Kicking of the saint

articleissues
unreferenced=May 2008
expand=May 2008
orphan=May 2008The "Kicking of the saint" was a controversial late night television incident first broadcast live by the Brazilian television network Rede Record on October 12, 1995, a national holiday in which Our Lady of Aparecida, the Black Madonna which is the patron saint of Brazil, is venerated.

For ten minutes, Sérgio Von Helde, a televangelist bishop of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (which owns Rede Record), repeatedly kicked an image of Our Lady of Aparecida that he had bought, claiming that a statue made of clay cannot help the Brazilian people with their struggle. On the following day, Rede Globo's "Jornal Nacional" denounced the incident, causing a nationwide backlash. Several temples of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God were attacked by devout Catholics, and Von Helde had to be transferred to South Africa until the end of the controversy.

References

* [http://edition.cnn.com/WORLD/9512/virgin_bashing/kicking.mov Video of Von Helde kicking the saint] at CNN.com