To Those Who Attack Religious Images

I hope that those who have committed acts of vandalism against the various images of the Divina Pastora, Our Lady of Coromoto, Our Lady of the Rosary, José Gregorio Hernández and others will read what I am about to write to them. Perhaps a true friend will send it to them; or perhaps their mother or grandmother, who loves them so much (just as the Virgin will always love them), will read it to them, in spite of the terrible things they may do.

First of all, I want you to know that many of us are praying for you, in spite of the lack of respect you showed toward images that we do not worship, as some people think, but venerate. They remind us of the Blessed Virgin (whom we Venezuelans love in a very special way, because she is our Mother in Heaven and we know she protects us and will protect us from all evil) and of an illustrious Venezuelan, José Gregorio Hernández, who lived a life of heroic virtue and complete self-giving to others.

What you did (and I am sure it also upset people of other spiritual beliefs) is exactly the same as if someone broke into your home and smashed or defaced some very special photos of your loved ones. The ones you keep in a corner of your living room, your bedroom or your wallet! Or don’t you have photos of people you love, whether living or dead? And I ask you: what do you do when you want to think about that person or remember them? You simply look at the photo, and perhaps take the chance to pray for them or wish them well.

Now let me explain something very simple: you live in a country called Venezuela that loves the Virgin dearly (under whatever title you like: Coromoto, La Chinita, the Virgin of the Valley, the Pastora, and so on) and José Gregorio Hernández (to prove it, just look at the windows of buses all over the country and notice which images are stuck on them). And whatever you do, for whatever reason, you will not manage to destroy that faith, because you are not knocking down just any statue (which would be disrespectful in any case); you are destroying an image that represents human and divine beings whom millions of Venezuelans love with true devotion.

There are countries, today, in the twenty-first century!, where people are in the habit of doing this and much more. Their hatred goes so far that they kill Catholics simply for refusing to renounce their faith. Have we done harm to anyone? Why does our love for God, for the Virgin or for exemplary Catholics bother you so much? Is it perhaps these huge gatherings, unique in the world, that bother you, like the procession of the Divina Pastora or of the Nazarene of San Pablo, where Venezuelans “of every color” come together, showing our incredible brotherhood as the children of God that we are, in spite of the hatred that some have tried to sow, on both sides, to divide us? What drives you to commit these misdeeds? Don’t you realize that the more you attack us, the more we pray for you and the more we unite to strengthen ourselves in our faith, our hope, our beliefs and our traditions?

I will only say this: remember that you are not taking on a few stone images. You are taking on God, the Virgin and the saints in Heaven; and also Catholics who have a great deal of patience and fortitude, who will always pray for you, and who clearly understand that “if God is with us, whom shall we fear?”

I hope you reconsider, ask for help to rid yourselves of the Evil that is moving you to do what you do, and ask forgiveness, in this month of June that has just begun, of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (the one you see in the picture in your grandmother’s house), who loves you so much and will always wait for you with open arms. Don’t leave him waiting!