Since May of 2020, there has been a distinct rise in attacks on Catholic churches in the United States. There have been so many – mostly instances of arson or property damage – that the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has started tracking them, with the number currently resting at 346 incidents across 43 states.
While many of the headlines focus on the damage, it has become refreshing to see the follow-up reports of Catholic communities banding together to fix the damage and grow closer as a community in faith. That’s exactly what happened at Holy Family Roman Catholic Church in Queens, New York, where a 42-year-old statue was beheaded in June.
On June 30, a man stopped his taxi across the street from the church in order to approach a statue of the Child Jesus that was positioned at the forefront of images of the Holy Family. The man struck the statue of Jesus until its head broke off before fleeing the scene. According to CBS, he was later arrested and charged with a hate crime.
In the video report, featured above, the statue can be seen fully restored and back in its place at the front of the church property. The restoration job was completed so well that it’s hard to even notice that there was any damage to the statue at all. Father Sean Sukiel, parish priest at Holy Family, noted that there was never a question about whether they would restore the statue:
"It just gets tiring when this happens to us, but we're not going to let [it] ruin our faith. We're going to keep coming back and we're not going to remove our statues. We're not going to start hiding our statues. No, this is our property and we're proud of our faith," Fr. Sukiel said.
When asked if the parish holds any hard feelings against the vandal, Fr. Sukiel went on to express that the parish wants justice, but they do forgive the man. He said:
“...we hope and pray that whatever it is that he's going through, that he finds peace in his own heart and his own life," Fr. Sukiel added.
On hand for the rededication of the statue was Bishop Robert Brennen of the Diocese of Brooklyn. He commented to CBS that the vandalism was “kind of small” when compared to the sufferings many Christians experience for their faith, all over the world. The bishop celebrated Mass with the parishioners of Holy Family, after which he blessed the statue and tied the day’s readings in with the vandalism:
"Well, you know the scriptures that came to us today were from the prophet Isaiah. He said, 'Say to those who are frightened, fear not, be strong. Your God is here to save you.' And that statue says it so eloquently and we say it to one another," Bishop Brennan said.
