Philip Johnson’s Cathedral of Hope in Dallas was vandalized yesterday morning. A police investigation is underway and it is suspected that the vandals targeted the building—Johnson’s last before his passing—due to comments made by The Reverend Dr. Neil G Cazares-Thomas on local conservative radio where he dismissed links between the LGBT community and pedophilia.
On their Facebook page, one can read the Cathedral’s response: “The radio interviewer kept pushing the notion that LGBT people are linked somehow to pedophilia,” said Reverend Thomas, Senior Pastor. “There is a big difference between sexual orientation and pedophilia,” Cazares-Thomas responded. “The church does not support sexual exploitation of any kind, including child exploitation,” he said.
The vandalism in question occurred at 8 a.m. yesterday morning and says “kitty porn” and gives details of a name, cell number, and make of a car.
The Chapel made a statement on a Facebook post:
As a Christian community, we are called to pray for those responsible for this act. We will work with Dallas Police Department in their investigations and use this opportunity to raise awareness of human trafficking and child exploitation.
As a nation and as a world we must call on all people of faith to reclaim the moral center and distance ourselves from acts of violence and hatred.
A temporary fix over the graffiti has been done today but a more permanent fix will cost tens of thousands of dollars for this world-renowned building.
“We live in a world filled with hate. If your religion causes you to hate, you ought to get a new religion”, Cazares-Thomas concluded.
