Wednesday, April 17, 2019

Church Incidents and Attacks in France

Church Incidents and Attacks in France --- ===



Ministry of the Interior reported that in 2018 there were recorded 541 anti-Semitic acts, 100 anti-Muslim acts, and 1063 anti-Christian acts.  data provided by two official sources (France’s Interior Ministry and the national police), around 700 to 877 acts of vandalism occurred at Christian places of worship in France in 2018, a rate of 1.9 to 2.4 per day. snopes

*Footnotes


  1. Why Were Authorities so Quick to Rule out Arson in the Notre Dame Conflagration? PJMedia  BY ROGER KIMBALL APRIL 17, 2019 The flames were not quenched at the 12th-century masterpiece of Gothic architecture when the authorities announced that they had ruled out arson as the cause of the blaze.    Last month, a fire broke out at Saint-Sulpice, the second largest church in Paris. Within a day or two, the authorities had determined that the fire had been deliberately set. You didn’t read about it in The New York Times, but what happened at Saint-Sulpice was only one of the most destructive acts of vandalism directed against Christian churches in France.  Over the past month, in fact, there have been at least twelve reported acts of vandalism against French churches: statues smashed or beheaded, altars desecrated,  human excrement smeared on church walls in the shape of a cross and decorated with communion hosts. France, like many countries in Western Europe, is swaddled in a nervous silence about the inroads made into their society by militant Islam. They, like many Americans, are terrified of being accused of “Islamophobia.”  Yet the Ministry of the Interior reported that in 2018 there were recorded 541 anti-Semitic acts, 100 anti-Muslim acts, and 1063 anti-Christian acts.




*Timeline


Did Vandals Attack 12 Churches in France in One Week? A Breitbart report re-emerged on social media in the aftermath of the April 2019 fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. DAN MACGUILL
PUBLISHED 18 APRIL 2019 mostly false: In the week between 3 and 10 February, there were five incidents at five churches in different parts of the country. However, that is clearly well short of the “12 churches in one week”   Neither the Breitbart article that cited the number "12," nor its source, nor a website that tracks anti-Christian acts in France actually documented a week in early 2019 in which 12 churches were vandalized.  conspiracy theorist website WND.com posted an article that bore the headline “12 French Churches Attacked Before Notre Dame Inferno” and engaged in provocative but evidence-light speculation that the cathedral fire may have been deliberately set.  20 March, Breitbart reported that: dozen Catholic churches have been desecrated across France over the period of one week in an egregious case of anti-Christian vandalism.  Although Breitbart’s 

headline announced 12 churches had been attacked and vandalized over one week, the incidents described or alluded to in the article actually comprised eights acts of vandalism at six churches, over a space of more than seven weeks.

Spanish newspaper ABC, which similarly claimed on 20 March that “a dozen” churches in France had been vandalized in the previous seven days. However, that ABC article also mentioned only the three incidents at Nîmes, Dijon and Lavaur and alluded to the four incidents at two churches in Yvelines, the earliest of which happened on 25 January and 1 February.

data provided by two official sources (France’s Interior Ministry and the national police), around 700 to 877 acts of vandalism occurred at Christian places of worship in France in 2018, a rate of 1.9 to 2.4 per day. snopes

the month of February as a whole did appear to see an unusually high number of such incidents, at least according to the website Christianophobie.fr, which tracks reports of anti-Christian incidents throughout France. 
In publishing their statistics for the month, Christianophobie’s Editor-in-Chief Daniel Hamiche wrote that since launching the tracker in 2015, “We have never recorded a month as appalling as February 2019,” claiming that the group had identified 15 acts of vandalism and 10 desecrations in France over that 28-day period. 

April 18, 2019  snopes https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/churches-destroyed-in-france/   Does a Map Shared Online Depict All Churches ‘Destroyed’ in France in the Last 4 Years?
A 2019 fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris sparked interest in the condition of France's other churches.
DAN EVON
PUBLISHED 18 APRIL 2019

Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris from a fire, a slew of bad actors started to spread an unfounded narrative that blamed the fire on Muslims and connected the incident, which is being investigated as an accident by authorities, to churches that had been recently vandalized in France.

