Catholic News Service
MIAMI - The behead- ing of a statue of Christ at a Catholic church in the Miami Archdiocese has saddened the parish community of Good Shepherd Church and prompted Miami Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski to call on law enforcement to investi- gate the incident as a hate crime. On July 15, the statue at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Southwest Miami- Dade was found with its head chopped off and knocked from its pedestal. "It is too soon to arrive to any conclusion, but we have seen other churches vandal- ized around the country. We totally 'condemn' this action. We invite our community to pray for peace," parish of- ficials said in a statement. "The statue, located out- side the church, was on pri- vate and sacred property," said Mary Ross Agosta, di- rector of communications for the Archdiocese of Miami. She told the local Fox News affiliate Archbishop Wenski requested investigators con- sider the vandalism "a hate crime." The Department of Home- land Security is among the agencies investigating the case. In recent weeks around the country, angry mobs have toppled statues of figures such as St. Junipero Serra, a Franciscan priest from Spain who founded several missions in California. Stat- ues of historical figures, like Christopher Columbus, Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Freder- ick Douglass, also have been knocked down and heavily damaged. A wave of recent attacks on Catholic statues includes an unidentified person using red paint to deface a statue of Mary in front of St. Mary's Cathedral in downtown Colo- rado Springs, Colorado, July 15. "It does look like a graf- fiti tag more than anything else," Father David Price, the cathedral's rector, told local reporters. "I'm not sure there was any sense or meaning behind it." In the Diocese of Knox- ville, Tennessee, Father Manuel Perez, pastor of St. Stephen Catholic Church in Chattanooga, found a statue of Mary on the par- ish grounds knocked over and beheaded. News reports said the 5-foot-tall statue was worth $2,000. The missing head has not been found. As in Florida, the Depart- ment of Homeland Security is looking into the incident as a possible hate crime. "Anytime something like this happens it is disappoint- ing and concerning," said Di- ocese of Knoxville diocesan spokesman Jim Wogan in a statement. "We don't know if this was the targeted des- ecration of a sacred statue, or some kind of misguided prank, but it hurts. "For whatever reason we are living in a very chaotic time and anger seems to be the default setting for peo- ple," he added. "Our bishop has asked that we live by the example set in the Gospel of Matthew, to treat others as we ourselves would want to be treated." Knoxville Bishop Rich- ard F. Stika tweeted about the incident July 13, saying "what a strange time" we live in. "Over the weekend, an outdoor statue of the Blessed Mother was beheaded at St. Stephen Parish in Chatta- nooga. This is occurring at various spots throughout the United States." A statue of Mary was found defaced July 10 on the grounds of Cathedral Prep School and Seminary in the Diocese of Brooklyn, New York. Father James Kuroly, Cathedral Prep's rector and president, called the incident "an act of hatred." "Obviously, this tragedy saddens us deeply," he said in a statement, "but it also renews our hope and faith in the Lord as he has shown his goodness in the many people who have already reached out to us." He urged prayers "for those who committed this act of vandalism and hatred toward Our Lady and the church." Police in Boston were like- wise investigating a fire that damaged a statue of Mary outside St. Peter Church the evening of July 11. News re- ports said flowers in Mary's hands were set on fire, caus- ing damage from her arms up to her face. Fire also claimed much of two Catholic churches, one in Florida and one in California. In the Diocese of Orlando, Florida, a man crashed his van through the doors of Our Lady Queen of Peace Church in Ocala early in the morn- ing July 11. Once inside, he set the interior of the church ablaze. There were no inju- ries reported. Police later apprehended the suspect who had fled the scene, identified as Anthony Steven Shields, 24, who was charged with several felo- nies, including attempted second-degree murder, arson to a structure and felony flee- ing or attempting to elude. In Los Angeles a fire rav- aged Mission San Gabriel Arcngel church in the pre- dawn hours of July 11. Inves- tigators have not yet deter- mined what started the blaze that gutted the 230-year-old church.
THE RECORD JULY 23, 2020 NATION / WORLD WWW.THERECORDNEWSPAPER.ORG 3
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Court orders Trump administration to accept new DACA applications
WASHINGTON - A federal judge July 17 ordered the Trump administration to begin accepting new applications for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA. Judge Paul W. Grimm of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland said his order "restores the DACA policy to its pre-Sept. 5, 2017, status," referring to the day the Trump administration announced it would rescind the program. The federal court's decision came four weeks after the Supreme Court ruled in June that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program could stay in place, but not much has happened since that ruling. In the weeks since the June 18 ruling, President Donald Trump has been expected to refile paperwork that would start the process of dismantling the program according to the high court's requirements, but that hasn't happened. The administration also missed the July 16 deadline to file for a rehearing on the DACA ruling. But also since the court decision, the Trump administration has not ac- cepted any new DACA applications and has only processed renewal applications, leaving eligible participants to wait for the government to open up the process.
