Despite the shock of a vandalism attack on Monday, the church and school community of St Joseph’s in the Sydney suburb of Rockdale is drawing strength from an outpouring of prayers and support. Source: The Catholic Weekly.
The school was locked down as a precaution on Monday afternoon after reports circulated of a young man attacking a memorial garden adjoining the school grounds.
He damaged Christmas lights, plants, statues, and wooden crosses, moved a bench and placed one of the crosses upside down on top of the bench.
He had left the scene before police arrived, but media later reported a man was taken to Kogarah Police Station and charged with destroy or damage to property. He was given conditional bail and is scheduled to appear before Sutherland Local Court on December 15.
News of the violence quickly spread online, with some commentators calling it an attack on the Christian faith.
Parish priest Fr Yacub Barkat said he was shocked at by the extent of the vandalism but relieved that a statue of Our Lady in the garden had remained unharmed.
“I never thought something like this would happen here,” he said. “This is a peaceful area, where we respect each other’s beliefs.”
“The church is always a place of God’s presence, and should be treated as such,” he added.
“[The person who did this] is unknown to us, but we should pray for him.”
He also expressed his gratitude towards the overwhelming number of people, including Coptics, Maronites, Macedonians, and Protestant members of the community, who came to show solidarity with the church and school. Together they organised a prayer vigil to be held at the church on Friday.
“It is a good sign that during times of hardship, we can come together and pray,” Fr Barkat said.
The following day staff and students returned to school and parishioners replaced the broken lights and replanted broken roses.
“Any attack on a place of worship is deeply troubling, because these places exist for prayer and peace, solace and sanctuary,” said a spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Sydney.
“We ask for prayers for the perpetrator, the St Joseph’s community and anyone else affected by [the] events.”
FULL STORY
Priest urges prayer and hope after church vandalism (By Elizabeth Nunes, The Catholic Weekly)
