Arkansas
Arkansas parish hit by multiple vandalism incidents
CNA Newsroom, Jul 26, 2024 / 14:20 pm
Police are investigating after a parish in Arkansas was struck by three vandalism incidents in recent months, including the destruction of a statue of Mary on the parish grounds.
Father Joseph Chan, the pastor at St. Leo Church in Hartford, Arkansas, told CNA that the incidents of vandalism began early last year. The parish is part of the Diocese of Little Rock.
“The first was on February 26, 2023,” he said. “Our St. Leo sign and notification board had words/letters removed/jumbled to reflect body parts; for example, the letter ‘M’ was removed from the word ‘Mass’.”
“The second was on March 10, 2024, which involved graffiti to our sacristy door,” the pastor said. “Sprayed was a racial slur commonly directed towards African Americans.”
The most recent incident occurred on July 13. “Toppled to the ground were an angel and Mary statues,” Chan said. “Mary’s neck was broken. The statue of Jesus was seemingly untouched.”
“All three incidents happened within 18 months,” the priest noted.
Law enforcement is investigating the crimes.
“Police were notified but no suspects were identified tied to the vandalism to our knowledge,” Chan said.
The pastor said parishioners have suffered “sadness” over the incidents.
Mary Radley, a parishioner of the church, told the Arkansas Catholic this week that the parish has “filed with our insurance company to see how much money we will have to repair the damage.”
Chan, meanwhile, told the local outlet that “all parishes should have some sort of safeguards against vandalism,” but ”because it is the work of evil, prayer is the best antidote.”
Multiple Catholic parishes and holy sites have suffered vandalism in the U.S. in recent months and years.
A statue of the Blessed Mother in a prayer garden on the grounds of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception was damaged by an assailant earlier this year.
Catholic churches, schools, and cemeteries throughout the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, meanwhile, were targeted by pro-abortion vandalism ahead of a major statewide vote on abortion laws.
Catholic facilities in Texas and Colorado were also targeted last year with vandalism.
(Story continues below)
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Florida Sen. Marco Rubio told EWTN News in March that the numerous attacks against Catholic churches are “not a focus or [has] the attention of [the Biden administration] or this Justice Department.”
“They can’t find a single person or any of these people that were responsible for these, what is a pretty concerted effort to attack Catholic churches in America,” Rubio said.
Daniel Payne is a senior editor at Catholic News Agency. He previously worked at the College Fix and Just the News. He lives in Virginia with his family.
Arkansas
OPINION | WALLY HALL: Arkansas will need more than Robinson’s coerced contribution | Arkansas Democrat Gazette
Wally Hall
Wally Hall is assistant managing sports editor for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. A graduate of the University of Arkansas-Little Rock after an honorable discharge from the U.S. Air Force, he is a member and past president of the Football Writers Association of America, member of the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, past president and current executive committee and board member of the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame, and voter for the Heisman Trophy. He has been awarded Arkansas Sportswriter of the Year 10 times and has been inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame and Arkansas Sportswriters and Sportscasters Hall of Fame.
Will Garrett Nussmeier’s size hold him back in the NFL?
LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier will look to impress scouts at the NFL Combine despite size concerns.
Move over, Anthony Richardson. There’s a new quarterback athletic marvel at the NFL scouting combine.
On Saturday in Indianapolis, Arkansas’ Taylen Green broke Richardson’s top marks at the position since 2003 for both the vertical leap and broad jump. Green’s 43½-inch vertical topped Richardson’s previous high by three inches, while his 11-2 broad jump beat the Indianapolis Colts signal-caller’s measurement by five inches.
Then, Green reeled off a 4.36-second 40-yard dash time. That stood as the second-best time for any quarterback since 2003, trailing only Reggie McNeal in 2006 (4.35 seconds). Richardson, for comparison, logged a 4.43-second mark in 2023.
Green didn’t even bother with a second attempt after his initial time.
The testing profile created quite the stir around the 6-6, 227-pound passer, who had widely projected as a developmental option for teams on Day 3.
NFL Network’s Charles Davis said Green told him that no teams had approached him about working out as a receiver, adding that he would not be interested in a position switch.
Green started for the Razorbacks for the last two seasons after playing the first three years of his career at Boise State. Known for his running ability and ample arm strength, Green threw for 2,714 yards and 19 touchdowns last year while adding 777 yards and eight scores on the ground.
It was a banner day for Arkansas, as running back Mike Washington Jr. also stood out among his peers with a group-leading 4.33-second 40-yard dash as well as strong marks in the vertical leap (39 inches) and broad jump (10-8).
Rex Nelson
Rex Nelson has been senior editor and columnist at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette since 2017, and he has a biweekly podcast called “Southern Fried.”
After graduating from Ouachita Baptist University in 1981, he was a sportswriter for the Arkansas Democrat for a year before becoming editor of Arkadelphia’s Daily Siftings Herald. He was the youngest editor of a daily in Arkansas at age 23. Rex was then news and sports director at KVRC-KDEL from 1983-1985.
He returned to the Democrat as assistant sports editor in 1985. From 1986-1989, he was its Washington correspondent. He left to be Jackson T. Stephens’ consultant.
Rex became the Democrat-Gazette’s first political editor in 1992, but left in 1996 to join then-Gov. Mike Huckabee’s office. He also served from 2005-09 in the administration of President George W. Bush.
From 2009-2018, he worked stints at the Communications Group, Arkansas’ Independent Colleges and Universities, and Simmons First National Corp.
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