Truly, I have limited words for people who vandalize a Church at Christmas. I am not going to delve into armchair psychology of why this happened, it’s just that it happened, period.

This is yet another thing about current society that makes me truly sad. This is horrible, and wrong. This happened at St. Joseph’s in Downingtown.

From the church:

Father Leva’s statement:

Dear Parishioners,

As you arrive for Mass today, you will see that the statues around the church were vandalized overnight. St. Anthony, St. Joseph, Our Lady of Lourdes and the Holy Family Statue all suffered damage. Police have already been on-site and we are confident in their investigation.

Please keep the persons responsible for this vandalism in your prayers. We ask that God touch their hearts. For ourselves, we take a moment to thank God for the opportunity to practice forgiveness. His mercy is unending and as Christians, we are called to forgive as He forgives.

I am especially grateful that the Nativity was not harmed. Even in our cynical world, the miracle of the Nativity remains untouched.

In Christ,

Fr. Steve Leva

Surely, we can do better than this? Here’s hoping some local stone masons donate their skills to righting this wrong.