Mary and Jesus Statue at St. Charles Borromeo Vandalized

By on June 16, 2015 8:56 pm in Brooklyn Heights

A vandal climbed over a fence and broke a statue of Mary holding the infant Jesus that stood in front of St. Charles Borromeo Church from its pedestal and left it lying on the ground. DNA Info has an image from surveillance video showing a man climbing over a fence toward the statue, while another man watches. This happened some time late last Thursday night or early Friday morning.

Image: CBS Local.

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  • PubliusBklyn

    Just awful. I’m not religious or Christian, but I’ve always loved that statue–it’s beautiful.

  • Willow Street Watch

    This outrage happened at 2:15 AM. I spoke to the rectory then I called several friends one at WINS and other broadcast outlets.Several friends called print media. Because you have to make noise when anything like this happens. Early on, he church said that they needed technical support to get the images on the church’s website.

    Clearly the church needs a far higher resolution video security system.
    They ALSO need a multi layered system which would prevent any and all intrusions into church property.

    People should be very angry no matter what your religious affiliation is.
    But the longer term response to this should be a serious cash award
    for the identities of these two bums. There should also be a fund established for the purchase, as above, of better video equipment and a top line area security system so that if any other monster tries to invade church grounds; all….heaven…..will break loose.

  • StudioBrooklyn

    Surely a tax-exempt organization like a church can come up with its own means of providing better security systems so that its pearl-clutching neighbors can go after conscientious fourteen-year-olds who carefully lay down statuettes like sleeping babies during their one-time brushes with mischief on a dare.

  • Willow Street Watch

    Your comments themselves are outrageous and reprehensible.
    The idea of such fund is to show community response to such
    Horrible act. The is NOT a matter of a school yard or town square
    graduation prank. This is defiling a HOLY OBJECT. What if
    these two pranksters had “defiled” a Torah? What do you think the
    Community response would be? What would your response would be
    then….this act need quick aprehension and prosecution. But it needs
    faster community response in no uncertain terms!

  • ShinyNewHandle

    I watched the surveillance video at the DNA Info link.

    Tell your teenagers to be on the lookout—the bystander was filming, so the footage may already have been posted to a social media site.

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlsiLOnWCoI Arch Stanton

    Probably the work of some ex Catholic School trauma victims…

  • Reggie

    I have always admired the statue as well. It reminds me of the statue best known from the novel, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, the cover of which shows it standing in Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah, Georgia.

  • Willow Street Watch

    Of all the Anti Catholic snide poisonous remarks!…

    Oh really? So this is understandable and excusable? Your comment like the equally callous studiobrooklyn above is ugly and at base mindless.

    Yes, I fully know about the depth of scandle in the (modernist) church.
    The more traditionalist elements of the Church have been fighting to
    Have this issue addressed for many, many years. And I know all too well
    What the effects of Jansenist elements in Catholic education had on
    Students and the Church at large.

    But nothing justifies, excuses, diminishes, or exculpates something like this..

    I wonder, if something like this happened at, say; St Thomas in Manhattan or St James on Madison, St Bart’s or any synagogue, would you be posting such a Blythe remark about THOSE places?

    I see, so adding insult to injury is just fine for/at St Charles….

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlsiLOnWCoI Arch Stanton

    Little you know, I went to the St Charles school.
    Also, I only postulated who may be a likely culprit, I never suggested they be excused for their misdeed.

  • StudioBrooklyn

    Did you watch the video? Carefully placing something in a sideways position before fleeing the scene giggling, and all while being about 14 years old is not exactly in line with my definition of “defiling”. I don’t know about you but I was 14 once, I went out and did harmless stupid things, and I didn’t end up a criminal.

    I see you place a lot of stock in what the statue represents. Let’s reflect on that before we start frothing at the mouth, shall we?

  • ShinyNewHandle

    Studio Brooklyn, this isn’t a lawn ornament, it is a sculpture that was affixed to a base. It is now *broken*. The perpetrators look 18 or older to me. I am not sure they are local. They could even be international visitors. You are not endearing yourself to anyone by excusing vandalism.

