Dal sito "St Louis Review", Statue vandalism saddens, befuddles

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Sul sito americano "St Louis Review" è comparso questo articolo intitolato "Statue vandalism saddens, befuddles":

"An elegant, life-size white statue of Our Lady sits on a pedestal in a small garden with well-kept greenery and flowers at Gratiot and Third Streets just south of Downtown.


"In the form of that image, the Blessed Mother has stood watch and welcomed for about half a century all who approach our historic church," wrote Father Brian Harrison, chaplain of St. Mary of Victories Chapel.

The statue, a "signature" feature of St. Mary of Victories, was vandalized sometime late Aug. 9 or early the next morning -- the head was sliced off and was missing.

On Aug. 13, people coming to an early Monday morning Mass found the head returned to the bottom of the pedestal, with Satanic inscriptions in red and blood drawn dripping from the corners of Our Lady's mouth to make her look like a vampire. Father Harrison described it as "a horrible act of desecration."

Father Harrison said he believes the vandalism is "a satanic hate crime." The police were notified when the crime was first noticed and again when the head was returned. Immediately, he said, the people of St. Mary's offered prayers of reparation and holy hour prayers for the perpetrator.

According to the St. Louis City Police Department, the vandalism happened sometime after 5 p.m. Aug. 9 and about 10 a.m. Aug. 10 when the police were called. The head was broken off and was missing initially, according to the police report. Detectives are looking into the crime and have called it an active investigation, with no leads reported yet.

A police spokesman said there is no indication of a hate crime and that right now it is being treated as a vandalism.

The concrete statue was bought by the church in the 1950s, Father Harrison said. It most likely can be repaired and repainted, but "we haven't even gotten around to" discussing it yet, he told the Review.

Mark LaBrier, who works in maintenance at the parish, said he and others were upset by the vandalism because of the significance of the statuary outside the parish.

St. Mary of Victories is the second-oldest church in the City of St. Louis, following the Old Cathedral on the Riverfront. The church originally was established in 1843 for German immigrants and experienced a rebirth of sorts in the 1960s, when it was designated as a spiritual and cultural home to the Hungarian immigrant community.

It remains the home of the Hungarian community in St. Louis, and it offers the only Latin Novus Ordo Sunday Mass in the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

The desecration occurred just as the parish was preparing for its homecoming picnic, set for Sunday, Aug. 19, following the regular Novus Ordo Latin Mass at 9 a.m. and Hungarian Mass at 11 a.m. A presentation was to be made in appreciation for the work of Ernie Rohay, longtime gardener at the parish. He said he is happy to accept the honor, noting that "I'll be here watering the plants.".

Non posso non manifestare il mio sgomento di fronte a questo atto vandalico contro la statua della Vergine Maria.

Purtroppo, per noi cristiani è tornato il pericolo delle persecuzioni.

Basti pensare al caso delle "Pussy Riots", un gruppo musicale femminile (punk-rock) che oggi è prigioniero a Mosca per avere fatto manifestazioni blasfeme.

Ora, chi oggi contesta questo arresto attacca anche la cristianità.

Qualcuno di loro ha persino insultato il Patriarca ortodosso dandogli della "puttana".

Io trovo che ciò sia una vergogna.

Le "Pussy Riots" hanno fatto un concerto blasfemo dentro la cattedrale del Cristo Salvatore di Mosca.

Ora, ricordo che quel luogo di culto è uno dei più sacri della Russia ortodossa.

In pratica c'è stata una profanazione, con tanto di teppismo.

Lo stesso discorso può valere anche per quello che successe a Roma l'anno scorso, quando (durante un'orribile e squallida manifestazione del 19 ottobre 2011) i Black Block entrarono in una cappella e frantumarono una statua della Madonna.

Perciò, è evidente che qui ci sia un attacco contro la cristianità, un attacco non molto dissimile a quelli che ci furono nella Francia della Rivoluzione del 1789 o nell'Unione Sovietica di Stalin.

Bisogna distinguere tra la libertà di manifestare il proprio pensiero e l'attacco contro la cristianità.

Distruggere un crocifisso o una statua della Madonna oppure quella di un santo non è segno di libertà ma di stupidità, ignoranza e odio verso la religione cristiana.

Cordiali saluti.