Mormon missionaries vandalize and desecrate Catholic Shrine

[Annie_B]

I have heard that said of all religions. Why would people actually think anyone has horns because they are of a different faith? The thing that upsets me the most was that my idea that we all believe in Christ, and we should celebrate our common idea is not shared by any Mormon I have ever met.

Also, every time I talk about how rude someone who is Mormon was to me, or how they mistreated me, etc… every other Mormon who hears that says the same thing. Not to put you down or anything, just an observation.

Again, I am sorry that you have had the experiences that you have had. We have obviously met some very different Mormons . I have tried to put the idea of commonality at various places in this forum (in small ways) but most (not all) of the Catholics here can’t get past the idea that Mormons are not Christians and the we worship a “different” Jesus and therefore cannot possible have anything in common. I agree that we should look for common ground and not constantly be highlighting the differences between ANY religious group. I am not a “cookie cutter” Mormon. I hope that you see that we are not all the same . I have had some very unpleasant experieces with Catholics and Mormons alike and I hold nothing against the general population of either church:thumbsup:

Annie

 

[RebeccaJ]

Yes, stories abound in Utah like this. My niece had friend when she was 7 or 8 years old. This friend’s parents stopped them from playing with each other because my niece was not mormon. My little niece was devastated and crying her little eyes out. They moved to Denver.

 

[Meinrad]

Back to the topic, we need to forgive and move on. Use this senseless act as a way of showing compassion to our neighbors.

 

[RebeccaJ]

Back to the topic, we need to forgive and move on. Use this senseless act as a way of showing compassion to our neighbors.

 

[zerinus]

You realize youre posting the above in a topic about mormon missionaries vandalizing a Catholic shrine right?

I am not familiar with the details of the case, but I am sure whatever it was it did not teke place with malidious intent. Vandalism requires malicious intent to be genuine vandalism. If they were just being stupid and were not aware that they might be offending someone, I do not call it vandalism.

zerinus

 

[zerinus]

I tried to make the distinction between Mormons everywhere else I’ve been and Mormons here in Utah. But I stand by my statement. The only time Mormons were nice to me was when they thought I was a “member.”

You can say what you like, I don’t believe a word of it. This is pure falsehood.

zerinus

 

[RebeccaJ]

I am not familiar with the details of the case, but I am sure whatever it was it did not teke place with malidious intent. Vandalism requires malicious intent to be genuine vandalism. If they were just being stupid and were not aware that they might be offending someone, I do not call it vandalism.

zerinus

That is not how the law defines it. I know of young children (under 10) who have been prosecuted for vandalizing, and all they did was write their names in wet cement. No malicious intent there, but the child scratchings in the cement were considered vandalism and the parents had to pay to replace the slab of concrete.

 

[Meinrad]

Zerinus, I don’t see myself as narrow-minded, but are you calling me a liar? Anyway, maybe you should read about the topic before posting about it? And how could someone break the head off a statue in a place that many consider to be holy and not realize they are going to offend someone? I assure you, if some Catholic who never even heard of Mormons broke the head off of the gold statue on top of the Salt Lake temple, they would be (metaphorically) crucified.

 

[zerinus]

I don’t see myself as narrow-minded, but are you calling me a liar? Anyway, maybe you should read about the topic before posting about it? And how could someone break the head off a statue in a place that many consider to be holy and not realize they are going to offend someone? I assure you, if some Catholic who never even heard of Mormons broke the head off of the gold statue on top of the Salt Lake temple, they would be (metaphorically) crucified.

Where does it say that they actually broke the head of the statute? All I saw was a picture of one of them trying to put it back in its place. The head may have been severed before by somebody else.

zerinus

 

[Meinrad]

Where does it say that they actually broke the head of the statute? All I saw was a picture of one of them trying to put it back in its place. The head may have been severed before by somebody else.

zerinus

So one of them wrote a letter of apology for putting the head back on? Sure, makes sense! I guess this is where the saying, “no good deed goes unpunished” comes in. It’s sad to see them excommunicated or otherwise punished for being so kind as to put a head back on a statue.

 

[Annie_B]

I am not familiar with the details of the case, but I am sure whatever it was it did not teke place with malidious intent. Vandalism requires malicious intent to be genuine vandalism. If they were just being stupid and were not aware that they might be offending someone, I do not call it vandalism.

zerinus

Well, their intent surely was not good To specifically target the religious shrine of another shows more intent than say spray painting the sidewalk. Yes, they were foolish (we do not use the word “stupid” in our house - never have never will). Unless they claim that they were being forced to do this by someone else, the willful destruction of the property shows intent enough.

I hope that one day they can see the pain that they caused and maybe do something that will show their remorse. Until that day comes, we should be praying for a change of heart for those young men and for those who are finding it hard to forgive.

