Image Credit: Video Screenshot 
After a man was caught on camera and subsequently arrested for trying to tear down a Christian cross from the roof of a Baptist church in east London, the Reverend of the church played down the incident, asserting the vandal was just mentally ill.
The shocking footage, which went viral on Twitter yesterday, shows a man of Middle Eastern appearance trying to pull down a large wooden cross from the roof of the Chadwell Heath Baptist Church in Romford.
After the footage was viewed by over a million people on social media, police announced that they had made an arrest and that the matter was being investigated.
We are a Christian country and our culture is under assault.
Our archbishops are complaining about Brexit yet say nothing about the desecration of a London church.
— Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) October 19, 2020
The video prompted fresh debate over the precarious state of Christianity and the sanctity of churches located in areas such as east London, which is host to a large immigrant and Muslim population.
However, instead of defending the faith, Rev. Greg Thomas, the minister of the church, responded to the incident on Facebook by asserting the vandal was merely suffering from a mental illness and made no mention of the incident being a possible religious hate crime.
“Yes, the cross was vandalised,” wrote the Reverend. “However, when I caught him it became apparent very quickly that he was not at all mentally well.”
The rev of the church as spoken.. pic.twitter.com/cednjrWC1O
— London & UK Crime (@CrimeLdn) October 18, 2020
The Reverend added that he was pleased the vandal didn’t fall off the roof and hurt himself and that he will now be assessed and “hopefully receive the help he requires.”
“It was frustrating to have the church vandalised but material things can be fixed with ease. Had he lost his life that would have been tragic,” said the Reverend.
One wonders what the media’s response would have been if a white man had attacked a mosque in east London.
It’s extremely doubtful his actions would have been excused by merely labeling him “mentally ill”.
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