The Facebook page 1776TV.com, for instance, shared a map that supposedly showed churches “destroyed” in France over the last four years:



This map comes from the christianophobie.fr, a website dedicated to tracking acts of “Christianophobia” in France and the rest of the world. While this image is often shared as if it shows all of the churches that were “destroyed” in France, this map actually documents a wide range of nefarious activity, such as vandalism, theft, and arson, that occurred at both churches and cemeteries over an apparent span of two years (not four), covering 2017 and 2018.

It should also be noted that while this map does document some relatively serious crimes, such as arson or the toppling of church statues, many of these pins correspond to graffiti-related incidents. We also found one pin related to a person’s simply interrupting a church service.

15 April 2019, as firefighters rushed to save the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris from a fire, a slew of bad actors started to spread an unfounded narrative that blamed the fire on Muslims and connected the incident, which is being investigated as an accident by authorities, to churches that had been recently vandalized in France.
March 17, 2019  Church of Saint-Sulpice, Paris - WikipediaOn 17 March 2019, the church briefly caught fire, which climbed up the doors before spreading to the stained glass above them and to a nearby stairway. No one was hurt in the incident.[21] Police later confirmed the fire was an arson attack.[22]   Paris' historic Saint-Sulpice church briefly catches fire, nobody hurt ... reuters  Mar 17, 2019 - PARIS (Reuters) - Paris’s historic Saint-Sulpice church, which was used in the filming of U.S. author Dan Brown’s ‘Da Vinci Code’ bestseller, briefly caught fire on Sunday but firefighters were able to bring the blaze under control and nobody was hurt. The fire started ...




March 2019 snopes , France’s central criminal intelligence service, SCRC, reported that there were approximately 875 acts of vandalism against Catholic churches in 2018.
Police: 875 French Catholic Churches Desecrated in 2018 Alone  infowars- Police: 875 French Catholic Churches Desecrated in 2018 Alone .... Let's face it, over 800 acts of vandalism against French churches in one ...

An act of vandalism at the church of Saint Nicolas in Maisons-Laffitte. (10 February snopes

Vandalism at church of Notre Dame, Dijon. (9 February)snopes

Vandalism at church of Notre Dame des Enfants, Nîmes. (6 February)snopes

Fire and vandalism at Lavaur Cathedral, Lavaur. (5 February)snopes

Feb 1, 3 Three acts of vandalism at the church of Saint Nicolas in Houilles. (25 January, 1 February, 3 February)snopesFebruary 2019 snopes  Ministry of the Interior released a report in February 2019 that tallied the number of acts of degradation (or vandalism) against various religious establishments. The Ministry found that there were 1,063 anti-Christian acts in 2018 (approximately 700 of which related to property crimes and 100 of which related to violent acts), 541 anti-semitic acts (81 of which were related to violence, 102 related to property crimes), and 100 anti-Muslim acts.  France simply had more churches. France is home to approximately 40,000 churches:  ttacks on Muslims were at their lowest levels since 2010, attacks on Christians were at the same level as the previous year, and that attacks on the Jewish community rose in 2018.

January 25 Three acts of vandalism at the church of Saint Nicolas in Houilles. (25 January, 1 February, 3 February)snopes
*Sources



Notre Dame Burns | The American Spectator
https://spectator.org/notre-dame-burns/
  I’m not saying that the cause of the Notre Dame fire is terrorism. It’s too soon to know that sort of thing and I wasn’t attempting to imply such. The thought hadn’t even occurred to me, but then I read about other church desecrations and it felt possible, which is terrible. As a measure of how little news this made, upon a bit of digging, I found that churches across France have been desecrated in the previous weeks. From Voice of Europe:
Since the beginning of 2019, France has seen a torrent of attacks which have included arson, vandalism, and desecration of a number of its historic Catholic churches.
The defacers have torn down crosses, knocked down tabernacles, smashed statues, and have destroyed the Eucharist, igniting fears of a rise in widespread anti-Catholic sentiment across the country.
On Sunday the 17th of March, just following midday mass, the historic Church of St. Sulpice in Paris was set ablaze, Newsweek reported. Although nobody was injured, French authorities are currently still looking into the attack, which firefighters have attributed to arson.
In recent months, anti-Semitic gangs have desecrated Jewish ... of the Interior recorded 541 anti-Semitic acts, 100 anti-Muslim acts, and 1063 ...



Anti-Semitic acts hit France amid anti-government protests - AP News
https://www.apnews.com/3778f241925f4df8816f5827cac2d19a

Feb 12, 2019 - These are just a few of the hundreds of anti-Semitic acts that have been ... registered incidents of anti-Semitism rose to 541 last year from 311 in ...

