SW News: A Catholic Church and a grotto were attacked in two separate attacks in the South American countries of Brazil and Colombia respectively. Earlier this week, unidentified people barged into the church in Brazil's São Mateus parish in the state of Parana. The vandals destroyed nearly 28 images of saints. The faithful and the Church have decried the incident that took place on October 10.

Decrying the incident during a press conference, the parish priest Fr. José Carlos Emanoel dos Santos stated, "Our images were broken, but our faith is firm." He further thanked all those who rendered solidarity amid the crisis.

There was an image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Our Lady of Assumption among those destroyed by the vandals. During the press conference, it was said that the police had identified the individual.

Meanwhile, Bishop Walter Jorge Pinto of the União da Vitória Diocese lamented the attack against the church. In a letter, the prelate urged the faithful not to go ahead by feelings. There will also be a Holy Mass offered to atone for the desecration and it will be presided over by Bishop Pinto.

Separately, in another vandal attack in Colombia, unidentified people set fire to a grotto of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. It was the grotto of a church in Corinto municipality which was attacked on October 10. The local community and the Church decried the attack and then urged police officials to initiate a probe. The Mayor's Office issued a statement that rejected "this type of act that violates religious freedom contemplated in the Political Constitution of Colombia, the constitutional right to be able to believe in something and profess a religion freely."

Fr. Miguel Ángel Collazos, the parish priest, denounced the attack and urged the faithful to remain calm. The local media reported that a march is set to take place on October 13 as a protest against the attack.