ANTI-CHRISTIAN ATTACKS MUST NOT BE TOLERATED!

Submitted by: William Homolka

Europe: Anti-Christian Attacks Reach All-Time High in 2019

by Soeren Kern
Originally published by the Gatestone Institute
January 1, 2020

http://kern.pundicity.com/23669/europe-anti-christian-attacks

Anti-Christian hostility is sweeping across Western Europe, where, during 2019, Christian churches and symbols were deliberately attacked day after day.

Gatestone Institute reviewed thousands of newspaper reports, police blotters, parliamentary inquiries, social media posts and specialized blogs from Britain, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy and Spain. The research shows (see appendices below) that roughly 3,000 Christian churches, schools, cemeteries and monuments were vandalized, looted or defaced in Europe during 2019 — which is on track to becoming a record year for anti-Christian sacrilege on the continent.
Violence against Christian sites is most widespread in France, where churches, schools, cemeteries and monuments are being vandalized, desecrated and burned at an average rate of three per day, according to government statistics. In Germany, attacks against Christian churches are occurring at an average rate of two per day, according to police blotters.
Attacks on Christian churches and symbols are also commonplace in Belgium, Britain, Denmark, Ireland, Italy and Spain. The attacks overwhelmingly involve Roman Catholic sites and symbols, although in Germany, Protestant churches are also being targeted.
The perpetrators of anti-Christian attacks — which include acts of arson, defecation, desecration, looting, mockery, profanation, Satanism, theft, urination and vandalism — are rarely caught. When they are, police and media often censor information about their identities and ethnic backgrounds. Many suspects are said to have mental disorders; as a result, many anti-Christian attacks are not categorized as hate crimes.
In France and Germany, the spike in anti-Christian attacks dovetails with the recent mass immigration from the Muslim world. The lack of official statistics on perpetrators and motives makes it impossible to know precisely how many attacks can be attributed to Muslim anti-Christianism or the jihadist cause.
In Spain, by contrast, attacks against churches and crosses are overwhelmingly carried out by anarchists, radical feminists and other far-left activists, who appear to be striving for Christianity to be permanently removed from the public square.
The motives behind the anti-Christian attacks, which are often met with public indifference, seem to fall into four broad categories:

• Vandalism. Most attacks against Christian sites in Europe consist of acts of vandalism. These often lack explicit anti-Christian intent, but cross over into profanation and desecration when they target objects and symbols sacred to Christians. From a strictly legal perspective, such crimes are difficult to prosecute as hate crimes: according to the laws of most European countries, prosecutors must prove that the vandalism was specifically motivated by an animosity toward Christians or Christianity.
• Theft. Many attacks have financial motives. In France, Germany and elsewhere, thieves have stolen church bells, sacred metal objects and even drain pipes, apparently with the aim of selling those items to scrap dealers. In Britain, nearly half of all churches on the National Historical List for England have been ransacked. Many of the crimes are being attributed to highly organized gangs which use drones, online maps and global positioning systems first to identify their targets through aerial footage and then plot their own escape routes. The plunder is dominated by thefts of metal, with entire roofs being removed from historic places of worship, according to the heritage agency, Historic England.
• Politics. Some attacks, especially those against Roman Catholicism, which some radical feminists and radical secularists perceive to be a symbol of patriarchal power and authority, are political in nature. Such attacks include defacing churches and religious symbols with political graffiti, much of it anarchist or feminist in nature. In Geneva, Switzerland, for instance, the iconic International Monument to the Protestant Reformation, also known as the Reformation Wall, was vandalized with multi-colored paint forming a rainbow, a symbol of the LGBT groups.
• Religion. Many attacks that appear to be religious or spiritual in nature reflect a deep-seated hostility toward Christianity. Such attacks include smearing feces on representations of Jesus Christ or statues of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Other attacks involve the defilement or theft of Communion wafers, which Roman Catholics believe are transformed into the real presence of Christ when consecrated. Some of these attacks may be the work of Satanists, who use the consecrated host in a ritual called the Black Mass.

