LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A small group of students destroyed a statue of the Virgin Mary in late June, near a church camp run by Southeast Christian Church, spawning new talks about religious tolerance with church members, youth and staff, according to The Courier-Journal.

The 24-year-old youth staff member who was supervising the teens during the vandalism incident is being disciplined and has written a letter of apology to the owner of the statue, said Cindee Coffee, spokeswoman for Southeast, Kentucky's largest church.

Senior Minister Bob Russell also addressed the incident at all services over the weekend saying he accepts responsibility for the staff member's actions and would emphasize the importance of religious tolerance.

Reportedly the teens smashed the statue in the wooded property shared by the camp and a Catholic neighbor after studying a Bible lesson on worshipping false idols.

Coffee said the youth staff member was "embarrassed and remorseful" and said, "He understands he made a serious error in judgment."

She would not identify the employee or the disciplinary action, saying the church wanted to protect his privacy. She said he remains on the staff.

"We took it very seriously," she said. "We feel the discipline was commensurate" with the action.

The church is also working with parents of the teenagers to arrange punishment, she said.

The statue's owner, John Barthold, replaced the statue after he was notified by the camp director, who paid for the new statue.

Barthold said he considered reporting the crime to the police as a hate crime, but has accepted the church's apology and is not pursuing the case.