Jesus Statue Decapitated Inside Florida Church
Archdiocese of Miami slams the incident as a targeted attack and not an accident
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A statue of Jesus Christ has been found decapitated in a Florida church after it was desecrated in a seemingly targeted attack, according to reports.
The Southwest Miami-Dade Catholic church, The Good Shepherd, is the latest target in a recent surge in attacks on Christians and their property across America.
The Archdiocese of Miami hopes that surveillance footage and an investigation by local authorities will identify the suspect who beheaded a statue of Jesus Christ inside the church Wednesday morning.
“This crime reflects the increasing attacks on the Catholic church across the country,” the archdiocese told a local Fox affiliate Wednesday.
Church officials are also calling for the statue’s destruction to be investigated as a hate crime.
“They had some powerful hands to remove it,” Father Edvaldo DaSilva told the station regarding the effort needed to topple the large statue.
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Deacon Edivaldo da Saliva of The Good Shepherd Catholic Church in West Kendall told local media that the decapitated statue was discovered Wednesday morning.
Jesus statue found vandalized at a church in Kendall. The Archdiocese of Miami wants it investigated as a hate crime @WPLGLocal10 pic.twitter.com/8Xvf0Yhmvk
— Christian De La Rosa (@delarosaWPLG) July 16, 2020
Another statue of Jesus Christ decapitated. This time at Good Sheppard Catholic Church Miami. @JackPosobiec @ali @Cernovich @TuckerCarlson @IngrahamAngle Bishops? Silence? pic.twitter.com/YB5VVeSwU2
— Dr Taylor Marshall, CATHOLIC đđ»đ„ (@TaylorRMarshall) July 15, 2020
Good Shepherd Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of Miami had the statue if its namesake vandalized early Wednesday morning. pic.twitter.com/vhHhmosKef
— Ratus Catholicamđ»đŠ (@RatusCatholicam) July 16, 2020
“This morning I found it on the ground, and we presume that it is vandalism,” said da Silva.
“We have seen this happening all over the country,” he added.
Deacon da Silva said the church’s surveillance cameras were not facing where the statue was situated and there are currently no clues as to who the culprit may be.
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The Archdiocese of Miami said in a statement to WPLG that the church is likely to push for police to investigate the vandalization as a hate crime.
The desecration is the latest attack on statues of Catholic Church figures.
The Chattanooga Police Department is probing the recent beheading of a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the St. Stephen Catholic Church.
As Breitbart previously reported, two monuments depicting the Virgin Mary were vandalized in Queens, New York City, and Boston, Massachusetts.
On Wednesday, a group of Catholics in Boston held a vigil to pray the Rosary at the site of a Virgin Mary statue that had been set on fire.
