The police are treating the attack on the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary as a hate crime
It is good to read (click on this post's title) that the police are treating the attack on the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary at St. Monica Church in Santa Monica as a hate crime.
Far too often around the USA, law enforcement agencies have bent over backwards to not treat attacks on Catholic churches as hate crimes.
Far too often around the USA, law enforcement agencies have bent over backwards to not treat attacks on Catholic churches as hate crimes.
posted by Quintero at 10:52 PM
9 Comments:
Is it true that St. Victor's in West Hollywood will be offering the Solemn High Mass in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite on May 1st????
Quintero, could you do me a favor? Do you have the name, number and address of the canon lawyer who frequently comments on your blog (or used to)? I might have an out-of-state client for him.
Many thanks.
hey Q, do you really think it was a hate crime? Or perhaps vandalism by those looking for an authority figure to rebel against.
I don't see it as a good thing joining the "hate crime" list just so we can claim victimhood status.
Dear Anonymous 11:38 a.m.,
Maybe you could give the parish office a call and find out? Then you could let us know here. Thanks in advance if you can do that.
Dear Joseph,
His name almost comes to mind, but not quite. Let me think about it, and I'll get back to you here.
Dear Skeetor,
Good to hear from you! Thanks for writing.
I know what you're saying, but there is lots of hatred for Jesus and our Church nowadays, and our cardinals, bishops, clergy, religious and congregations need protection, as do our churches and other institutions.
Law enforcement agencies almost always bend over backwards to refuse to classify crimes against our Catholic churches as hate crimes -- so I'm happy that the Santa Monica police are treating this attack as a hate crime.
As long as hate crime statutes are on the books, a legitimate use for them is to protect churches.
Maybe the prospect of serving extra time for attacking a church or parish will deter some criminal.
We should make a distinction between vandalism (routine property damage) and attacks on houses of worship. I think an attack on a statue of the Blessed Mother is an act of hatred.
Anyway, those are my thoughts. Thanks again for writing!
Dear Q-
She's been repaired!! I was out for a walk Saturday and saw our beautiful statue of Mary completely restored with what looks like the original head in place. If one didn't know there was damage, you couldn't tell; the join is hard to detect even when you know where to look. TBTG (Thanks be to God) and whoever did the restoration (rumor had it the Getty was involved...)
Gigi
Dear Joseph,
I have not been able to recall a name. The only canon lawyer whose name I can think of right now is Dr. Edward Peters, whom you could look up on the Net.
Guess I should add a disclaimer right away that I do not know him and that my mentioning him does not constitute a recommendation or the giving of any legal advice. I don't know how anyone would find or select a canon lawyer.
Dear Gigi,
Thank you very much for the wonderful news that the statue of the Blessed Mother at St. Monica Parish is repaired already.
I second your motion: Thanks be to God and whoever did the restoration!
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