The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts today called upon Bay State Attorney General Martha Coakley to undertake a hate crime investigation following the vandalism of a religious statue in the Dorchester district of Boston.
A statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, located in front of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta Parish, at Saint Margaret’s Church, was decapitated and knocked off its pedestal in the early hours of Sunday morning, January 22nd.
The Catholic Action League called the vandalism a “malevolent act of destruction …. directed at an institution that has served the spiritual, charitable, and educational needs of the Dorchester and South Boston communities for more than a century.”
In his letter to the Attorney General, Catholic Action League Executive Director C. J. Doyle stated: “It is unlikely that this vandalism was a mere juvenile prank. The damage done to the statue required considerable application of force, probably accompanied by some weapon or instrument. Nor was the statue in some obscure location frequented by delinquent teenagers. The statue was in public sight at one of the busiest intersections in the City of Boston, the corner of Columbia Road and Dorchester Avenue. The person or persons responsible undertook a significant risk of identification and apprehension to carry out their crime.”
Doyle urged Coakley to “treat this incident as a potential hate crime and use the resources of your office to apprehend and prosecute the perpetrators.”
