A vandal attacked and destroyed a pewter statue of Jesus Christ in an El Paso, Texas Catholic Cathedral on Tuesday, permanently destroying an image of Christ that Catholic officials have described as ninety years old.
The attack took place at 10AM on Tuesday, when El Paso’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral was open for public prayer. Images of the attack’s aftermath show that the statue is shattered.
“As sad as I am to see a statue attacked and destroyed, I am grateful that it was not a living person,” said Bishop Mark J. Seitz of the Catholic Diocese of El Paso. “But a statue, particularly this statue, concretizes and connects us to persons and ideals that are not visible to our eyes. They reveal to us realities that are close to us, but unseen.”
We were saddened to announce the vandalism at St. Patrick Cathedral. Visit this link to read more: https://t.co/6x3oGkimH1 @BishopSeitz pic.twitter.com/Dg8lALkzaZ
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— The Catholic Diocese of El Paso (@elpasodiocese) September 16, 2020
The Bishop would confirm that faithful of his diocese would pray for the one responsible for the anti-Catholic hate crime.
“I hope this might be the impetus for him to receive the help he needs. He will be in my prayers… In this moment we will reach out in confidence to the One this statue represented and I know he will console us.”
A suspect was quickly detained in the aftermath of the crime, and the El Paso Police Department is actively investigating. However, no charges against the thus-unnamed perpetrator of the crime have been filed as of Wednesday night.
The left is acutely aware of the power of imagery and symbolism, and it seems there’s an appetite among at least a few vandals to attack holy images of Jesus Christ Himself. This is one of several attacks on Catholic statues and images in recent months, conspicuously coinciding with a wave of left-wing political crime and vandalism across the country.
