Denver, Colo., Mar 10, 2008 / 10:46 am
Photos of three Mormon missionaries mocking the Catholic Church, which recently surfaced on the Internet, have upset Catholics and shocked Mormon leaders, reports the Denver Post. The men have also been accused of breaking the head off of a statue of saint at the Shrine of the Mexican Martyrs in San Luis, Colorado.
In 2006, three missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) visited a Catholic shrine in the San Luis Valley in Colorado. While at the shrine, the Mormon missionaries photographed themselves in poses that demeaned the Catholic Church.
The pictures, which were posted last week on the photo-sharing site Photobucket, show the men preaching from the Book of Mormon behind the altar; holding the head from a statue of St. Manuel Morales, a young Mexican who died opposing anti-religious laws; and one of the missionaries pretending to sacrifice a fellow missionary on the altar.
According to The Pueblo Chieftan, the three missionaries face possible charges of desecrating a venerated object, criminal trespass, defacing property and bias-motivated crime.