Palestinian Refugee Beheads Statue Of Virgin Mary In Venice, Italy

On Wednesday evening, a 31-year-old Palestinian “refugee” decapitated and cut off the hands of a historical Virgin Mary statue in Marghera, a suburb of Venice, Italy. The police discovered that the Palestinian accused of the attack was issued a travel document for refugees in Belgium and does not have a residence permit. Police have launched a terrorism investigation and procedures for expelling him from Italy.

The Catholic News Agency reports that the local parish “is organizing a community rosary to be prayed at the statue on Dec. 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.”

According to a local Italian news report by Antenna 3 exclusively translated for RAIR Foundation USA, the “perpetrator was identified by a citizen who was present at the scene, and confirmation by a video surveillance camera”. The report states that “condemnation was strong on the part of the municipal administration for a ‘vile act,’ Mayor Luigi Brugnaro commented, ‘which wounds our sensibilities.'”

Despite the pain caused by the act, the peaceful Christians have not reacted with violence.