Spate of anti-Semitic acts sparks outrage in France - France 24
https://www.france24.com › Return to homepage › Europe

Feb 12, 2019 - Anti-Semitic acts surged by 74 percent last year, from 311 in 2017 to 541 in 2018, French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said Monday.
Why Were Authorities so Quick to Rule out Arson in the Notre Dame Conflagration?  BY ROGER KIMBALL APRIL 17, 2019 The flames were not quenched at the 12th-century masterpiece of Gothic architecture when the authorities announced that they had ruled out arson as the cause of the blaze.    Last month, a fire broke out at Saint-Sulpice, the second largest church in Paris. Within a day or two, the authorities had determined that the fire had been deliberately set. You didn’t read about it in The New York Times, but what happened at Saint-Sulpice was only one of the most destructive acts of vandalism directed against Christian churches in France.  Over the past month, in fact, there have been at least twelve reported acts of vandalism against French churches: statues smashed or beheaded, altars desecrated,  human excrement smeared on church walls in the shape of a cross and decorated with communion hosts. France, like many countries in Western Europe, is swaddled in a nervous silence about the inroads made into their society by militant Islam. They, like many Americans, are terrified of being accused of “Islamophobia.”  Yet the Ministry of the Interior reported that in 2018 there were recorded 541 anti-Semitic acts, 100 anti-Muslim acts, and 1063 anti-Christian acts.

Catholic Churches Are Being Desecrated Across France—and ...
Newsweek-Mar 21, 2019
France has seen a spate of attacks against Catholic churches since the start ... the historic Church of St. Sulpice in Paris was set on fire just after ...has seen a spate of attacks against Catholic churches since the start of the year, vandalism that has included arson and desecration.

Vandals have smashed statues, knocked down tabernacles, scattered or destroyed the Eucharist and torn down crosses, sparking fears of a rise in anti-Catholic sentiment in the country.

Last Sunday, the historic Church of St. Sulpice in Paris was set on fire just after midday mass on Sunday, Le Parisien reported, although no one was injured. Police are still investigating the attack, which firefighters have confidently attributed to arson.

RELATED: Everything we know about the devastating fire at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris
As Notre Dame Burns, European Churches Are Vandalized ...
https://www.zerohedge.com/.../notre-dame-burns-european-churches-are-vandalized-...

Countless churches throughout Western Europe are being vandalized, defecated on, and torched. In February, vandals desecrated and ... Authored by Raymong Ibrahim via The Gatestone Institute,

Countless churches throughout Western Europe are being vandalized, defecated on, and torched.
European Churches: Vandalized, Defecated On, and Torched "Every ...
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/14044/europe-churches-vandalized

In Germany, four separate churches were vandalized and/or torched in March ... Countless churches throughout Western Europe are being ...
 As Gatestone's Raymond Ibrahim reported in an article just one day before the Notre Dame blaze:
"Countless churches throughout Western Europe are being vandalized, defecated on, and torched. In France, two churches are desecrated every day on average... In virtually every instance of church attacks, authorities and media obfuscate the identity of the vandals. In those rare instances when the Muslim (or "migrant") identity of the destroyers is leaked, the perpetrators are then presented as suffering from mental health issues."

Twelve French Churches Attacked, Vandalized in One Week
Breitbart-Mar 20, 2019
Police have concluded that the fire was the result of arson and are now looking for possible suspects. The restoration of the church from the ...
Anger as France sees 10 Catholic churches attacked in ONE week ...
Express.co.uk-Mar 20, 2019


Catholic churches in France vandalized, set on fire & smeared with ...
RT-Mar 22, 2019
Catholic churches in France are being targeted with arson attacks, vandalism, desecration of holy statues, and the destruction of the Eucharist.



Conspiracy Theorists Blame Jews, Muslims For Notre Dame Fire
Forward-Apr 15, 2019
Notre Dame & the other Catholic church burnings in France could not be ... attackon one of several possible locations, including a synagogue.

Fox News anchors silence guests who connected Notre Dame fire to ...
Blaze.com-Apr 16, 2019
... the fire that engulfed the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris was connected to recent church attacks in the French city and around the country.

Lou Dobbs Says Ruling Out Notre Dame Arson Is a 'Political Decision ...
Newsweek-6 hours ago
French prosecutors have opened an investigation into the blaze and are ... fire may be linked to a reported spike in church vandalism in France.


