SW News: A Jesus statue in a Catholic church in Jerusalem was vandalized on Thursday, February 2, the day of the feast of the Virgin of Candelaria and the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple.

According to AP, the attack took place at the Church of the Flagellation, which is situated on Jerusalem's Via Dolorosa—the route that Christ took to Mount Calvary, where he was crucified.

An American tourist who threw the figure of Christ to the ground and was apprehended by Israeli police officers is the suspect in the attack.The man said, "In Jerusalem, you cannot have idols, this is the Holy City," after being taken into custody. He is getting a psychological evaluation, the police say.

The Archdiocese of Mexico's deputy director of radio and television, Jose de Jesus Aguilar, made a video in which he expressed regret for what had happened and showed the individual being taken into custody. "Jerusalem is a city where all the many religious sects seek peace. Let us hope that Christ's light shines in Jerusalem on this day so that we remember that he is the light of the world and that there may be peace there," the priest from Mexico urged.