Such attacks, especially on the essence of Roman Catholic beliefs, appear to be aimed at intimidating or harassing Catholics or preventing them from practicing their faith. These attacks, which do meet the definition of hate crimes, pose a direct threat to the freedom of religion in Europe, but prosecutions are rare.

Writing for the Spanish newspaper ABC, Juan Pedro Quiñonero, its Paris correspondent for more than 35 years, explained:

"The desecrations have an evident anti-Christian character. Drunk with fierce hatred, the vandals want to give their actions a clear anti-religious dimension. In recent months, anti-Semitic gangs have desecrated Jewish cemeteries, 'signing' their actions with swastikas. In the case of the desecration of Catholic churches, vandalism is not 'signed.' It speaks for itself: heinous mockeries of the figure of Christ on the cross and the desecration of high altars."

European media outlets, which often amplify attacks on Muslims, have tended to downplay malicious acts against Christians. The issue of anti-Christian vandalism was rarely reported by the European media until February 2019, when vandals attacked nine churches within the space of two weeks. The issue made headlines again in April 2019, when a suspicious fire gutted the iconic Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Since then, however, the European media are once again shrouding facts in silence.
The French newspaper Le Monde has disputed the government's use of the term "anti-Christian acts" and warned politicians not to "instrumentalize" the issue:

"More than a thousand acts a year, an average of three per day: the number is high, but what does it cover? Can we really speak of 'profanations' — a strong term — which implies an attack on the sacredness of a place of worship?
"Ideological motivations are in the minority: it is mainly about thefts and vandalism. The perpetrators often are minors."

Annie Genevard, a French MP for the center-right Republicans party, has called for a parliamentary investigation in order better to understand the nature and motivations of anti-Christian attacks. In an interview with the French newspaper Le Figaro, she said:

"Recently, two terribly serious acts of vandalism were committed in symbolic places and shocked me greatly. A few days ago, the fire in the Church of Saint Sulpice, a church that houses remarkable works: there is nearly a million euros of damage and works are irretrievably lost! And some time ago, vandals broke into the Basilica of Saint Denis and damaged stained-glass windows and the organ. Saint Denis it is not only a place of Christian worship, it is the necropolis of the kings of France! It is a meeting place between our national history and our Christian roots. That one dares to attack this monument is really shocking not only for Christians but for many citizens, whatever their convictions. When an anti-Christian act is committed, we turn our backs on the history of France, which has an intimate connection with the Christian religion.
"To attack a Christian tomb or a church, whatever the motivation of the author, is a way to attack one part of our collective identity, because Christianity and its monuments have shaped our culture, our history and our landscapes. Seeking to destroy or damage Christian buildings is a way of 'wiping the slate clean' of the past. In an era where the most absolute cultural relativism reigns, it is all the more serious that some of our oldest and most valuable landmarks are endangered. A civilization that would deny and turn away from its past would be a civilization that would be lost. I think this is worrying, and there is a need for a strong political response."

In an interview with the Italian magazine Il Timone, the Bishop of Fréjus-Toulon, Dominique Rey, said that the attacks against churches in Europe are taking place within the context of a European society marked by secularism, nihilism, hedonism, cultural and moral relativism, consumerism, and the widespread loss of the sense of the sacred. He noted:

"In the past, even those who said they were non-Christian lived in a cultural context marked by Christianity.... roots that have been abandoned by our culture and by our societies. Once the Christian roots, which were the common denominator, were removed, people turned to communitarianism, which led to a social fragmentation that is leading to a break. To find a common base of values and points of reference, Europe must restore centrality to its Christian roots....
"There is an evolution of acts of profanation against monuments, but also against the Catholic faith itself. In the past, even if one was not a Christian, the expression of the sacred was respected. We are facing a serious threat to the expression of religious freedom. Secularism must not be a rejection of the religious, but a principle of neutrality that gives everyone the freedom to express his faith.
"We are witnessing the convergence of laicism — conceived as secularism, which relegates the faithful only to the private sphere and where every religious denomination is banal or stigmatized — with the overwhelming emergence of Islam, which attacks the infidels and those who reject the Koran. On one hand, we are mocked by the media ... and on the other, there is the strengthening of Islamic fundamentalism. These are two joint realities."

