Authorities are now treating a vandalism spree as a hate crime afterBlessed Mother statues were damaged at five Catholic churches in CherryHill and Mount Laurel.“They’re all Catholic churches. They’re not picking Episcopal orMethodist churches or Jewish synagogues,” said Cherry Hill Lt. BillKushina. “Right now, we have to look at it as a hate crime until we candetermine it’s not.”The rampage began early Tuesday when an 8-foot, solid Italian marblestatue of Mary was broken into three pieces at St. Thomas More Parish.St. John Neumann Church was hit the hardest when over 30 statues inthe church’s rose garden were struck with an unknown object Thursdaynight, causing an estimated $30,000 in damage.“Catholics in the diocese, and all people of good will, aredisturbed by the recent incidents,” Camden Diocese spokesman PeterFeuerherd said. “We’ve ... increased patrols on all our Catholic churches,” said Kushina. alexandra wigglesworth
