Return San Lorenzo's image, NY group begs

CHICAGO, Illinois – Even his undersized statue is being persecuted. The Philippines' first ordained saint is badly missed by the Filipino community in Queens, New York, 25 days after its image was cut off from the ankles last May 5. Nick Libramonte, the National Director of the San Lorenzo Ruiz Association of America, a loose confederation of 10 congregations around the country, begged for the statue’s recovery. "Please return it," he implored, "you don’t need it." Libramonte said the statue has no financial value as it was made of fiberglass and merely painted with bronze color. It cannot be sold as scrap metal either. But “it is very precious to us," said Libramonte, who discovered the theft when he arrived at the center, to prepare for their regular Tuesday night devotions. New York city police are investigating the vandalism of the statue of San Lorenzo Ruiz in Queens, New York sometime last May 5th when it was ripped off its pedestal in front of the San Lorenzo Ruiz Center located at 168-41 84th Avenue in Jamaica Hills. According to Queens Courier, an area community newspaper, “elected officials are outraged, congregation leaders are desolate and cops are calling it a hate crime - a “bronzed" fiberglass statue of the first Filipino Roman Catholic saint" was stolen. The New York Police said that an investigation is underway for the search for witnesses and for the recovery of the statue. The Courier reported that it was "sometime after 7 p.m. on Monday, May 5, the near-life-sized statue of its namesake was ripped from its base." New York city councilmember James Gennaro called a press conference, warning the robbers "there is no place in this or any other community for any kind of religious intolerance and hatred." He referred the case to New York Police Hate Crime Unit. Rabbi Moshe Shur denounced the crime. Recounting the first amendment of the U.S. Constitution, he declared, “There is freedom of speech in America - there is no freedom of hate or bigotry." Shur, in a call for assistance from the public, said, “We cannot tolerate this kind of behavior." Fr. Erno Diaz, director of the Chapel of San Lorenzo Ruiz in downtown Manhattan was also shocked upon hearing the news. "I can’t believe anybody would do such a thing. Why?" he asked. The New York Police District’s Hate Crimes Unit and detectives from the 107 Precinct are still investigating the incident. As of posting time, no suspect has been named. It remains a source of anxiety if the alleged ‘hate crime’ was motivated by religion or race. Some Filipinos wondered too how the theft was carried out unnoticed considering the massive size of the statue and its location in front of the spiritual center. "It’s important to bring these people to justice. This is the kind of thing that we cannot tolerate in this or any kind of community," said Gennaro. All that remains of the statue of Saint Lorenzo Ruiz of Manila are his feet and ankles. The cruel irony, as pointed out by Gennaro, is that Ruiz was hung by his ankles at his martyrdom. -GMANews.TV