Christians in France see ‘worrying’ surge in hate crimes
by Chris Eyles, Christian Today:
Bereft parishioners in a French town found a statue of Mary beheaded and church benches set ablaze on Tuesday, less than two months after a report surfaced of nearly 1,000 hate-crimes against Christians last year in France.
Local firefighters put out the fire before removing the charred benches and chairs from the Roman Catholic Church of Sainte-Thérèse in Poitiers, reported La Nouvelle République. There was soot damage to the walls, floors and artifacts, all requiring specialised cleaning.
The Rev. Albert Jadaud, who in July celebrates 50 years in the priesthood, noticed nothing suspicious when he arrived at 8:30 a.m. that day.
“At 11 a.m. I had an appointment with a fire safety officer,” Jadaud told La Nouvelle République. “We opened the sacristy and, just as I wanted to go to the choir, he told me not to come. The church was full of smoke. As he’s a former Paris fireman, he took the necessary measures.”
The church temporarily closed to the public, and the incident forced a funeral service to relocate to Migné-Auxances.
It was not the first time vandals have targeted the church building, as a church official in 2022 found other decapitated statues.
The vandalism followed a report of nearly 1,000 hate crimes against followers of Christ in France in 2023, according to an official from the French Ministry of Interior.
Read also: France is spiralling out of control by Gavin Mortimer, Spectator
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