Religious statues gracing the grounds of St. Mary's church in Malaga, New Jersey were subject to a vicious attack that left extensive damage to statuary dear to the hearts of parishioners and Catholics everywhere. Local police are not yet ready to describe it as a hate crime, but some person or persons obviously spent a considerable amount of time and energy damaging the figures.  It is hard to imagine that this was not a hate crime. Joseph P. Smith of the Cherry Hill Courier-Post reports: Peter Feuerherd, a spokesman for the Camden Diocese, arrived at the church Thursday afternoon. He said the attack appears to have taken place between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. "Whoever is the assailant definitely took his time and really caused some damage," Reilly said. "It wasn't a 30-second melee." The vandalism actually took place on two properties. On the church lawn, a stone grotto dating from about 1955 holds a white statue of the Virgin Mary. Its head is badly dented but largely intact. The...(Read Full Post)