Catholic Groups Warn Of Increased Church Vandalism, Call For More News Coverage
NEW YORK — A gunman shot into a Denver-area church in two separate incidents earlier this month, crimes that have jarred the Catholic community across Colorado.
“We are praying for the conversion of whoever did this,” Derrick Johnson, who serves as the deacon at Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church, told Catholic News Agency. “If there’s any opportunity to speak to that person, we’d be happy to speak with them and have a dialogue.”
The incidents, which took place on Aug. 6 and 8, will cost the church $75,000 in damages. No one was injured in the attacks. Photos show bullet holes had shattered windows.
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Security footage of the first incident shows “a single motorcyclist shooting what we believe to be a pistol as he drove by,” Johnson said.
“These incidents happened after hours,” he added. “We don’t believe they are targeting people, just targeting the church for whatever reason.”
The Colorado incident is part of a rash of crimes committed against houses of worship across North America, predominantly aimed at Catholic churches, since last year. Many of these incidents have taken place in the weeks prior and after the Supreme Court decision to roll back federal abortion rights. Many of the places vandals targeted included pro-life pregnancy centers.
Catholic voters have said they are worried about attacks targeting churches and pro-life pregnancy centers, a recent poll by EWTN found.
In July, the White House condemned vandalism at houses of worship “in the strongest possible terms,” calling the attacks “despicable.”
“(President Joe Biden) is deeply concerned about these reports and condemns arsons and other vandalism of houses of worship in the strongest possible terms,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates told Fox News. “Such attacks are despicable, endanger lives and have the appalling aim of provoking fear. They are also unlawful.”
Biden, a practicing Catholic, said that Americans “must be vigilant against the rising tide of targeted violence and hate at home and abroad, and work to ensure that no one feels afraid to attend a religious service, school, or community center, or walk down the street wearing the symbols of their faith.”
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has tallied that 152 incidents have taken place against churches since May 2020, including arson and the beheading of statues. Despite the increased number of incidents, the cases have gotten little national news attention. It also isn’t known how many of these cases, especially ones against churches, have anything to do with the abortion issue.
“Most of those who work in the mainstream media are pro-abortion, and enthusiastically so,” Catholic League President Bill Donohue said. “As such, they have little interest in flagging the violence that marks protesters on their side. We will continue to track these incidents at the Catholic League and will contact the authorities — we already have — about the need to take action.”
In neighboring Canada, a watchdog group found Catholics have suffered a spike in hate crimes last year. Statistics Canada released a report on Aug. 2, revealing that the largest increase in targeted crime occurred against Catholics, with a 260% increase between 2020 and 2021.
“Undoubtedly, this increase can be attributed to attacks on Catholic churches in Canada in 2021, including the deliberate burning down of churches,” the Catholic Civil Rights League said in a statement on its website. “The CCRL had reported that the period from May through August of last year witnessed more attacks on Catholic churches than during any other period. Mainstream media has reported the overall 27% increase, but the most staggering of all increases, the 260% rise in anti-Catholic hate crimes, has been largely ignored.”
The findings come as Pope Francis just ended a six-day trip to Canada to apologize for the church’s role in in forcibly converting them that led to generations of physical and sexual abuse.
The organization said it will fulfill its “mandate to work with the media to ensure that anti-Catholic defamation and indeed anti-Catholic violence will not be tolerated” and that the government work towards probing such incidents. It remains unknown how many of these cases stem from the abuse allegations or whether they are related to other factors.
“Our politicians must speak out against this alarming trend, and law enforcement officials must vigorously investigate all incidents of hate crimes against Catholics,” the group said, “and charge those responsible.”
Clemente Lisi is a senior editor and regular contributor to Religion Unplugged. He is the former deputy head of news at the New York Daily News and teaches journalism at The King’s College in New York City. Follow him on Twitter @ClementeLisi.