January 6
Eugene, OR – Two notes, carrying a bomb threat and an anti-Catholic message, were stuck on the doors of two separate Catholic schools, canceling classes.
January 9
Philadelphia, PA – A burglar broke into a convent at Holy Family University. The burglar stole money and some of the nuns’ personal religious items.
January 11
Mechanicsburg, PA – The words “Exod. 20:4-6” were spray-painted on the walls of St. Joseph Catholic School. The biblical verse refers to the Commandment forbidding the worship of false idols. The vandals also knocked over a statue of St. Joseph, breaking the head off.
January 17
Kansas City, MO – Vandals busted the face on a statue of St. Bernadette, smashed a plaster relief of Jesus and the Blessed Virgin, and caved in the image of St. John at Redemptorist Catholic Church.
January 20
Cincinnati, OH – A van was stolen from two Catholic priests outside of a restaurant. The thief acted as a valet and drove off with the car when the priests handed him the keys.
January 23
Chicago, IL – The image of the Blessed Virgin was repeatedly defaced on an expressway underpass. February 6 Bridgeport, IL – An arsonist set fire to and duct-taped messages on the doors of St. Anthony Catholic Church. The messages “God is a Liar” and “Rape Happens Here” were taped onto the doors.
February 15
Protestant author Ray Comfort said, “The Vatican has chosen to officially believe Darwin rather than Jesus.” He accused the Catholic Church of failing to exercise “common sense” and of failing to think “too deeply” about evolution. Comfort didn’t mince words: “The Vatican, in essence, is saying ‘Don’t believe Jesus or Genesis. Believe Darwin instead.’” He even went so far as to say, “In the name of diversity, the Vatican is encouraging atheism, and that’s a terrible betrayal of Christianity.”
February 22
Washington, DC – A statue of the Blessed Mother on Copley Lawn at Georgetown University had its face painted black.
February 24
Upper Darby, PA – An 82-year-old nun suffered a fractured pelvis, injuries to her right eye and a facial cut that required stitches after she was robbed and beaten.
March 2
Huntington Village, NY – An ex-convict was arrested following several thefts at St. Patrick’s Church. The man had already stolen money from the church poor box, a purse from a parishioner and charity boxes from two nearby churches.
March 14
Hornell, NY – Two statues at St. Anne’s Church—one of the Blessed Mother and the other of St. Fiacre—had their heads broken off and were spray-painted. The police chief said that the vandals would face felony charges.
March 28
Bridgeton, NJ – Many statues were vandalized—including two of Jesus—in St. Mary’s Cemetery. A marble statue of Jesus carrying the cross had its wrist, hand and pieces of the cross smashed. One statue of Jesus was beheaded. The total cost of the damage was estimated at over $10,000.
March 30
Elizabethton, TN – A drunk man ran over a statue of the Virgin Mary outside of St. Elizabeth Church. The intoxicated man said he ran over the statue with his truck due to his dislike for organized religion.
April 4
Macon, GA – A man shouting profanities damaged a statue of the Virgin Mary and two concrete benches outside of St. Joseph Church.
April 6
Tulare, CA – During Holy Week, a red swastika—covering two square feet—was painted in front of St. Aloysius Church.
April 12
Great Falls, MT – A statue of the Blessed Virgin was damaged beyond repair outside of Our Lady of Lourdes Church on Easter morning.
April 12
Santa Monica, CA – A 55-year-old statue of the Virgin Mary was beheaded shortly before Easter services began at St. Monica Church.
April 24
Long Island City, NY – A disturbed man vandalized The Most Precious Blood Church twice on the same day. The man ransacked the church, overturning plants, breaking candles and a stained-glass window and destroying the tabernacle.
April 24
Springfield, PA – Two statues of Our Lady of Lourdes—one of which was marble—and a statue of a cross were damaged outside of Holy Cross Church. The marble statue had its nose, its hands and the cross from its Rosary broken off. The statue was valued at over $10,000.
April 25
Vero Beach, FL – A priest was attacked and stabbed in the confessional area of Holy Cross Church. The woman was later found not guilty by reason of insanity and was committed to a mental health facility.
May 9
Buena, NJ – A man rammed his truck into a donation box at St. Padre Pio Shrine. The man drove into the concrete casing of the safe, smashing the concrete, but was unable to open the donation box. The vandal caused $10,000 in damage.
