As our portal also reported, vandals vandalized the statue of the Virgin Mary erected just two weeks earlier in Dunavecs, Bács-Kiskun County, beyond recognition.

On May 6th, Archbishop Balázs Bábel consecrated the statue of the Queen of Peace in Dunavecs, in the roundabout at the border of the settlement, however, on the morning of the 19th, the statue fell victim to vandalism. It can be seen that the upper part of the work was smashed beyond recognition.

The vandalism of the statue of the Queen of Peace has symbolic power at a time when the entire continent longs for an end to war and a return to peace.

The statue was completely damaged, only one hand remained intact.

The community took the necessary measures, and at the same time, police proceedings were initiated against the perpetrator or perpetrators. At the ceremony of handing over the statue, they emphasized the importance of directional symbols.

Heartbreaking: The statue of the Virgin Mary in Dunavec was smashed beyond recognition

When asked by Mandiner, the parish priest of Dunavecse, Father Gergő Bese, said that it is certain that it was a deliberate act of vandalism, and that the loss of the statue was not caused by expansion movement or a material defect, since large pieces of it disappeared. Unfortunately, the recordings of the cameras located in the area do not provide a high-quality image of the location of the statue erected in the roundabout, so no meaningful information could be extracted from them. The police are in a difficult situation, because they have to find out exactly what happened and who the perpetrators were without substantial clues.

According to the parish priest, the vandalism that occurred between 5:00 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. indicates that the perpetrator(s) are not drunk but rather under the influence of drugs, since according to experience, if they commit it, it is more likely late at night, they commit vandalism in the dark. Moreover, the perpetrator was to a certain extent daring, since life is already starting at the time of the vandalism, vehicles are constantly entering the roundabout, it is getting dark, and the risk of falling is greater. Locally, it is also possible to hear that the statue was the victim of a rivalry between neighboring settlements, while others speak of a conflict between denominations, but these are not confirmed by any tangible evidence, nor, for now, that the statue decision was a directly anti-Christian act.

By the way, the statue was erected in honor of the Queen of Peace, at his own expense, by father Gergő Bese, out of gratitude, on the tenth anniversary of his ordination as a priest.

The case affects him painfully, /…./ obviously he doesn't have the money to have a new statue erected every two weeks.

"The Virgin Mary has a very strong message, which may have pierced the eyes of many", notes the father, adding: they haven't even announced a collection yet, despite the fact that they have already received so many donations that it would be enough to buy a new statue.

"Many people stood by us and support us, which is a good feeling for the community and for me as well," says Father Gergő. In addition, the Christian Democratic People's Party is ready to support the restoration of the statue.

Gergő Bese also said that the parish representative board met on Tuesday evening, where a formal decision was made on whether the community of believers would like to see the statue of Our Lady in the roundabout again. The mayor of Dunavecse, Sándor Vörös, also participated in the meeting, with whom they were able to discuss how to make the area safer. Father Gergő is optimistic, after the offers so far, he thinks that it would be possible to organize a fundraiser for a surveillance camera, which would specifically look after the statue and take a high-quality recording of it, in order to discourage anyone who might commit similar vandalism again.

Source: Mandiner/vasárnap.hu