Posted on 04/16/2009 3:37:21 PM PDT by kellynla
Hours before Easter services were to commence, a vandal or vandals decapitated a statue of the Blessed Virgin outside Santa Monica’s Catholic Church in Santa Monica, the parish where Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife, Maria Shriver, are members.
“As many of you know or may have noticed, our statue of the Blessed Mother at the corner of 7th and California was vandalized, and is currently covered,” the church’s pastor, Msgr. Lloyd Torgerson, said in a message to parishioners posted on the parish’s web site. “It was an unfortunate and sad occurrence, and questions remain as to why someone would feel compelled or driven to do this. But I hope that you, like myself, will be sad about this only briefly. This event is more importantly a challenge and call for us to be even more welcoming and more caring to those who are struggling or hurting in our Santa Monica community. This calling of compassion is the joy of Easter – that God’s love encompasses and surpasses everything – even death. Regardless of the hardships and hurts that we might experience in our lives, the Risen Christ inspires us to live out a deeper, more profound love for our own life and the lives of others. This is the great glory of Easter, that in the end, God’s love vindicates, transforms, and saves all things. So, though our statue of the Blessed Mother needs repair, our Easter joy endures!”
According to the Santa Monica Daily Press, a priest discovered the vandalism about 5:45 a.m. on Easter Sunday. The Blessed Virgin’s head was found on the ground a few feet away, the newspaper reported.
“Anytime a church or school is targeted, we look at it as a possible hate crime,” Santa Monica police Lt. Darrell Lowe told the Daily Press.
(Excerpt) Read more at calcatholic.com ...
Prop 8 hate crime...
Hogwash. Vandalism and destruction of property are what they are. Prosecute the criminals for the crime they committed. But abandon this silly "hate crime" idiocy before it destroys the nation.
It is most definitely a hate crime. But the left has declared war on the Church so chances are it won’t be. Vandals attacked St. Cyprian’s in Lakewood Ca. last year (close to my home). When a nun went to stop them they beat her up!
I never heard that the case was resolved, the media ignored it.
ping
We are living in a “new Age” indeed. Gays rampage in the streets before Mormon temples. The book stores are full of atheist books, and porn sites on the internet supply lechers and peophiles with sex objects, and cable gives haters a solid platform to defame Christianity. No sacred symbol is safe.
>>a possible hate crime
Hogwash. Vandalism and destruction of property are what they are. Prosecute the criminals for the crime they committed. But abandon this silly “hate crime” idiocy before it destroys the nation.<<
Some animals are more equal than others. The PC Crowd read animal farm and think it is a good place to live.
We're not talking about spray painting a wall or “rolling” someone’s yard. We're talking about the DECAPITATION of an image of the MOTHER OF GOD!
Or maybe you don't believe the Virgin Mother Mary was & is the Mother of Our Lord, Jesus Christ...
I couldn't agree more. I guess all crimes that are not hate crimes are love crimes. I don't really care what the motivation was. Prosecute them and make it hurt.
Some animals are more equal than others. The PC Crowd read animal farm and think it is a good place to live.
I have had that same thought about Brave New World. I think Lefties would really like to live in that world.
This was a truly despicable act and I’ve seen the covered statue at St. Monica’s.
That said I reject even the concept of Hate Crimes.
Probably wasn’t a hate crime; chances are the White House was considering the place a possible venue for a speech and the premises were being renovated according to SOP.
Having probably been a Christian since before you first began to misinterpret the writing of others, I must say that I forgive your nice slander but it seems a bit un-Christian, don't you agree? Let me attempt to clarify my remarks.
As for the folks who did the evil deed, I think that they should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and if found guilty given the maximum punishment the law allows.
But the "hate crime" madness if unchecked will one day be used against anyone for which legitimate law is deemed by the mob as insufficient for whatever "crime" one is thought to have committed.
Even now in our northern neighbor writers expressing opinions are being hauled off to explain why they should not be prosecuted for "hate speech." It is not too large a stretch to predict that the day might come when Catholics or others might be made to suffer for speaking out against homosexual acts or abortion and thus for committing a "hate crime." I don't think that is what either of us want.
Mary was the mother of the Lord Jesus, but not the “Mother of God”.
1) The Son of God, the Second Person of the Trinity, has existed from eternity (John 1:1-3). He has no mother, only a Father. When Jesus became a Man, Mary was He mother, but He predated her. God created Mary, Mary did not create God.
2) The God worshiped by Christians is Triune, Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Clearly, Mary is not the mother of the Father or the Holy Ghost.
The Scripture calls Mary “blessed among women” (though Jael, was given the same designation in Judges), but she is never referred to as “Mother of God”.
I am quite sure that if Mary, a holy and humble woman, worthy of our admiration, but not veneration, is aware of the veneration she receives that belongs to God alone, and the icons of her that are prayed to and offered sacrifices, she is grieved by it.
Doesn't matter. Once the government is allowed to punish crimes more severely because of the supposed motivations of the crimes, the government is policing thought.
It might not “matter” to you BUT it “matters” a great deal to God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit...
and it definitely “matters” to our Holy Virgin Mother Mary!
“government is policing thought?”
Decapitation of a religious figure is not “thought”
It is a blasphemous act!
“As Mary was truly the mother of Jesus, and as Jesus was truly God from the first moment of His conception, Mary is truly the mother of God. Even the earliest Fathers did not hesitate to draw this conclusion as may be seen in the writings of St. Ignatius [72], St. Irenaeus [73], and Tertullian [74].” http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15464b.htm
“slander?” I DID NOT SLANDER YOU, genius...
I simply asked a question...
but like I learned while i was in Viet Nam “if you're getting flak, you're over the target!”
Class Dismissed!
Is abortion a hate crime????
>>We’re not talking about spray painting a wall or “rolling” someone’s yard. We’re talking about the DECAPITATION of an image of the MOTHER OF GOD!
Or maybe you don’t believe the Virgin Mother Mary was & is the Mother of Our Lord, Jesus Christ...<<
It is just as bad as the ongoing destruction of Buddhist and Hindu artifacts in Afghanistan and Pakistan by Islamic Zealots. Islamic Zealots are just as bad as the Atheist Zealots in this respect.
Of course the left is silent on both accounts, go figure.
Destruction of Religious artifacts even if they are from a religion you don’t subscribe to is still a bad thing as it wipes out a part of history.
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