Heads have been smashed off the heads off of statues of Virgin Mary and Jesus. Nine statues in all have been damaged including three statues that are about five-feet-tall; the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Virgin Mary and Our Lady of Fatima.

"For a statue to be defamed in this way in this very holy ground and this very holy church it is crushing to me," long-time parishioner Cynthia Hetzler says.

The vandalism is believed to have occurred between 2 and 4 a.m. Thursday morning. The parish has a 24-hour prayer group, so someone is almost always at the sanctuary. No witnesses have come forward as of yet, according to Franklin Township Police.

Investigators say they'll review surveillance from businesses down the street. Chief Michael Rock says that the vandalism charges could be upgraded to a hate crime following an investigation.

"If we could determine that this was the result of a bias incident, then obviously the charges will be enhanced," says Rock.

The person responsible clearly has it out for the church. "These are important symbols of the Catholic faith and in that way when you attack the symbols of faith you attack the faith," spokesperson for the Camden Diocese Peter Feuerherd says. The church will go through insurance to have the statues rehabilitated if possible.

Another notable act of church desecration in the United States occurred earlier this year, when a man disrupted services at a Lakeville, Minnesota church by dumping a jar of urine on the altar last April.

http://catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=52463

Well, maybe they were volunteers.  They saw in years past as the altar was destroyed as the presider looked on peacefully with a smarmy smile on his face.  Then there was the removal of the altar rails and themelting downof the patens.  Perhaps they were just taking the next step, as wished for by the novus ordo clergy?  

Did the "pastor" of the church say, "I certainly wanted to remove those harbingers of ugliness and reminders of the dark pre-conciliar church and am glad they are now going to be completely removed but my deacon was telling me he could get top dollar for them by selling them on ebay."

It is sad that vandals destroyed those statues but that wasn't the first time vandals visited that church.