Another Week, Another Hate Attack on a Catholic Church, More Mayoral Silence
New York— 08/18/21 —
On Tuesday, August 17th at St. Michael’s Roman Catholic Church in Flushing, Queens where a statue of St. Bernadette was deliberately destroyed. The statue of St. Bernadette and Our Lady of Lourdes had recently been dedicated in memory of those lost to the Coronavirus.
The attack on St. Michael’s is only the latest in a disturbing rise in hate crimes targeting Catholic Churches in New York City:
During the weekend of August 6th, a statue of Our Lady was set on fire at Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Mary Church in The Bronx.
On July 17, a statue of the Blessed Mother, and St. Therese at Our Lady of Mercy Church in Forest Hills, Queens was destroyed. This was the second attack on the statues in a week.
On May 28, the Blessed Mother statue at St. Adalbert’s in Queens was smashed.
On May 17, a Crucifix was destroyed at St. Athanasius Roman Catholic Church in Bensonhurst.
On May 15, a vandal destroyed the statues of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and the Sacred Heart of Jesus outside Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Staten Island.
The Mayor has been very quick to publicly and rightly condemn acts of faith targeting other faiths. However, we can not help but notice the disturbing, deafening silence from the Mayor concerning heinous acts of hate targeting Catholics. We are reminded of the Roman legal maxim “Qui Tacet Consentire Videtur”, “He Who is Silent is Taken to Agree”.
The Ancient Order of Hibernians condemn both this wave of vandalism and the selective outrage by the Mayor and elected officials. We urge our members to contact Mayor Bill de Blasio and let him know that there can be no tolerance for acts of hate targeting people of any faith, nor can there be a double standard of outrage.
Mayor de Blasio’s office can be reached at 212-639-9675.
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James Russell,
Catholic Action Chairperson: