The St. Francois Xavier Roman Catholic Church just outside Winnipeg was vandalized over the weekend — with very little media coverage, despite the fact that the vandals remain on the loose.
“Suspects gained entry to church, smashed statues & used fire extinguisher inside the church. A vehicle was seen in the church parking lot at 1:00am,” the RCMP reports.
May 26: Roman Catholic Church in the RM of St-Francois-Xavier vandalized. Suspects gained entry to church, smashed statues & used fire extinguisher inside the church. A vehicle was seen in the church parking lot at 1:00am. Anyone with info should call #rcmpmb at (204)888-0358 pic.twitter.com/yxObuzw2mH
— RCMP Manitoba (@rcmpmb) May 27, 2019
It was the second act of vandalism at a church in the Winnipeg area in less than a week.
Police are asking anyone who may have seen anything to contact the local detachment (204) 888-0358, call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477, or submit a secure tip online.
Last week, “the head of a statue at the Sts. Vladimir and Olga Cathedral on McGregor Street was removed,” Global News reports. “The missing piece was later found in a duffel bag and returned to the church.”
A Catholic Church in Pennsylvania was also vandalized with pro-abortion graffiti last weekend.
The vandals had painted, “You do not have the right to decide how others live,” on the front door of the church and “#ProChoice” on the side of the building.
The Catholic News Agency notes that an incident in which a man threw a statue of Mary into the trash and damaged the statue at a Brooklyn parish was investigated as a hate crime by authorities in February.
It’s hard to imagine that these crimes would be so overlooked if any other faith had been the target.
