Brooklyn has been hit by a wave of anti Catholic attacks in recent weeks.
Firstly, a statue of the Virgin Mary was attacked last October with the head being cracked.
Then, a statue of Blessed Jerzy Popiełuszko was desecrated in McCarren Park, with the phrase ‘No Polish’ written on it.
Now, the attackers have upped the ante and ransacked a statue of Christ at St. Athanasius Church, an historically Italian Church.
Father David Cassoto said: ‘This was truly an act of hatred, and today is the saddest day of my twenty years here at this parish’.
Police reported that the anti Catholic thug who carried out the act had jumped the fence before smashing it and then setting fire to an American flag on the grounds of the church.
In response, Italian American Catholics are running patrols in order to prevent any further attacks.
The NYPD met with children who were traumatised by the terror attack.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is Italian American, released a statement saying:
I am disgusted to learn that St. Athanasius Church, a historically Italian American place of worship in Brooklyn, has been vandalized. These acts of hate should offend and outrage every New Yorker, and I want the Bensonhurst community to know we will do everything we can to bring the cowardly vandals responsible for this to justice. Hate has no place in our state, and as New Yorkers we celebrate our diversity.
Father Cassoto sent a message of hope, saying:
I went over and spoke to the students in the school about what happened, telling them that hate never wins. We are, and must be, a community that continues to share the message of Easter, that which is of love, hope, and forgiveness.
He said that he ‘admired’ Pope Benedict XVI.