Christian places of worship in France and Germany are being torched and vandalized on a daily basis, according to news reports in Europe.
In nearly all instances of attacks on churches, authorities and media obfuscate the identity of the vandals, German news site PI-News reported.
The Church of St. Sulpice in Paris (photo by David Iliff / Wikimedia Commons) was torched (video grab at right) on March 17.
Fox News hosts Shep Smith and Neil Cavuto reportedly cut off commentators’ speculation about the cause of yesterday’s Notre Dame cathedral fire.
According to PI-News, 1,063 attacks on Christian churches or symbols (crucifixes, icons, statues) were registered in France in 2018. In France, two churches are desecrated every day on average.
The following took place in France in February and March of this year:
- Vandals plundered Notre-Dame des Enfants Church in Nîmes and used human excrement to draw a cross there; consecrated bread was found thrown outside among garbage.
- The Saint-Nicolas Church in Houilles was vandalized on three separate occasions in February; a 19th century statue of the Virgin Mary, regarded as “irreparable,” was “completely pulverized,” said a clergyman; and a hanging cross was thrown to the floor.
- Vandals desecrated and smashed crosses and statues at Saint-Alain Cathedral in Lavaur, and mangled the arms of a statue of a crucified Christ in a mocking manner. In addition, an altar cloth was burned.
- Arsonists torched the Church of St. Sulpice in Paris soon after midday mass on Sunday, March 17.
In Germany, four separate churches were vandalized and/or torched in March alone, the report said.
Meanwhile, the Al-Muntasir media group – an ISIS affiliated propaganda wing – posted an image of the burning Notre Dame Cathedral on April 15 and called the catastrophe “retribution and punishment.”
The ISIS-posted image was accompanied by the words “Have a good day.” It added that Notre Dame’s “construction began in the year 1163 and ended in 1345. It’s time to say goodbye to your oratory polytheism.”
The Paris prosecutor’s office said it was treating the fire as an accident, ruling out arson and possible terror-related motives, at least for now.
In Germany, according to PI-News, “there is a creeping war against everything that symbolizes Christianity: attacks on mountain-summit crosses, on sacred statues by the wayside, on churches… and recently also on cemeteries. Crosses are broken, altars smashed, Bibles set on fire, baptismal fonts overturned, and the church doors smeared with Islamic expressions like ‘Allahu Akbar.’ ”
“Hardly anyone writes and speaks about the increasing attacks on Christian symbols. There is an eloquent silence in both France and Germany about the scandal of the desecrations and the origin of the perpetrators…. Not a word, not even the slightest hint that could in anyway lead to the suspicion of migrants… It is not the perpetrators who are in danger of being ostracized, but those who dare to associate the desecration of Christian symbols with immigrant imports. They are accused of hatred, hate speech and racism.”
L’Observatoire de la Christianophobie, a group which documents attacks on Christians and churches in France, noted that the most notorious anti-Christian attack had to be the one against Father Jacques Hamel, who was killed in the middle of mass at Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray church on July 26, 2016 by two young Islamists.
Hamel reportedly shouted “Be gone, Satan!” as the men slit his throat.
A nun named Sister Helene, who witnessed the attack, said Hamel shouted at ISIS fanatics Adel Kermiche and Abdel Malik Petitjean, both 19, to stop what they were doing. But they refused to listen, according to the Mirror. “It was then that one of them struck the first blow to his throat,” she said. “Thinking I was going to die, I offered my life to God.”
Sister Helene survived the attack, although one nun sustained some injuries because of the attack. The police later gunned down the fleeing suspects outside the church.
During Fox News’s coverage of the Notre Dame fire, host Shepard Smith cut off a French government official who suggested that the blaze may not have been accidental.
“I would tell you something, even if nobody died, it’s like a 9/11, the French 9/11,” French official Philippe Karsenty told Smith. “And it’s a big shock. I mean, this church was there for more than 850 years, even the Nazis didn’t dare to destroy it.”
Karsenty said: “And you need to know that for the past year we’ve had churches desecrated each and every week in France. All over France. Of course you will hear the stories about the political correctness which will tell you that it’s probably an accident — ”
Smith then cut in, saying: “Sir? Sir. Sir. We’re not going to speculate here of the cause of something which we don’t know.”
“I’m just telling you something, we need to be ready — ” Karsenty said.
Smith replied: “No sir. We’re not doing that here. Not now, not on my watch.”
Fox New host Neil Cavuto also reportedly abruptly cut off Catholic League president Bill Donahue for insinuating the fire was intentionally caused.
Source: https://www.worldtribune.com/unreported-christianophobic-attacks-on-the-rise-in-france-and-germany/
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