From May 2020 to October 2021, 100 incidents of destruction of Catholic sanctuary occurred in the United States. This was revealed in a report of the religious freedom committee of the bishopric of the country.
(Vatican News Network)For more than a year, 100 Catholic sanctuaries in the United States have been subjected to “cultural relic destruction” operations, including evil patterns and hateful words inscribed. The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Denver, Colorado is also one of the sanctuary destroyed. The information presented in a report prepared by the Committee of Religious Freedom of the American Bishops’ Conference reflects the relevant analysis results from May 2020 to October 2021 for more than a year.
Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, Chairman of the Religious Freedom Committee of the American Bishops’ Conference, and Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, Chairman of the Domestic Justice and Human Development Committee of the Bishops’ Conference, wrote in a statement, “These destruction of cultural relics, Its meaning ranges from tragic to profanity, from obvious to difficult to explain”. There are many things we don’t understand about this phenomenon. Our society desperately needs the grace of God”.
In their statement, the bishops encouraged, “in all circumstances”, to “pray and forgive them” for those who commit such acts. The priests emphasized, “If the motive of these actions is to punish some of our past mistakes, then we have to reconcile with each other. If it is because we do not understand our teachings and irritate us, then we should give a clear explanation.” But in any case, “the incident that destroyed the Catholic sanctuary must end” because “this is not the way to solve the problem.”
The bishops of the United States called on “elected officials” to come forward and condemn these attacks. At the same time, they also thank the police for investigating these incidents and taking appropriate measures to prevent further damage.” The bishops at the end of the statement told “members of the church” “Let’s call for their help.
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