The French political analyst Jérôme Fourquet, in his book — French Archipelago: Birth of a Multiple and Divided Nation — shows how the de-Christianization of France is taking place within the context of mass migration from the Muslim world. He provides extensive statistical data — for instance, that less than 5% of French people regularly attend Mass on Sundays — to show that France's detachment from Christianity is so far-reaching that the country now is effectively "post-Christian." He writes:

"There is a growing de-Christianization, which is leading to the 'terminal phase' of the Catholic religion.... For hundreds of years the Catholic religion profoundly structured the collective conscience of French society. Today this society is the shadow of what it once was. A great civilizational change is underway."

Appendix I: Attacks on Christian Churches and Symbols in Europe in 2019

Gatestone Institute reviewed thousands of newspaper reports, police blotters, parliamentary inquiries, social media posts and specialized blogs from Britain, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy and Spain. The research found that approximately 3,000 Christian churches, schools, cemeteries and monuments were vandalized, burned, looted or defaced in Europe during 2019 — at more than five a day, a record year for anti-Christian hostility on the continent.
Suspicious Fires at Churches in Europe in 2019:

• December 15. Saint-Just-en-Bas, France. A suspicious fire destroyed the roof of the town's 15th century church. More than three dozen worshippers who were in the building when the fire broke out were evacuated. The church's roof had been renovated during the summer at a cost of €200,000 ($225,000).
• December 5, Lyon, France. An arsonist set fire to the doors of the Church of Saint-Georges.
• November 16. Buschhoven, Germany. Arsonists set fire to the Catholic Church of St. Katharina. It was the second arson attack on the church in as many weeks. Arsonists also set fire to a nearby Protestant church, the Versöhnungskirche.
• November 13. Chios, Greece. Arsonists set fire to three churches in the village of Chalkios: The attacks against the Agios Haralambos Church, the Church of Panagia and the Church Agios Petros and Pavlos were attributed to illegal migrants, who are being house at a migrant camp situated 500 meters from one of the churches.
• November 12. Éauze, France. Two 15-year-olds set fire to the Éauze Cathedral. The Gothic church, a national heritage site, sustained significant damage.
• November 8. Lleida, Spain. Arsonists set two fires inside the Church of Sant Joan.
• September 20. Olivenza, Spain. Arsonists set fire to the front doors of the Convent of San Juan de Dios. In August, the convent's chapel was defaced with graffiti.
• October 10. Naples, Italy. Arsonists set fire to the historic Basilica of San Giovanni Maggiore.
• September 10. Froncles, France. Arsonists set fire to the Church of Saint-Joseph.
• September 9. Witzenhausen, Germany. Arsonists tried to burn down Christuskirche, a Lutheran church.
• September 4. Wimbotsham, England. St. Mary the Virgin Church, an historic church in Wimbotsham, was gutted by a fire. The church, originally built in 1175, was "100% damaged" and all furniture was lost, including an altar table dating to 1638. "The history and heritage lost in this fire is irreplaceable and the costs of repairing the physical damage will be substantial," said Peter Aiers, of the Churches Conservation Trust. An investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing.