Catholic communities mourn death of federal judge's son killed at home
WASHINGTON - Schools and a Catholic parish in New Jersey expressed pain but also offered prayers fol- lowing the killing of 20-year-old Daniel Anderl, son of a federal judge, who was a student at The Catholic Univer- sity of America in Washington. He was fatally shot when a gunman entered the family home in North Brunswick Township, N.J., July 19. Mark Anderl, the husband of District Judge Esther Salas of U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey and Daniel's father, also was shot but is in stable condition. The New York Times reported July 20 that federal au- thorities suspect lawyer Roy Den Hollander as the shooter. Den Hollander, who has described himself as "anti-femi- nist," was found dead near Liberty, N.Y., a day after the shooting and authorities believe he killed himself, news outlets reported. He had argued a case before the judge. The family is said to be part of St. Augustine of Can- terbury Parish in Kendall Park, N.J. "It is with a heavy heart, and with much sadness that we regret to inform you that Danny Anderl, class of 2014, went home to be with the Lord yesterday," St. Augustine of Canterbury School said in a July 20 post on Facebook with a gradua- tion photo of Daniel. "Please keep Danny, his dad, and his mom, Judge Salas, in all of your thoughts and prayers at this sorrowful time. May Danny rest in peace in the lov- ing arms of our Lord, for all of eternity. We will miss you Danny; Heaven's newest Angel."
Stalling action on debt relief at G-20 meeting was sinful, advocate says
ROME - Advocates had hoped finance officials from the world's wealthiest nations would have done more to help desperately poor nations further struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the virtual meeting left many debt-related issues unresolved. Finance ministers and central bank governors from the G-20, the group of the 20 major economies in the world, met virtually July 18 to discuss the global economy, the pandemic and its impact. "Decisions on further debt payment suspensions, per- manent reductions of debt, trillions of dollars of needed aid and extending debt relief to more struggling countries will be left for meetings later this year," Eric LeCompte, executive director of Jubilee USA, said in a statement July 20. "We had hoped the debt payment suspension for the world's poorest countries would be continued into 2021 given the severity of the crisis." Instead, participants decided those issues would be considered in series of fall meetings. "For them to kick the decision to the fall or to the end of the year is sinful" when it is clear millions of people are suffering, LeCompte said.
AROUND THE WORLD
Statues vandalized around the nation
Attacks are being investigated as church leaders question motivation
CNS Photo courtesy Play It
Children performed for Pope Francis, who made a surprise visit to their summer program in the Vatican's Paul VI audience hall July 20. About 100 children of Vatican employees are attending the program this month. By CAROL GLATZ
Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY - When Zoe, 10, showed up late for summer camp at the Vatican, she did not expect to see Pope Francis there. "I froze because it was a surprise and I had never seen him before. I liked him a lot. I was very happy and I said 'hello,'" she told Vatican News. Zoe was one of about 100 children of Vatican employ- ees attending a summer camp for the month of July. The children start the day with breakfast in the Paul VI audience hall and, at 9 a.m. July 20, Pope Francis made a surprise visit, walking there alone from his residence, the Domus Sanctae Marthae. Salesian Father Franco Fontana, a chaplain at the Vatican overseeing the pro- gram, said he had just left to make photocopies when someone told him the pope was heading to the audience hall. The priest had a car, "so I got there before the pope" to be able to welcome him, he told Vatican News. "The kids were so stunned they stayed completely si- lent," he added. The pope greeted the chil- dren, who were finishing their breakfast, and asked them how they spent their day and if they were happy. Father Fontana said he was struck by the way the children interacted with the pope, sensing his openness, "simplicity and paternal na- ture." Pope Francis wanted the summer program to support employees with families giv- en the ongoing restrictions and fewer organized summer activities available during the global pandemic. The summer program, or- ganized by the Salesians and a private association, "Tutti in una Festa," offered the children activities such as swimming, tennis, basket- ball, games and walks in the Vatican Gardens, while re- specting Italian government protocols and recommen- dations for preventing the spread of the coronavirus. The pope also greeted each of the 22 camp counselors and posed for a group pho- to with everyone, before he walked back to his residence.
Pope makes surprise visit to kids camp
Pope wanted the camp for children of Vatican employees to support families amid restrictions
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