RICHARD A. SOKERKA
According to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), more than 120 acts of vandalism at Catholic churches or to Catholic symbols, statues, schools, and shrines have occurred since May 2020.
That shocking number is continuing to rise unabated with little or no consequences for those who commit these hate crimes. Incidents include graffiti sprayed on church walls, Catholic statues beheaded or smashed, gravestones desecrated with swastikas, and arson.
Just last month, a devastating arson fire caused more than $1 million damage at St. Anthony School in Parma, Ohio, forcing more than 200 students in grades K–8, the faculty, and staff to move into temporary quarters for the remainder of the school year.
Attacking houses of worship and religious art is akin to attacking the community who prays there, said Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, ahead of Religious Freedom Day, observed Jan. 16. “For nearly two years, the U.S. bishops have noticed a disturbing trend of Catholic churches being vandalized and statues being smashed,” said Cardinal Dolan, chairman of the USCCB’s religious liberty committee. “An attack on a house of worship is certainly an assault on the particular community that gathers there. It is also an attack on the founding principle of America as a place where all people can practice their faith freely,” said Cardinal Dolan. Condemning the “acts of hate,” he stressed the importance of reaching out to the perpetrators with prayer and forgiveness.
As these hate crimes rage on, it is high time the Department of Justice prioritize ending these attacks.
Sen. John Kennedy, a Republican from Louisiana, wrote a letter to the Department of Justice this month asking it to act against rising crime targeting Catholic churches and worshipers, saying he has received no response since raising the issue with the DOJ in 2020.
In his letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, Sen. Kennedy cited numerous examples of attacks on Catholic churches and institutions, including arson, vandalism, and beheading of holy statues.
“If the government continues to let these crimes go unpunished, it will further inhibit the people’s practice and enjoyment of their fundamental, constitutional right,” Sen. Kennedy said. “Thus, I again ask that the DOJ increase efforts to identify and prosecute criminals targeting Catholic people and property so that the tens of millions of Catholics in our country can continue to practice their faith safely.”
“In my state of Louisiana, a delinquent broke the heads off statues of Jesus and the Virgin Mary and threw planters and statues at the church’s stained-glass windows,” Sen. Kennedy wrote in his letter. “In March, Missouri nuns woke up to bullets coming through their walls, only feet from where they were sleeping.”
In his letter, Mr. Kennedy asked the department to send an update within 30 days on the “specific steps being taken to bring these injustices to an end.”
Hate crimes against the Catholic Church are out of control. In addition to reporting these crimes, the Church needs to demand accountability from police, prosecutors, and elected officials in the highest levels of government, including the Office of the President.