AN
LUIS, Colo. (AP) – Members of the parish of the Sangre de Christo Roman
Catholic Church planned to vote Sunday on whether to ask authorities to
file charges against Mormon missionaries who allegedly damaged a shrine.
The Pueblo Chieftain reported that church members saw photos on the Web
showing the Mormons in the shrine.
Mormon missionary officials said the three missionaries involved would
be disciplined.
Members of the Sangre de Christo parish built the Shrine of the Mexican
Martyrs, which has become a popular tourist attraction. No damage
estimate was available.
Corporal Scott Powell of the Costilla County Sheriff’s office said the
men could face up to six charges, including felonies for criminal
mischief and conspiracy.
A commenter has a link to a more in depth story about the vandalism which occurred in 2006.
6 comments
Well, so much for their clean cut, clean living reputation. Did the article say what damage they did to the shrine?
More information http://www.chieftain.com/metro/1205046377/1
Why no hate crime charges? This was a crime against Christians after… oh, nevermind.
I can’t tell if the missionaries actually physically damaged anything. The article is quite vague about what the missionaries actually did, except show photos of them preaching and holding a severed head from a statue.
The article is poor reporting, such as saying, “Townspeople since found the head had been placed back on the statue.” Since when? There is no allegation that the missionaries actually got a chainsaw and cut off the head of the statue, or took it with them for a while, etc., which leads me to wonder if it was already severed, and the article is perhaps being intentionally vague to maximize impact.
In any event, if the Missionaries actually did deface property they should face charges appropriate to the situation. If they were being boorish and mocking, there is no crime except against God, which is serious for Catholics and Mormons. My past experience with the Mormon Church leads me to believe that they will be severely rebuked for the offense they have given. This kind of thing has happened before, most especially in Asia where Missionaries understand less the sacredness of various Asian religious places and monuments. These boys will likely be sent home and be totally humiliated within their communities. They will have a hard couple of years ahead of them.
To be fair — and I don’t want to be fair, but here goes — I think this is less a case of Mormon missionaries committing sacrilege, as it is a case of immature bored boys (who just happened to be missionaries) committing sacrilege.
The fact that they’re displaying all their prejudices (pretty racist as well as anti-Catholic, I’d say) is par for the course. I guess we should be glad they weren’t medical students.
This is what happens when they don’t get enough curelom in their diets.