In the year 2018, French police have reported 129 thefts and 877 acts of vandalism in Catholic spaces around the country. Despite these alarming figures, the mainstream media and the Church have remained relatively silent on the issue.
But the 2018 figures, alone, fail to tell the entire story. The French Ministry of the Interior has stated that attacks on Christian sites in the country have quadrupled between 2008 and 2019, according to RealClearInvestigations.
Such attacks include the desecration of Catholic cemeteries, trashing the inside of churches, urination in baptismal fonts, destroying centuries-old art, more.
Many people have speculated as to the reason there has been an increased number of attacks on Catholic sites around the country.
Some have cited growing ‘Christianophobia’ and Islamic extremism, while others think it’s perhaps due to a growing irreverence for religion and religious symbols in general.