Christ Statue Beheaded, Churches Torched, Vandalized with Satanic Symbols Across US and the World

Steve Warren
07-21-2020

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As the "cancel culture" crowd continues to rampage across the US and around the world, tearing down statues of historical figures, they have now apparently targeted statues depicting Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary as well as burning church buildings and vandalizing places of worship with Satanic symbols.

In recent days, several Catholic churches have been vandalized by unknown perpetrators who left behind no motivation for the attacks. 

The pastor of St. Joseph's Church in New Haven, Conn., found a satanic pentagram and an anarchist symbol painted in pink paint on the front doors of the church building, according to the New Haven Register.

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Archdiocese of Hartford officials posted news of the vandalism on their Facebook page, writing, "This follows an apparent trend of desecrating Catholic spaces throughout the nation, as evidenced by incidents in Chattanooga, Queens, Boston, Sacramento, and Ocala. The underlying motive of these sacrilegious attacks is clear: to intimidate and instill fear in the hearts of those who worship Christ."

"Therefore, we remain unafraid and resolute in our faith, and we will pray for a conversion of the hearts of those who wish to terrorize us," it said.

"Today, even in the midst of anti-Christian sentiment and actions, however, we do not answer hate with hate," it said. "To the contrary, these attacks make our love and unity stronger, and our prayers ever more steadfast."

As CBN News reported over the weekend, a statue of Jesus was found decapitated at a Catholic Church in South Florida. 

Edivaldo da Saliva, a deacon at the Good Shepherd Catholic Church in West Kendall, told WPLG-TV  he found the statue earlier this week, apparently ripped from its pedestal.

Da Saliva pointed out that Catholic congregations all around the US have been facing vandalism and arson in recent days.

"We have seen this happening all over the country," the deacon said.

The Archdiocese of Miami told WPLG-TV it would like the ordeal to be investigated as "a hate crime," calling it "another attack on the Catholic Church."

The vandalism is now being investigated by the Miami-Dade police and the Department of Homeland Security.

In Colorado Springs, Colo., a statue of the Virgin Mary was marked in red paint by vandals. Fr. David Price, rector at the cathedral, told local media that the damage "looks more like a graffiti tag than anything else," and added that the vandal wrote the word "redrum" on the base of the statue, according to the Catholic News Agency. "Redrum," is the word "murder" spelled backward, a reference to Stephen King's novel "The Shining" published in 1977. 

In addition, a 249-year-old mission in California was destroyed by fires. NBC News reports the building contained historic artifacts that dated to the late 1700s. 

Jose Gomez, archbishop of Los Angeles, tweeted photos of the damage Saturday, asking for prayers as the mission begins its slow path to recovery. 

The fire is being investigated as arson. Arson is also suspected in a fire at the cathedral in the French city of Nantes.  The BBC reports three fires were started at the site, according to a local prosecutor.  The resulting blaze destroyed the cathedral's stained glass windows as well as the grand organ of the Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul cathedral, which dates from the 15th Century.

The fire was set in the early morning and massive flames were visible to witnesses outside of the building. It took more than 100 firefighters several hours to bring the blaze under control.

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About The Author

Steve Warren is a senior multimedia producer for CBN News. Warren has worked in the news departments of television stations and cable networks across the country. In addition, he also worked as a producer-director in television production and on-air promotion. A Civil War historian, he authored the book The Second Battle of Cabin Creek: Brilliant Victory. It was the companion book to the television documentary titled Last Raid at Cabin Creek currently streaming on Amazon Prime. He holds an M.A. in Journalism from the University of Oklahoma and a B.A. in Communication from the University of
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