On July 13, 2020, Religion News Service published an article on a "[f]ire that destroyed roof of the San Gabriel Mission" in San Gabriel, California. Quoted below is from the article [1]:
The fire occurred amid public scrutiny of [Junipero] Serra, an 18th-century Franciscan priest, who was canonized by Pope Francis in 2015. While credited with spreading the Catholic faith on the West Coast, Serra is viewed by many as the agent of an imperial conquest that enslaved Native Americans.
Protesters have toppled [Junipero] Serra statues in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Sacramento.
...
Yve Chavez, a professor at UC Santa Cruz, feared the fire could have damaged artwork that needs to be further studied. She said according to other scholars, there were murals created by Native people within the church that had been painted over at some point in history. "More research needs to be done to investigate that element," she said.
This particular church at the San Gabriel Mission was one of a few built out of stone instead of adobe, said Chavez, whose research focuses on Indigenous art of Southern California and the missions. The architecture was not meant to withstand an earthquake-prone environment and, as a result, had been damaged over the years, she said, noting the roof that burned was not original to the structure.
"What we see now post-fire and even before the fire is not reflective of what Native people would have experienced way back in the late 18th and early 19th centuries when the Franciscans had control over the missions," Chavez said. "It is an old building, but it has certainly gone through various phases of restoration."
Even so, as a descendant of Tongva, Chavez expressed concerned about the fate of the church structure.
She said these buildings are unique to California.
"It's the Native people who did the work. They were the ones who found the materials. They would have had to quarry the stone to build the stone walls. ... It's really the product of Indigenous labor and their ability to adapt to new construction techniques," she said.
"As a Native person whose ancestors lived and worked and died at this mission, I was upset to think that something my ancestors built would no longer be there for us to recognize," Chavez added.
2. Decapitation of the head of a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Tennessee:
On July 15, 2020, Catholic News Service published an article entitled Statue of Virgin Mary beheaded at Tennessee parish. Quoted below is from the article [2]:
The decapitation of the Blessed Mother statue at St. Stephen occurred on the same weekend as several other high-profile acts of vandalism at Catholic churches across the country, including the desecration of statues of the Virgin Mary. In Boston, a statue of Mary was set on fire, and in Brooklyn, a statue was tagged with the word “IDOL” in black spray paint.
3. Decapitation of the head of a statue of Jesus Christ in Florida:
On July 15, 2020, 7 News Miami published an article entitled Statue of Jesus Christ decapitated, knocked off pedestal outside SW Miami-Dade church. Quoted below is from the article [3]:
A statue of Jesus Christ was found beheaded and knocked off its pedestal outside of a Southwest Miami-Dade church, and the Archdiocese of Miami believes the incident was not an accident.
The statue was found decapitated and moved from its pedestal outside Good Shepherd Catholic Church, Wednesday morning.
...
The Archdiocese of Miami released a statement that reads, “The Archdiocese of Miami expects the police to investigate this desecration of the Jesus Christ statue as a hate crime. This crime reflects the increasing attacks on the Catholic church across the country.”
In China, the state removes statues and crosses from churches. Catholic News Agency reported as follows [4]:
As the Chinese government makes progress containing the COVID-19 pandemic, authorities have resumed action to remove crosses from buildings and crackdown on religious practice.
Here is a You Tube video of the removal of statues from Our Lady of Seven Sorrows Shrine in Shanxi, China, in 2018. [5] Before the removal here is a You Tube video of the shrine in 2017. [6]
[1] https://religionnews.com/2020/07/13/fire-that-destroyed-roof-of-the-san-gabriel-mission-remains-under-investigation/
[2] https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/statue-of-virgin-mary-beheaded-at-tennessee-catholic-parish-74407
[3] https://wsvn.com/news/local/statue-of-jesus-christ-decapitated-knocked-off-pedestal-outside-sw-miami-dade-church/
[4] https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/chinese-government-resumes-removal-of-crosses-from-church-buildings-47792
[5] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CccCL_QVJw
[6] https://youtu.be/JGc75wwoces?t=407
UPDATE 7-22-2020:
Catholic News Agency reported damages that took place at Catholic churches across the United States in a July 20, 2020, article entitled Attacks on Catholic statues continue over weekend. Link to the article: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/weekend-sees-more-attacks-on-catholic-church-statues-across-us-26486
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