Repeated Cross Vandalism: Figure of Jesus Cut into Pieces
On August 5, a cross in the fields of the Polish village Kościuki was vandalised again, following two previous incidents. This time, the vandals also cut up the figure of Jesus, which was attached to the cross, and threw the pieces in the bushes. The local community is shocked about the anti-religious hatred displayed by the act.
There are about 10 stone crosses in the village, some of which were made before the World Wars and are considered by the locals to be cultural and national heritage.
Two weeks ago, one of them was refuted and the residents not only repaired the cross, but also attached to it a small statue of Jesus. "At the time, we thought it was the wind or the fault of the Roads Authority staff who were working in the area at the time." says Mr. Dariusz Śliwonik, councillor of the municipality of Choroszcz.
Kościuki belongs to the same village where the statue of Mary was vandalised at the end of July (OIDAC reported), including eyes gouged out and hands cut off. The incident has shocked the local community. “After what happened in the neighbouring village, we began to speculate that someone was going around and vandalising the religious object.“
Two days after the repair, the cross was broken again, and the figure was thrown into the bushes. The religious symbol was repaired again, and the next day the locals found the cross again defaced. It was not only the concrete cross that was damaged. The figure of Jesus, which was attached to the cross, was also destroyed. “Someone, in my opinion, had cut it with an angle or something similar. The hands and feet of Jesus were cut off," says a local government official. Residents recall that such a thing has never happened, even in the war. The councillor said that the case has been reported to the police.
The Municipal Office in Choroszcz states: “There is no consent to any acts of vandalism, much less to destroy symbols or religious artifacts."
UPDATE August 16, 2024:
The perpetrator was caught by the police. During the investigation, he admitted that he was a non-believer and that his behaviour was, as he put it, "to make amends to God for what had happened to him in life".
The metropolitan curia in Bialystok underlined that every act of desecration is an expression of disrespect for believers and their values and opposes the principle of religious freedom.
Source: Polskie Radio 24; Dziennik.pl
Picture: Private