Month: May 2016
Update: Stolen Church Statue Recovered
Update 5/11/16: Click here for new video of group suspected of stealing Williamsburg church statue. This video was released by the NYPD along with the following advisory:
The New York City Police Department is asking the public’s assistance identifying the individuals depicted in the attached surveillance video in regards to a grand larceny that occurred within the confines of the 90 Precinct. Details are as follows: It was reported to police that on Saturday, April 30, 2016, at 0207 hours, the suspects removed the statue of the “SACRED HEART” of Jesus Christ from the Saint Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Church located at 71 South 3 Street.
Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 5, 2016
Update: The Sacred Heart of Jesus statue stolen from outside Saints Peter and Paul Rectory was returned this morning. Just hours after thieves took it off its plinth over the weekend, a Brooklyn man found it in a trash can outside his home near South 3rd St between Berry and Bedford Avenues in Williamsburg. The man took the statue and gave it to his mother, who kept it in her apartment. After seeing local news reports indicating the statue had been stolen, the family realized it belonged to Saints Peter and Paul Parish, where they sometimes attend church services. They contacted the rectory and returned the statue this morning. The base of the statue as well as the statue’s right hand have been damaged. D’Ambrosio Ecclesiastical Art Studios, Inc has volunteered to restore the statue as well as donate a bigger, heavier version. The larger statue will go outside the rectory in the stolen statue’s place, while the recovered statue will go inside the Parish’s new church which is expected to be complete in 2019. The stolen statue was donated by a couple in New Jersey, an heirloom they say was in their family for about 100 years. It was donated in 2012 to replace a similar statue–also stolen from outside church property. Police are still looking for the 3 thieves who were caught on video taking the sacred statue.
Update: The Sacred Heart of Jesus statue stolen from outside the Saints Peter and Paul Rectory, located at 71 South 3rd St, 11249 in Williamsburg, has been found. A man spotted the statue in a trash can outside his Brooklyn apartment and gave it to his mother. After seeing media reports, the family realized where the statue belonged and contacted the rectory to return it. The statue is being restored at D’Ambrosio Ecclesiastical Art Studios, Inc. Phone number: (914) 666-6906. Saints Peter and Paul Parish’s Mother Superior and the rectory secretary will be available for interviews at the rectory at 1pm. Read more
‘Church Is A Family of Families’ by Bishop DiMarzio
May 4, 2016 – Excerpted from Put Out Into the Deep, Bishop DiMarzio’s column in The Tablet:
In this third in a series of articles, I continue my review of the Apostolic Exhortation, The Joy of Love.
In two chapters, our Holy Father, Pope Francis, offers some pastoral perspectives and ideas toward the better education of children. He begins by reminding us of… “the Gospel of the family as a joy that ‘fills hearts and lives,’ because in Christ we have been ‘set free from sin, sorrow, inner emptiness and loneliness.’”
These are words that he borrowed from himself in another Apostolic Exhortation entitled “The Joy of the Gospel.” The Holy Father sees all things through Christ, as it is Christ who is the source of our joy. It is Christ who can give joy to a family. It is the role of the parish to give pastoral care to families. In fact, the parish is a family of families who come together for the worship of the Lord. Each family, no matter what its situation, has something to offer to the Church and the parish. Our Holy Father brings out the point that many seminarians and religious come from troubled families and sometimes lack emotional stability. Yet, they still follow the path to a vocation to the priesthood or to religious life.
Read the full text of the Bishop’s column on The Tablet website.