Kids do the most foolish things in order to appear cool. A teenager from Dulwich Hill, New South Wales fell prey to that after he decapitated religious figures and posted a selfie on social media.
A teenager beheaded the statues of Jesus Christ and Mary outside St. Paul of the Cross church, according to Channel 7. The 19-year-old then posted photos online of him holding the broken pieces while smoking a cigarette.
Instead of receiving raves, the teenager was roasted on social media. He promptly turned himself over to the authorities after he was threatened by netizens, the Gospel Herald reported. "Soooo he got scared because people found out who he was now he wants police to protect him. Praying for you, you need Jesus!" an angry social media user wrote.
"So shameful! Makes no sense, was it self defense??? Some people have no respect or limits, and he has surely crossed the line," another added.
However, not all the comments were harsh. People from the faith community even extended a hand of friendship to the boy who made the huge social media faux pas. "We would like to invite him for a rosary. We don't blame him, rather the devil that lives within that tempts us and make poor decisions daily," one person wrote.
"Yes we are in a time of hardship and our religion is being tested but we must remain in the footsteps of Christ," wrote another. "He would not show any hate toward this young bloke and so we should not either. Forgive and forget; this is what we are taught. If God Himself can forgive this lost gentleman then so should we."
For his part, the teenager also issued a statement of apology to the Greek Orthodox church and community "for offending you."
"It was not my intention," he said.
