 4, and maybe a truck.
The French??
Oh, you’re right, I forgot about that group of wanna be muslims.
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