Hate-filled vandal bashes Brooklyn Catholic church statues with brick

A hate-filled vandal bashed two religious statues with a brick at a Brooklyn Catholic church, leaving them damaged, police said. The statues, which have stood for more than 90 years, were recently repainted and restored before the attack.
The attacker, who wore an orange headscarf, used the brick to smash off the hands of a statue of the Virgin Mary in the courtyard of St. Therese of Lisieux Church on Avenue D near Troy Ave. in East Flatbush around 4:30 a.m. on Tuesday, cops said.
He then ran up to another statue, believed to be of St. Therese, and broke off a cross she was holding, cops said.
John Quaglione, deputy press secretary for the Diocese of Brooklyn, expressed dismay at the recurring vandalism of churches.
“It’s a time for unrest here in the city for a number of reasons, I guess, and we need to stop this,” Quaglione said. “Everyone is entitled to worship their own God freely and safely. And it’s sad to see this vandalism happening so regularly.”
The defacing of these sacred figures, which have stood watch over the parish for nearly a century, has left deep emotional scars on the congregation.
“When something’s there for almost more than 90 years, there are parishioners that have been lifetime parishioners,” Quaglione added. “And they are very, very upset and disturbed by this act of hatred. It’s not just a statue; it’s symbolic of the Mother of God, who we recognize and worship in our church.”
He added that a restoration of the Blessed Mother statue had only recently been completed, making the act of vandalism all the more disheartening.
“When you visit the church and see her with her arms open and welcoming you … the fact that they [the church] restored it and repainted it shows that it has tremendous value to the parish,” he said.
“The hand of the Blessed Mother statue and somewhere near her feet was damaged by a brick,” he added. “In the St. Therese statue, the cross that she was holding was also damaged.”
On Wednesday, cops released surveillance footage of the suspect smoking a cigarette and sporting a black backpack as he walked past the house of worship. The NYPD is asking the public’s help identifying him and tracking him down.
1010 WINS radio reported that the sicko kissed the statue before vandalizing it.
Despite the damage, Quaglione vowed that the church would repair the statues to their former glory and not allow  vandalism to cast a shadow on faith.
“We’re going to look to see about restoration and correcting the vandalism that was done here,” he said, “so that these statues are whole again, and these statues are welcoming and inviting to the parish and to the community, as they have been for so many years.
“If we take those statues down, we’re letting hatred win,” he said. “It’s important to reengage and reestablish them in their full form.”
It was at least the third time in a month a vandal had attacked a Catholic church within the five boroughs.
In a scene hauntingly similar to Tuesday’s vandalism, late last month a bearded man in a red T-shirt and white baseball cap used a rock to lop off the hands of a Virgin Mary statue outside the rectory of Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church on Parsons Blvd. in Jamaica, Queens. He also repeatedly struck the statue’s head with the rock.
The Rev. Victor Bolaños, pastor of Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, managed to recover the broken-off hands, which were steepled in prayer.
“The only [thing] that is broken [off] is the hands,” he said. “The rest is damaged. I have the hands.”
On Oct. 6, a hate-filled vandal scrawled shocking profanity and defaced several statues at Manhattan’s St. Frances Cabrini Shrine on Fort Washington Ave. near W. 190th St. — just outside Fort Tryon Park — in Washington Heights.
Using black spray paint, the vandal wrote profanity directed at Jesus Christ and scrawled several bizarre symbols on a church wall. Another symbol was painted on a statue of St. Frances Cabrini as the vandal covered her face with paint.
“We have seen an increase [in church vandalism], and it’s alarming,” Quaglione said. “It’s counterintuitive to what this country stands for — freedom of religion. You shouldn’t feel in jeopardy while you’re worshiping.”
The pastor expressed deep concern over the rising trend of religious vandalism and the heightened sense of insecurity that many feel when visiting their houses of worship.
“It’s very concerning that you have to feel almost on edge when, at certain points or certain times, you see police cars outside different houses of worship,” he said. “It’s sad that you have to feel some sense of insecurity while you’re going into what should be your safest space and your place where you can turn to your God, whoever that may be,” he added.
The NYPD Hate Crime Task Force is investigating the three desecrations, which are not believed to be linked.
Anyone with information regarding the East Flatbush church incident or the two other acts of vandalism is urged to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.