The Statue of the Madonna Vandalized

Case information
Incident date
Country
Italy
Place
Vecchiano
Categories
  • Social Hostility / Intolerance
Attack Against
  • Faith
Perpetrator / Motive Indicators
  • Private
Hate Crime & Violent Incidents
  • Vandalism (all)
  • Insult or Incitement
Religious Freedom / Discrimination
  • Censorship or Removal of Public Christian Symbols
  • Other (text field)
Place of Incident
  • Church
Bias Indicators
  • Comments/Written Statements/Gestures/Graffiti
  • Significance of Property/Structure/Location to religious community
Reported to Police
  • Unknown
Response of Local Authorities
  • Unknown

A few days before the 18th August, the parish priest Don Franco Nannipieri discovered the act of vandalism in the oratory of the church. The Statue of the Madonna had a plastic basket stuck on her head. They suspect that the vandals were a group of children. The mayor showed his solidarity with the victims and wrote on Facebook about the importance of teaching respect to children.

The mayor says "I wanted to greet Don Franco and apologise personally to him on behalf of the community I represent for these actions that do not find any kind of plausible justification. I believe that such gestures are always unspeakable, even more so in this context, in which Don Franco is always willing to welcome children and families to make these spaces available, to spend a few hours in serenity, especially valuable in times like the one we are experiencing.''

Sources