• August 30. Wildeshausen, Germany. Arsonists set fire to St. Peter Catholic Church, causing more than €100,000 ($112,000) in damage.
• August 21. Rheine-Schotthock, Germany. Arsonists tried to burn down St. Ludgeruskirche Catholic Church. Previously, thieves broke into the church on August 6.
• August 24. Saint-Amand-sur-Sèvre, France. A suspicious fire broke out at the church of Saint-Amand, which dates to the 11th century.
• July 30. Bad Schussenried, Germany. An arsonist set fire to a church in the Schussenried Abbey, a former monastery founded in 1183.
• July 29. Kippenheim, Germany. An arsonist set fire to hymnals in St. Mauritius Catholic Church.
• July 19. Hyvinkää, Finland. Arsonists set fire to the Old Church. The church was saved but an adjacent storage facility was completely destroyed.
• June 30. Bourg-Achard, France. Arsonists set fire to the organ at the Church of Saint-Lô. The organ was completely destroyed. On June 26, arsonists set fire to an altar cloth at the same church, which has now been closed.
• June 12. Vienna, Austria. Arsonists set fire to the Dominican Church of St. Rotunda. A tourist used holy water to put out the fire.
• June 1. Ankum, Germany. Arsonists set two fires simultaneously at St. Nicholas Church.
• May 24. Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Holy Family Church in Ballymagroarty was set on fire and completely destroyed. CCTV footage showed a group of unidentified youths starting the fire.
• May 16. Nordhausen, Germany. Arsonists set fire to the historic St. Blasii church, originally built in the 12th century. The ante-chamber to the church was burned.
• April 21. Eyguières, France. A suspicious fire damaged the confessional of the Church of Notre Dame de Grace.
• April 15. Paris, France. A suspicious fire gutted the iconic 12th century Notre Dame Cathedral.
• April 19. Heek, Germany. Vandals attempted to set fire to a church in Nienborg.
• March 19. Senigallia, Italy. An arsonist tried — twice on the same day — to set fire to the Cathedral of San Pietro.
• March 17. Paris, France. A suspicious fire destroyed the entrance to the Church of Saint Sulpice, the second-largest church in Paris. Police said that the fire was not accidental.
• March 5. Skegness, England. St. Matthew's Church was damaged in an arson attack.
• February 21. Hellenthal, Germany. An arsonist set fire to the Trinitatis Lutheran Church. The church's roof was completely destroyed.
• January 29. Sainte-Foy-Lès-Lyon, France. A 40-year-old man with a long criminal record was arrested for trying to burn down the Church of Saint Foy. He was placed in a psychiatric ward.
• January 20, Almería, Spain. Arsonists attempted to burn down the hermitage of Torregarcía; arsonists previously tried to burn down the chapel on January 11.
• January 17. Grenoble, France. The Church of Saint Jacques was completely destroyed by fire. Only the bell tower was left standing. Police initially had concluded that the fire was an accident, caused by in an electric short circuit in the roof of the church. On October 8, however, Grenoble Prosecutor Eric Vaillant said that an anarchist group had deliberately started the fire, although the perpetrators had not yet been identified.
• January 10. Rovereto, Italy. Arsonists attempted to burn down the Church of Sant Rocco. The attack was believed to be a response to the church's opposition to abortion.

Attacks on Christian Historical Sites in Europe in 2019:

