Six Christian churches in Europe suffered arson attacks in the space of just one week, reveals a report released Monday by a prominent Christian persecution monitoring group.
The Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe (OIDAC Europe) noted that over the past several weeks, Europe has seen a “shocking” number of arson attacks on historic churches.
In the last month, at least nine such anti-Christian arson attacks have taken place, with six of them occurring in the week ending September 2.
On August 25, arsonists set fire to a church in the German city of Bad Wörishofen and also attempted to burn the altar cloth, causing thousands of euros worth of damage. “The altar is not an ordinary table, but a consecrated place,” noted the parish priest of the church, adding that it was not “a harmless prank, but gross destruction.”
Three days later, in St Johnston, Ireland, a 27-year-old man was arrested on charges of attempting to set fire to three different religious buildings, including two Christian churches.
Notably, on September 1, an arson attack in Saint Omer, France, largely destroyed the historic Church of the Immaculate Conception. Some 120 firefighters fought the blaze for several hours before bringing it under control.
Police have identified the perpetrator as a leftwing, Antifa radical, who had previously shared anti-Christian and pro-Islamic State content on social media. The man has previously attempted to set fire to 15 Christian churches.
On the same day, arsonists set fire to the parish church of the Holy Name in Greenisland, Northern Ireland. The large fire destroyed most of the church, where the 70th anniversary of the parish had just been celebrated the night before.
Italy was not spared arson attacks on its churches and on September 2 the door of the Church of the Miracle in the Sicilian city of Mazara was set on fire. On September 14, suspected arsonists set fire to the oratory of the Migliarina church in the Tuscan seaside town of Viareggio, completely destroying the interior of the building and necessitating the evacuation of several young boys.
The Netherlands, on the other hand, suffered three such anti-Christian attacks in the past couple weeks.
A local Marian chapel in the southeastern city of Gennep was the victim of an arson attack on September 7, the third act of vandalism on the same church in recent times.
On September 13, arsonists set fire to the candelabrum in the Saint Willibrord church in Mill, leaving the church covered in soot particles.
The next day in Wijchen, the church of St Anthony Abbot was severely vandalized, with two statues of the Virgin Mary badly damaged and various devotional objects set on fire. One wooden statue of Mary was set on fire together with the candles and rosaries present in the Marian chapel. Only the head and torso of the statue remain, charred but relatively intact. In the Lourdes grotto in the church garden, the stone statue of Mary was cpmpletely destroyed.
Police have arrested a 38-year-old woman from Nijmegen on suspicion of vandalism and arson at the Saint Anthony church.
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