Vandalism Continues At New York City's Catholic Parishes
There is something in the world that hates the Catholic Church.
In the last six months, four Catholic churches in New York City have been vandalized, and St. Patrick's Cathedral was invaded during Mass for the second time this year. Here are the data.
June 11, 2024—St. Dominic's Church (Bensonhurst, Brooklyn)
Incident: A hammer-wielding man attacked the statues of Mother Teresa and St. John XXIII outside of the church, destroying both their faces. He proceeded to damage the glass doors of the church.
Result: Randy Maldonado Avila was arrested for this incident. Maldonado Avila has "a history of mental health issues."
Hate Crime: Not charged as a hate crime
June 30, 2024—Holy Family Church (Flushing, Queens)
Incident: At around 5:00 A.M., a man stopped his taxi on the other side of the street from the church. He then ran across the street and struck a statue of the baby Jesus multiple times leaving it headless.
Result: Jamshaid Choudhry was arrested for this incident.
Hate Crime: Choudhry was charged with criminal mischief as a hate crime and other related crimes.
September 24, 2024—Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church (Jamaica, Queens)
Incident: A bearded man in a red t-shirt and baseball jumped over the fence and repeatedly struck the statue of the Virgin Mary outside of the rectory. The man proceeded to break the hands of the statue.
Result: Suspect at large
Hate Crime: NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating the incident.
October 6, 2024—St. Frances Cabrini Shrine (Washington Heights, Manhattan)
Incident: A man used black spray paint to deface the statue of Christ with profanity and strange markings. He proceeded to spray paint more profanity on the wall of the church and covered the face of the statue of St. Frances Cabrini with more black spray paint.
Result: Suspect at large
Hate Crime: NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating the incident.
October 22, 2024—St. Therese of Lisieux Church (East Flatbush, Brooklyn)
Incident: A man wearing an orange headscarf used a brick to smash the hands of the Virgin Mary and break the cross from the hand of St. Therese.
Result: Suspect at large
Hate Crime: NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating the incident.
On Easter Sunday, a group of protesters invaded St. Patrick's Cathedral during the Saturday night Easter Mass. Standing front and center, they unfurled a banner with a depiction of an olive tree and the inscription, SILENCE = DEATH. They were screaming, "Free Palestine;" their allies were heard shouting similar chants from the street.
In February, at a funeral service at St. Patrick's Cathedral, men dressed as women and women dressed as men. They turned out to honor Cecilia Gentili. He was a man who falsely claimed to be a woman. He was an illegal alien, a drug addict, a prostitute, trans activist and an atheist. At the service, many of these activists dressed as hookers, danced in the aisles, sang "Ave Cecilia" when "Ave Maria" was sung, and shouted, "St. Cecilia, Mother of All Whores."
With the exception of the first incident, all of these crimes are the work of hate-filled anti-Catholic bigots. They are sending a message to Catholics. Regrettably, too many Catholics—clergy, religious and lay alike—continue to treat such attacks as if they were merely unfortunate episodes. They are not. Those who resort to violence and desecration know exactly what they are doing.
William Donohue is president of the Catholic League.