Christ statue in Peru catches fire days before papal visit

A large statue of Christ caught fire in Peru on Saturday, just days ahead of Pope Francis' scheduled visit to the South American nation.

According to the Associated Press, the statue, called "Christ of the Pacific," was donated by Brazilian company Odebrecht, which is at the center of a corruption scandal involving many of Peru's high-profile politicians.

Two dozen firefighters responded to fight the blaze that charred nearly the entire back of the 69-foot (21-meter) statue. It was initially thought that the fire was caused by an act of arson, but the police stated that it was sparked by electrical cables that had short-circuited due to humidity.

Many Peruvians saw the statue as a reminder of Odebrecht's illegal activities, including its bribe offers to high-ranking officials in exchange for lucrative public works contracts. In January 2017, the statue was vandalized with messages like "Out of the country Odebrecht."

Two former presidents have been accused of accepting money from the Odebrecht while current president Pedro Pablo Kuczynski was nearly impeached in December over his alleged links to the company.

Documents uncovered by opposition lawmakers have reportedly shown that Kuczynski's private consulting firm received $782,000 from the company over a decade ago when he was serving as a government minister. The president denied knowing about the payments, saying he had recused himself from all consulting business when he took office.

The burning of the statue came five days before the pope's arrival in Peru. Francis is hoping to call attention to the need to protect the Amazon rainforest, but Peruvians are waiting to see whether he addresses corruption.

On Monday, Francis landed in Chile, where three Catholic churches where firebombed in the capital city of Santiago.

In one church, the perpetrators reportedly left a direct threat to the pope, saying the next bombs will be "in your cassock."

The message was written in Spanish but all letters that signify grammatical gender were reportedly replaced with "x"s, a common practice among activists on the radical left.

"We will never submit to the dominion you want to exercise over our bodies, our ideas and actions, because we were born free to chose the path we want to take. Against every monk and nun and against every preacher. Bodies free, impure and wild," it read.

The perpetrators further threatened to attack the pope's "disgusting morals" with the "fire of combat."

"Freedom to all the political prisoners of the world! Free Wallmapu [indigenous territory]! Autonomy and resistance! Pope Francis the next bombs will be in your cassock!" the message concluded.