ALBAWABA - Several vandals in Linz, Austria made headlines after beheading a Virgin Mary statue giving birth to Jesus after it drew criticism from Catholics across the country.
The statue in question was placed at St. Mary's Cathedral, the largest cathedral in Austria. Moreover, being the largest cathedral in the country, the statue naturally drew many eyes and criticism towards it.
According to Al Hurra News, the Virgin Mary statue was placed there as an art installation to emphasize women's roles, family images, and gender equality as mentioned in a statement by the New Cathedral in Linz.
Virgin Mary statue giving birth to Jesus beheaded in Austria
By the time of writing this article, the Vandals' identities had not been confirmed but Austrian Catholic activist Alexander Tschugguel who in 2019, was responsible for a previous vandalism attempt, crowned the mysterious vandalist as the "hero of Linz."
Tschugguel posted an alleged statement by the mysterious individual which said that both emails and phone calls were sent but were ignored hence why they beheaded the statue.
Moreover, the statement also added that "it was necessary to take urgent and decisive action," and "beheading was the quickest way to disfigure the statue so that it no longer resembles Mary."
Episcopal Vicar for Education, Art, and Culture Johann Hintermaier denounced the beheading of the Virgin Mary's statue and did confess that they were stirring controversy when they installed the statue.
He added, "If we have hurt people's religious feelings, we are sorry, but I strongly condemn this violent act, the refusal to engage in dialogue, and the attack on artistic freedom."
