French basilica desecrated
August 07, 2014
Two churches in Thonon-les-Bains, a city of 30,000 in eastern France, were desecrated on August 5, according to Le Messager, a newspaper based in Chablais.
A man in his thirties entered St. Hippolytus Church and the Basilica of St. Francis de Sales and destroyed or damaged altars, stained glass, statues, candelabras, and a bronze cross. He also tore open a tabernacle and trampled on the Eucharist.
The man suspected in the desecration is a “young Muslim,” a local priest said.
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Posted by: virgy5944 -
Aug. 09, 2014 10:45 AM ET USA
The suspect is not just a young Muslim but he should be described as a young Muslim terrorist.
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Posted by: koinonia -
Aug. 08, 2014 10:26 PM ET USA
Sadly, per the accounts of several friends who've reported back after visits to France in the past decade, the startling number of churches being transformed into shopping malls and museums due to decline of the Church in France leave fewer sacred places. Now the sacred buildings that remain are being desecrated. In a tragic and horrible ironic twist, it appears there might be more interest from outside forces intent on doing evil than from the faithful to attend, to cherish and to keep them.
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Posted by: jg23753479 -
Aug. 07, 2014 1:15 PM ET USA
No one should be the least surprised about this; it is an almost daily occurrence across France. (Those who doubt that -- and who can read French -- should go to the online site of L'observatoire de la Christianophobie). It's past time we all woke up and realized that this kind of thing is INEVITABLE in any society as soon as Muslims become even a moderately sized minority. If the complacent irenicism displayed by many Western Christians prevails, we will all soon face this.