  • StudioBrooklyn

    The perps in the video look pretty young to me, so we’ll just have to speculate on that and check back later if they’re discovered. As for whether the statue was broken, I didn’t see that written anywhere, the photo in this post doesn’t show damage, and in the video the kid does seem to lay it down pretty carefully. Finally, I’m not excusing anything. I’m stating the position that WSW is overreacting, as would be anyone who wants to treat this as if it was a bank robbery.

  • ShinyNewHandle

    See the break (ten seconds in):

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDub3UrIzF8

    The kid had to rock it forward before rocking it back to break the statue from its base.

    WSW overreacts to everything (but is right about developers wanting to ring the Heights with highrises, and the shodding materials in some of the new construction in this town).

  • Willow Street Watch

    That’s a nice backpedal, but your basic statement remains callous and very disturbing especially in a situation such as this.

  • Willow Street Watch

    As I asked Arch Stanton below; what if someone defiled avenerated object at St Thomas or St James in Manhattan oor St Bart’s or what if this had been a Torah? Would you display the attitude you have under those circumstances? Would you trivalize or try to diminish
    an incident like this then? Sure you would….

  • StudioBrooklyn

    Ah, I see. In the surveillance video things looked very different. I will eat my words concerning the statue not being broken.

    HOWEVER–I maintain that the perps seem incredibly young and not particularly dangerous (in other words, I would be willing to bet that this is a one-time offense). I hope that if/when the two boys are discovered, those responsible for punishment will have the good sense not to hastily push them into “the system” and instead maybe hold them responsible for repairing the statue and issuing an apology or something like that. (My $0.02)

  • StudioBrooklyn

    Your interest in hypotheticals seems to be a bit off-topic, or at least in keeping with an ad-hominem line of argument. I suggest you drop it.

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlsiLOnWCoI Arch Stanton

    I wasn’t “backpedaling” just clarifying, since you seem yo have trouble with reading comprehension. “Callous and disturbing” I’ll take that as a complement, especially from you.

  • StudioBrooklyn

    Also, this: http://www.npr.org/2015/06/16/414831873/disagreeable-teens-fail-to-understand-their-blind-spots-research-reveals

    Some interesting light shed on the teenage brain that ought to be taken into consideration when reacting to their behavior. Remember, we were all teenagers once, our prefrontal lobes weren’t fully developed, and as a result we were operating with impaired judgment.

  • ShinyNewHandle

    StudioBrooklyn, whatever you did, I forgive you.

  • StudioBrooklyn

    Whew! That’s a relief. ;)

  • Andrew Porter

    Isn’t “Callous & Disturbing” affiliated with Dewey Cheetham & Howe?

    Hey, Arch, been away? Long time no post!

  • Willow Street Watch

    Not to argue with a source of such ugly disregard for Catholic
    sacred figures, but there’s nothing wrong with my insight into English content. And because of that I full recognize how wrongful it is to diminish or attempt to ascribe this terrible act to some kind of abuse by the church to one of these two perpatrarors.

    Again, would you say that another faith was somehow the root of a vile assault such as this? Then why with our Church?

  • Willow Street Watch

    Again, Mr porter his isn’t a joking matter. Your “humor” is badly misplaced here.

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlsiLOnWCoI Arch Stanton

    No, just busy with several projects.

  • skunky

    WSW is a troll, and not a particularly bright one either.

  • StudioBrooklyn

    I’m aware of that. I’m not particularly bright either, which is why I sometimes feel the need to respond.

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlsiLOnWCoI Arch Stanton

    I thought it was witty, What’s wrong with a little humor to lighten things up a bit, aye?

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlsiLOnWCoI Arch Stanton

    I doubt it was motivated by some other religion:
    I don’t see Jews having any big beef with the Catholics, and even if they did a simple act of vandalism would be far too lowbrow for them.
    Most Muslims would never do such a thing as they are very law abiding.
    Muslim extremists would have blown it up.
    Buddhists, couldn’t even conceive of doing any violent act.
    Hindus, same as Buddhists.
    That pretty much leaves the balance of the Christian faiths, While they my not like the Papists. It’s more of a “look down on them with scorn” than a threat that requires action.

    I still think it was an”Inside Job”…

  • StudioBrooklyn

    I was gonna say…this whole corner of my world of online distractions is at its best when people are cracking jokes.