'Code of silence' obscures surge of church attacks
WND.com-16 hours ago
While French authorities believe the blaze that destroyed the roof of the ... attackson churches have included a fire in Saint-Sulpice church in ...
German far right tries to link Notre-Dame fire to anti-Christian 'attacks'
Daily Mail-Apr 16, 2019

Germany's AfD Party Links Notre Dame Blaze to French Church ...
Sputnik International-Apr 16, 2019

Germany's AfD claims Notre-Dame fire linked to anti-Christian attacks
International-The Local Germany-Apr 16, 2019



As Notre-Dame burned, alt-right figures launched a campaign on ...
Business Insider-Apr 16, 2019
As a huge fire took hold of Paris' Notre-Dame Cathedral on Monday evening, ... media linking the blaze to Muslims and hinting at a sinister cover up. Frenchofficials on Monday night were quick to say that arson was unlikely to be ... jailed three weeks previously for planning an attack at the church in 2016,



Churches Desecrated in Ongoing Attacks Across Europe | CBN News
https://www1.cbn.com/.../us/.../churches-desecrated-in-ongoing-attacks-across-europe

1 day ago - Vandalism was carried out in 1063 attacks on churches and Christian ... And in France studies show the attacks on churches have increased as ...According to the German news site PI-News, every day in France, two churches are desecrated. They report 1,063 attacks on Christian churches or symbols like crucifixes, icons, and statues in France in 2018, marking a 17 percent increase from the year before.  The Middle East Forum reports that attacks on Catholic churches in France since the start of the year have included smashed statues, broken crosses, and demolished tabernacles. 

the historic Church of St. Sulpice in Paris was set on fire after a midday service on Sunday.


It was the second attack in a month after the St. Nicholas Catholic Church in Houilles found their statue of the Virgin Mary destroyed and the altar cross on the ground

France: Muslim migrant held for extensive damage to centuries-old ...
https://www.jihadwatch.org/.../france-muslim-migrant-held-for-extensive-damage-to-c...

Saint-Denis:There has been a wave of vandalism of churches all over France recently. The identity of the perpetrator of this particular incident suggests that more than just this case could be a manifestation of Islam’s violent contempt for Christianity

this story. “Saint-Denis: the alleged vandal of the basilica will be tried in May,” translated from “Saint-Denis : le vandale présumé de la basilique sera jugé en mai,” by Jeanne Cassard, Le Parisien, April 12, 2019 (thanks to David):

A 41-year-old man appeared this Friday at the court of Bobigny for damaging the organ of the basilica. The hearing was postponed to May 10th.

It was a dialogue of the deaf. “I do not know how I am involved in this case,” said the defendant in the court in Bobigny this Friday. Suspected of having damaged two doors, several stained glass windows, and the organ of the basilica of Saint-Denis in March, this 41-year-old man was speaking at a preliminary hearing.... replied that he “does not understand the French judicial system”.

The forty-year-old was arrested Thursday at the detention center in Vincennes (Val-de-Marne), identified by his DNA found in the basilica. A Pakistani national, he arrived in France two months ago and does not speak French. He has already received a legal summons for having damaged property twice in February.


Multiple French churches vandalized - The Catholic Thing 50 in one month
https://www.thecatholicthing.org/2019/03/14/multiple-french-churches-vandalized/
Mar 14, 2019 - There were almost 50 attacks and acts of vandalism against religious sites in Francedocumented in the month of February, according to ...

https://www.express.co.uk › News › World
Mar 20, 2019 - A SEVEN day spree of vandalism has seen Catholic churches targeted across Francesparking fears of a fresh wave of anti-Christian sentiment ...

Shock: 10 Catholic Churches Attacked in France in One Week - Patheos
https://www.patheos.com/.../shock-10-catholic-churches-attacked-in-france-in-one-we...

Mar 21, 2019 - Details: At least 10 incidents of vandalism and desecration of Catholic churches have been reported across the Channel since the beginning of ...

Several churches vandalised throughout France in one week
freewestmedia.com/.../several-churches-vandalised-throughout-france-in-one-week/

Feb 9, 2019 - Three churches were desecrated in one week in France. ... the Saint-Nicolas churchsuffered a third act of vandalism in ten days, according to ... The study concluded that some 245 million Christians experience high levels of .

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