Sunday, January 25, 2009

BVM in Stain in Chicago Underpass Defaced Again

Since 2005, a stain many believe to be of the Virgin Mary has been visible on a Chicago underpass. Virgin Mary Underpass Stain Defaced With Devil Graffiti, reported by FOX News. There's a link in the article that takes you to the image of the purple devil graffiti. There are also several links on the sidebar related to the story of the image: people charged with previous vandalism, etc. The comments left by readers are also interesting to read.

Interesting things about this: while there's the division between the official, authoritarian line of the Vatican and Catholics regarding the BVM, there are also the divisions among the "folk." Many Christians but non-Catholics mock BVM apparitions, images, etc. or find them offensive. As do some Catholics as well. . . point is, many religious see things like this as embarrassing, superstitious, and/or sacrilegious.

For example, Victor Gonzalez was charged with "criminal damage" when he defaced the stain, writing "Big Lie" over the image. His reason for doing so: "he believed visitors were worshiping a graven image in violation of the Second Commandment."

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