On Saturday, arrests were made in two separate incidents of vandalism at Catholic churches within the Diocese of Brooklyn, New York. One of the incidents occurred at Resurrection Church in Brooklyn, where a white marble statue of the Blessed Mother was defaced with black graffiti. The word “fake” was graffitied on the statue, along with an upside-down cross. Jonathan Bulik, a 37-year-old resident of Brooklyn, was charged in connection with the attack. In a separate incident on Saturday, the same individual who was allegedly involved in the desecration of St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church in Astoria in early June was once again implicated. During the June 5 incident, the accused individual, identified as Bonilla, reportedly vandalized the church by destroying framed photos of Pope Francis and Brooklyn Bishop Robert Brennan. Additionally, he is said to have poured paint thinner on the basement floor and dressed himself up in priestly vestments.
National Catholic Register reports:
Arrests were made Saturday in two separate vandalism incidents at Catholic churches in the Diocese of Brooklyn, New York.
At Resurrection Church in Brooklyn, a white marble statue of the Blessed Mother was spray-painted with black graffiti on her face, shoulders and hands.
The word “fake” was written on the statue as well as what appears to be an upside-down cross, a symbol not seldomly seen in vandalism incidents on Catholic sites.
Jonathan Bulik, 37, of Brooklyn, was charged with criminal mischief as a hate crime in connection with the attack. He was seen spray-painting the statue by two parishioners who stopped him in the act on Saturday, according to The Tablet, the diocese’s news outlet.
Another incident occurred on Saturday at St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church in Astoria by the same man who allegedly desecrated the church in early June.
On July 8, Jaime Bonilla walked into the church and began “acting erratically, disturbing the youth choir practice, and frightening the children,” the diocese said in a statement Saturday.
No one was hurt, and no damage was caused to the church, the diocese said.
The police were called, and the 22-year-old from Queens was arrested and charged with criminal mischief in connection with the vandalism incident in June.
During the incident on June 5, Bonilla allegedly destroyed framed photos of Pope Francis and Brooklyn Bishop Robert Brennan. In addition, he spread paint thinner on the basement floor and dressed up in priestly vestments, a June statement from the Diocese of Brooklyn said.
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