Annie

 

[RebeccaJ]

The caption under one of the photos said, “Hanneman broke the head off of a saint.” (chieftain.com/metro/1205158548/1)

 

[zerinus]

Well, their intent surely was not good To specifically target the religious shrine of another shows more intent than say spray painting the sidewalk. Yes, they were foolish (we do not use the word “stupid” in our house - never have never will). Unless they claim that they were being forced to do this by someone else, the willful destruction of the property shows intent enough.

I hope that one day they can see the pain that they caused and maybe do something that will show their remorse. Until that day comes, we should be praying for a change of heart for those young men and for those who are finding it hard to forgive.

Annie

There is nothing in the news reports that says they actually destroyed any property. Holding the severed head of a statute does not mean that they must have severed it.

zerinus

 

[lukewarm]

There is nothing in the news reports that says they actually destroyed any property. Holding the severed head of a statute does not mean that they must have severed it.

zerinus

The caption of the picture when it was on photobucket was “Hanneman broke the head off a Saint” the link is above. Also hear is one of the knucklheads statements:

*“I realize that my companions and I have made a mockery of that which is most sacred to many of the residents of San Luis and the rest of the world. I should have known better because I have seen many of the same types of blasphemies made against my own church and I have been appalled,” *

You are incapable of accepting that LDS can be bad people too aren’t you? You’re in deep buddy…

 

[Annie_B]

There is nothing in the news reports that says they actually destroyed any property. Holding the severed head of a statute does not mean that they must have severed it.

zerinus

Z - they are not denying that they did it. Don;t you think that if they did not do it they would say so? This is a quote from the article. It does not specifically address the different acts of vandalism, but it does not deny any of it…

“I realize that my companions and I have made a mockery of that which is most sacred to many of the residents of San Luis and the rest of the world. I should have known better because I have seen many of the same types of blasphemies made against my own church and I have been appalled,” the statement said.

Annie

 

[zerinus]

The caption under one of the photos said, “Hanneman broke the head off of a saint.” (chieftain.com/metro/1205158548/1)

From the news report:

Robert Fotheringham, director of the LDS church’s missionary program in the region, said Sunday . . .

. . . that one of the other three had told him that when the trio arrived at the shrine, the head was in place on the statue.

“Whether it had been knocked off by someone else and placed back on is hard to say,” he said.

A photo caption with a picture of a missionary holding the statue head on the Photobucket Web site that has been taken down since Thursday read: “Hannemann broke the head off of a saint.”

A caption under a photo in “photobucket” is not my measure of truthful reporting.

zerinus

 

[zerinus]

Z - they are not denying that they did it. Don;t you think that if they did not do it they would say so? This is a quote from the article. It does not specifically address the different acts of vandalism, but it does not deny any of it…

“I realize that my companions and I have made a mockery of that which is most sacred to many of the residents of San Luis and the rest of the world. I should have known better because I have seen many of the same types of blasphemies made against my own church and I have been appalled,” the statement said.

Annie

The Church lives by Christian principles, and always takes the led in apologizing if someone feels offended. But nowhere in the apology have they admitted to causing physical damage to property or severing the head of the statute. On the contrary, thay have stated that they do not know how it happened.

zerinus

 

[lukewarm]

The Church lives by Christian principles, and always takes the led in apologizing if someone feels offended. But nowhere in the apology have they admitted to causing physical damage to property or severing the head of the statute. On the contrary, thay have stated that they do not know how it happened.

zerinus

So they’re liars too… Not surprised at all, they seem like a bunch of arrogant little jerks to me. I’m not overly religious so I’m not really that offended by their actions, them insulting our collective intelligence is the real insulting aprt. Typical apologizing only when getting caught, then lying about their culpability to avoid prosecution, no integrity at all. Shame too because their lying will just prompt the Parish to press criminal charges,a nd I’m sure with the pictures and testimony of the grounds crew they will get an easy conviction.

 

[Annie_B]

The Church lives by Christian principles, and always takes the led in apologizing if someone feels offended. But nowhere in the apology have they admitted to causing physical damage to property or severing the head of the statute. On the contrary, thay have stated that they do not know how it happened.

zerinus

Does it state that in either article that was referenced? If not, where is it stated? Also, The Church did not do this; three foolish and immature young men/boys did this. As I understand it, the apology that was quoted was from the young men - not the church officially.

Annie

 

[Meinrad]

Of course they will be found guilty. It’s a mostly Hispanic community, right? That usually means AT LEAST 95% Catholic. But the thing is, this looks down on the LDS church for a VERY specific reason: they were there representing their church, name tags and all. Anyone who goes anywhere in a group like that represents their group, and their actions reflect the group they represent.