• December 5. Valdecilla, Spain. Vandals destroyed a 16th century stone cross at the Church of Solares-Valdecilla. A 14-year-old vandal broke his leg when part of the stone fell on him.
• November 4. Oloron-Sainte-Marie, France. Thieves rammed a car into the doors of the Cathedral of Oloron-Sainte-Marie, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and stole silverware, a monstrance, a chalice and liturgical garments from the 16th century. Mayor Hervé Lucbéreilh said: "It is a considerable loss. Some pieces are unique, like the monstrance of Saint Grat, and no insurance will replace them. The thieves were obviously connoisseurs...they only stole the most precious items which dated from the 16th century. Beyond the market value, the inhabitants find themselves amputated of part of their history and their heritage."
• October 16. Bois-de-Céné, France. Three teenagers were arrested for stealing relics from the Church of Bois-de-Céné, a national historical monument which dates to the 14th century.
• September 9. Seville, Spain. Vandals destroyed the historic Cross of the Inquisition at the City Hall. Mayor Juan Espadas condemned the "absolutely inexplicable vandal destruction" of a the "jewel" of Seville's heritage.
• August 19. Brue-Auriac, France. Thieves stole an 85-kg (187-pound) bronze church bell from a Romanesque chapel. Mayor André Rousselet said that he believed that the bell was melted, and the metal was sold, possibly yielding up to €500 ($560) for the thief.
• July 19. Ginasservis, France. Thieves stole two bells from two chapels in the village. The 80-kg bell of the Chapelle Saint-Damase dates from 1867; the 53-kg bell of the Chapelle des Pénitents dates from 1737. The latter chapel is classified as a national historic monument. Mayor Hervé Philibert said that the bells were carefully removed and that nothing was broken. He said that he believes that the purpose of the theft is "resale to a collector."
• February 27. Hochheim, Germany. Vandals ransacked the St. Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Church, an iconic landmark built in 1730. In January 2016, the church was set on fire by an arsonist, causing more than half-a-million-euros in damage.
• February 26. Hanover, Germany. A burglar smashed the windows of the Kreuzkirche, a medieval church consecrated in 1333.
• February 23. Dublin, Ireland. A 36-year-old Dublin man, Brian Bridgeman desecrated several mummies at St. Michan's, a church that dates to 1095. He opened crypts in the church's vaults and twisted the head of a nun who had lived 400 years ago. He also decapitated an 800-year-old crusader and removed his head from the site. The skull was later found by police and returned to the church. Bridgeman, who was identified on CCTV and admitted guilt, was sentenced to 28 months in prison. "It's a sad day for the church and a sad day for humanity that someone would do such a thing," said Archdeacon David Pierpoint.
• February 5. Lavaur, France. Two teenagers desecrated the Cathedral of St. Alain, which dates to the 13th century. They then set fire to a nativity scene that was still in place from the Christmas holidays. The fire caused extensive smoke damage to the cathedral, which had just undergone a five-year, multi-million-euro renovation. The teenagers were identified through CCTV footage.
• January 18. Minden, Germany. Vandals smashed the stained-glass windows of St. Simeon's Lutheran Church, which was consecrated in 1214. In November 2018, the church was defaced with graffiti; in March 2017, vandals smashed a 19th century stained-glass window.
• January 10. Ripley, England: Thieves stole the lead roof of All Saints Church, which dates to 1390. During the course of the theft the thieves caused extensive damage to the stone parapet on the roof. The damage was estimated at tens of thousands of pounds.

Desecrations of Cemeteries in Europe in 2019:

• December 23. Villeroux, Belgium. More than a dozen graves at a local cemetery were desecrated. Gravestones were knocked over and crosses were smashed.
• December 14. Aron, France. Vandals desecrated 30 graves at a local cemetery. They smashed crosses, stole marble plates as well as a statue of Jesus Christ.
• November 30. Saint-Priest-la-Prugne, France. A local cemetery was ransacked.
• November 24. Buré, France. A local cemetery was desecrated. Gravestones were knocked over and crosses were smashed.
• October 27. Zabrze Helence, Poland. A total of 29 tombstones and 22 crosses were destroyed at the cemetery of the Blessed Virgin Mary Mother of the Church.
• August 30. Vals-près-le-Puy, France. Tombstones were overturned in three different cemeteries in the town. Police said the attacks were not religiously motivated.
• July 21. North Jutland, Denmark. A 45-year-old man spray-painted the number '666' on 87 gravestones at Hadsund Cemetery.
• June 20. Evesham, England. Vandals defaced tombstones at St. Andrews Parish Church Cemetery with satanic graffiti. On June 16, vandals desecrated more than 100 graves at the same cemetery.
• February 14, Madrid, Spain. Gravestones were defaced at the cemetery of the Almudena Cathedral.
• February 6. Kamień Krajeński, Poland. Vandals ransacked a local cemetery. Tombstones were destroyed, crosses were knocked down and a statue of Jesus was destroyed.

