In the San Francisco area last week, a district attorney downgraded the charges against five people who desecrated the statue of a saint on Catholic church grounds from felonies to misdemeanors.

In Washington state, the Justice Department last month recommended no jail time for a transgender person who defaced church property and assaulted a church employee.

In Washington, D.C., a man who destroyed the statues of three saints at a Catholic school appears to have pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor that allowed him to avoid serving his prison sentence.

With high-profile attacks on Catholic churches and organizations on the rise over the past two years, advocates have grown frustrated with what they say is a lack of consequences for people who target Catholics relative to the consequences for people who target other religions or minority groups.