The Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Denver, Colorado, was vandalized on Sunday shortly before morning mass.
The vandals covered the beautiful brass front doors and stone columns in graffiti calling Catholic priests “child rapists,” left messages mocking Jesus and wrote “Satan lives here.”
The LGBT catchphrase “love wins” was also scrawled on a nearby statue of Pope John Paul II, according to a report from Fox News.
A witness submitted a statement about the vandalism to police — but no suspects have been taken into custody.
Crews are still working to remove the graffiti. A priest told me a witness submitted a statement to police. Working to find out whether @DenverPolice have identified any suspects. @DenverChannel pic.twitter.com/PRAnByPfKg
— Pattrik Perez (@PattrikPerez) October 10, 2021
“The cathedral basilica suffered similar vandalism in 2020 during the protests that swept the county in the wake of George Floyd’s death. On the same weekend fires were set to the parish house at St. John’s Episcopal Church, Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C., vandals spray-painted messages on church property such as ‘There is no God’ and ‘God is dead,'” the Fox report noted.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) reports that at least 97 acts of vandalism have occurred against Roman Catholic churches across 29 states since May 2020.