Urination, Defecation and Exhibitionism at Christian Sites in Europe in 2019:

• November 20. Tarbes, France. Vandals ransacked the Church of Saint-Jean. They broke open the doors, smashed statues and burned hymn books. They also urinated and defecated on the church floors and used Bibles and hymn books as toilet paper.
• October 27. Moncoutant-sur-Sèvre, France. Five teenagers vandalized a local church. They urinated on confessionals and holy water fonts and set fire to alter cloths and hymn books.
• August 28. Montefiascone, Italy. The Church of the Madonna dell'Arco was equipped with security cameras after vandals left excrement, vomit, condoms, cigarettes and beer cans scattered throughout the building. The church, which dates to 1796, has also been spray-painted with Satanist graffiti.
• August 25. Argenthal, Germany. An exhibitionist exposed himself to worshippers at a Catholic Mass.
• August 20. Giovo, Italy. The doors of the Church of Santa Maria Assunta di Verla were smeared with excrement.
• August 1. Crebio, Italy. The Church of Sant Antonio was desecrated with excrement that was smeared on the doors, walls and holy water fonts.
• July 26. Jaén, Spain. An 18-year-old man defecated in front of the altar of the Roman Catholic Santuario de la Fuensanta de Villanueva and then smeared his feces on a statue of Jesus Christ. The act was captured on CCTV.
• May 31. Lahntal-Caldern, Germany. Vandals broke into the Nikolaikirche, a Lutheran church, set fire to a Bible and a hymnal and left a pile of feces at the entranceway.
• May 17. Großholbach, Germany. Vandals ransacked the Holy Trinity Catholic Church, burned a Jesus statue and urinated on the pews. "This hurts," said Mayor Michael Kohlhass. "These are values ​​that have simply been trampled upon."
• February 5. Nîmes, France. Vandals broke into the Notre Dame des Enfants church, forced open the tabernacle which houses the Eucharist, scattered consecrated hosts and spread excrement on the walls and inside and outside the church.

Anarcho-Feminist-Satanist and Politically-Motivated Attacks on Churches in Europe in 2019:

• December 5. Munich, Germany. Four churches in the Munich area were defaced with political graffiti.
• November 27. Mordelles, France. The Church of Saint-Pierre was defaced with anarchist graffiti.
• November 26. Rennes, France. November 26. Vandals defaced the Church of Notre-Dame-de-Bonne-Nouvelle with Satanist graffiti.
• November 13. Segovia, Spain. November 13. The Church of San Agustín, which dates to the 16th century, was spray-painted with anarchist graffiti. An "anti-fascist" group called Yesca claimed responsibility for the vandalism.
• August 18. Singen, Germany. Vandals spray-painted Herz-Jesu Catholic Church with the number, "666."
• June 19. London, England. Vandals lit fires outside the doors of four churches in east London. At each church, occult symbols and messages including pentagrams, spirals, the number 666 and the word "hell" were etched into the doors.
• March 8. Madrid, Spain. The Church of Santa Mónica in Rivas Vaciamadrid was spray-painted with anti-Catholic and radical feminist graffiti to mark International Women's Day.
• March 8. Logroño, Spain. The Cathedral of Santa María de la Redonda was defaced with feminist propaganda.
• March 8. Seville, Spain. The Church of San Roque was defaced with anarcho-feminist graffiti.
• March 8. Valladolid, Spain. Radical feminists broke into the archbishopric of Valladolid.
• March 5. Reichstett, France. Vandals smashed the stained-glass windows of a Catholic church and painted "666" and "Satan" on the church walls.
• March 4. Alicante, Spain. Satanists performed an occultist ceremony in front of an evangelical church. They then defaced the entrance to the church with Satanist graffiti.
• February 22. Katowice, Poland. Four local chapels and churches were defaced with Satanist graffiti.
• January 31. Vendôme, France. Thieves broke into the Church of Madeleine and stole a wooden tabernacle containing a ciborium and consecrated hosts. "The consecrated hosts are sometimes used during black magic rituals," said Father Pierre Cabarat. "This theft is a profanation, an assault on the Christian community."
• January 16. Córdoba, Spain. The Santa Victoria de Córdoba Roman C