The Miami Archdiocese is urging law enforcement to investigate the decapitation of a Jesus Christ statue as a hate crime, just one of many such acts of vandalism against religious institutions.
“Investigate this desecration as a hate crime," the Archdiocese of Miami told Local 10 News in Florida. "This is another attack on the Catholic Church which is happening across the country.”
Deacon Edivaldo da Silva discovered the beheaded statue at his Good Shepherd Catholic Church on Wednesday.
"This morning I found it on the ground, and we presume that it is vandalism," da Silva said.
Christian De La Rosa, a reporter from Local 10 in South Florida tweeted out a photo of the beheaded statue.
Da Silva said the church has various security cameras throughout the building, but none caught the statue decapitation on film.
On Saturday, a man in Marion County, Florida drove his vehicle into the Queen of Peace Catholic Church while people prayed inside. Once inside, he doused the foyer with gas and lit the building on fire.
In Los Angeles County, the San Gabriel Catholic Church was also set on fire this Saturday. And in Boston, a statue of the Virgin Mary was set on fire.
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