


A vandal sprayed black paint all over a Brooklyn church’s statue of the Virgin Mary — and wrote the word “Fake” on it — Saturday morning, police said.
Jonathan Bulik, 37, was arrested for spray-painting the statue at the Resurrection Church in Gerritsen Beach at about 11:30 a.m., cops said.
Bulik, who lives near the church, was taken to a hospital for a psychological evaluation and charged with criminal mischief as a hate crime, cops said.
He has no known criminal record, police sources said.
Bulik was caught in the act by witnesses who detained him until police arrived, a church official said. He appeared to be writing another word when he was caught, according to witnesses.
Evelyn Sullivan, 71, has been going to the church since she was a teenager and was in agony over the crime.
“I was walking down the street to go to the store and thought, ‘Oh, somebody put a veil on Mother Mary’s head, O.K.,” she said. “And as I got closer and actually saw it, I started to cry. I was wailing. ‘Oh my God.’ And it says fake something.’”
The statue has been vandalized in the past and was previously replaced after a fund-raising campaign.
“When is enough enough!” New York State Catholic Action Chairperson James Russell said. “This report echoes what we have known for a long time. Crimes against our churches and other houses of worship have been on the rise.”
A man who identified himself as Ron said he would try to turn the other cheek.
“I’m sure Jesus would forgive him,” said the man who has been going to the church for a decade. “So I’m going to try to.”