Statue Vandalized at Knoxville Church

From WBIR-TV, Knoxville, TN:



"The statue of the Virgin Mary with a baby Jesus in her arms stood in front of the Knoxville Diocese since September of 2003.



It was installed to celebrate a church anniversary. Now, the statue is tarnished with an upside red cross.



'We were suprised this morning by a disturbing act of vandalism and we really don't know why something like this would have happened,' says Father Vann Johnston of the Diocese.



Parts of the Jesus were destroyed and thrown in through the front door. The violence quickly became the topic of the Sunday sermon.



'To wake up and find an image of Jesus broken, it's a reminder I think our world is still broken and needs a lot of healing,' says Johnston.



The vandals hit on a very holy day for catholics, it's the third Sunday of Advent."