May 15
Philadelphia, PA – A 60-year-old statue of St. Rita was defaced outside of the National Shrine of St. Rita of Cascia. June 4 Mt. Lebanon, PA – Vandals knocked a statue of the Blessed Virgin from its base, breaking pieces of its left side and painted “666” on the statue’s forehead outside of St. Bernard’s Catholic Church. The vandals also damaged the Rosary beads, which are left out for people to pray; they were torn apart and thrown about the grotto.
June 14
Palm Bay, FL – Vandals spray-painted swastikas and satanic symbols on Our Lady of Grace Church.
June 14
Green Bay, WI – A statue of St. Anthony of Padua was stolen from a chapel at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.
June 15
Charlotte, NC – Vandals spray-painted vulgar words and decapitated a statue of Jesus outside of St. Ann’s Church. The estimated cost of the damage was $4,500.
June 20
Mandarin, FL – Nine statues were vandalized outside of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church. A statue of St. Patrick, valued at over $30,000, was shattered and a statue of the Blessed Virgin, valued at over $22,000, was decapitated.
July 1
Pittsburgh, PA – Vandals knocked over 115 headstones causing tens of thousands of dollars in damage at Calvary Cemetery, which is overseen by the Catholic Cemeteries Association.
July 2
Staten Island, NY – The heads of St. Joseph and the Baby Jesus were knocked off a statue outside the Assumption Catholic Church.
July 5
Brockton, MA – Vandals threw two Molotov cocktails through the window of St. Edith Stein Church leaving some scorch marks on the floor.
August 5-6
New York, NY – The Catholic League’s website was hit with a “denial of service” attack. The attack also affected hundreds of other websites hosted by our web host, Catholic Online. After a check of the web server access logs, Catholic Online determined that we were the target of the attack. We filed a complaint with the FBI.
August 10
Macon, GA – A man was arrested after trying to steal money from a donations box at St. Joseph’s Church.
August 12
San Antonio, TX – A 97-year-old statue of St. Joseph and the Baby Jesus was vandalized in front of St. Anthony Catholic High School. The Baby Jesus was beheaded and St. Joseph was smashed in various places.
August 12
Wauwatosa, WI – The head of a statue of the Infant Jesus was knocked off and stolen from St. Joseph’s Church. It would cost the church $12,000 to replace the statue.
August 16
Cedarhurst, NY – A yellow Star of David was spray-painted on the steps of St. Joachim Church. The police labeled it a bias crime.
August 30
Lisle, IL – An 18-century brass reliquary valued around $10,000 was stolen from St. Joan of Arc Church.
September 6
Mandan, ND – A man walked into St. Michael’s Church and terrorized the parish before being apprehended by parishioners. Authorities found weapons, ammunition, gas masks and anti-government literature in the man’s car.
September 15
Riverside, CA – Bishop Antonio Garduno was shot outside of Our Lady of Tepeyac Church during a robbery attempt.
September 17
Jackson, MI – A statue of the Virgin Mary was broken and upside-down crosses were painted on the doors and building of St. John Catholic Church.
September 20
Hamilton, NJ – A statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary was smashed to pieces outside of St. Raphael-Holy Angels Church.
October 3
Sterling Heights, MI – “666” was painted onto two statues outside of SS. Cyril and Methodius Church. The estimated damage was $1,500.
October 18
San Antonio, TX – A statue of St. Anthony of Padua was beheaded near the San Fernando Cathedral.
December 9
Bronx, NY – A Satan-worshipping arsonist set fire to a Christian church and spray painted hateful messages on the walls. On the walls were a pentagram, “666,” “Hail to Satan,” “We hate Jews and Christians,” and “GET OFF OUR BLOCK.”
November 4
Pleasanton, CA – A Muslim mall employee was arrested after he tore a crucifix from a person’s neck. During the attack, the man also yelled, “Allah is power” and “Islam is great.”
December 20
Woodland, CA – A 60-year-old statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary was smashed into pieces and covered in black spray paint.
December 24
Pass Christian, FL – An 88-year-old priest was robbed at Our Mother of Mercy Church’s rectory.
December 29
North Vernon, IN – A 700-pound safe was stolen from St. Anne’s Church. Although the safe contained no money, it did contain various objects—including chalices—dating to its founding about 170 years ago. The chalices were found a few days later badly damaged.
