Notre-Dame. Undicesima Chiesa cattolica da inizio anno in Francia.
Giuseppe Sandro Mela.
2019-04-16.
Da inizio anno sono undici le Chiese Cattoliche vandalizzate e profanate, tra la sfacciata indifferenza dei media.
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Eppure già dal 5 febbraio scorso si era levata la richiesta ufficiale che le cattedrali e le chiese fossero protette. Richiesta indirizzata direttamente ad un presidente di partito all’Assemblea Nazionale.
«Je demande que nos cathédrales et nos églises
soient protégées»
«Invité par le maire de Lavaur, Bernard Carayon, Laurent Wauquiez, le président de LR (Les Républicains), a visité ce mercredi en fin de matinée la cathédrale Saint-Alain. La chapelle du Sacré-Coeur de cet édifice religieux avait été vandalisée le mardi 5 février. “Je demande que nos cathédrales et nos églises soient protégées”, a déclaré, à plusieurs reprises Laurent Wauquiez.»
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No, Signori miei. No.
La cattedrale di Notre-Dame è anche, meglio era, una splendida ed unica opera artistica di quella che taluni indicano come epoca dei secoli bui.
Notre-Dame era ed è una Chiesa consacrata alla beata Vergine Maria, Tempio dell’Eucaristia.
Non è stata sfregiata l’opera d’arte, si è voluto infergere il Cristo, e proprio quando la Chiesa celebra il memoriale della Passione e Resurrezione.
In odio al Vangelo, al Cristo ed alla Chiesa.
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Sull’incendio di Notre-Dame la magistratura ha aperto l’inchiesta:
«L’inchiesta sul rogo che ha distrutto la cattedrale di Notre Dame è stata aperta con il capo d’imputazione di «distruzione involontaria a mezzo di incendio»: a comunicarlo è stata la Procura di Parigi. La pista principale di indagine, dunque, è quella di un incendio accidentale, non di un attentato, che sarebbe partito dall’attuale cantiere sul tetto della cattedrale.»
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Vorremmo di tutto cuore poter dire che aspettiamo fiduciosi i risultati delle indagini e quanto decideranno i magistrati.
Vorremmo davvero, ma non possiamo.
In Francia, come del resto in tutto l’Occidente, è in corso una pesante campagna anti-cattolica, che dalle parole violente sta passando all’azione.
Si è liberi di tutto, tranne che di professare il cattolicesimo: è una vera e propria persecuzione, di questi tempi resa ancor più violenta dall’imminenza elettorale.
Aspettiamoci quindi che a Notre-Dame si aggiungano altre Chiese e Cattedrali cattoliche, magari anche con qualche persona dentro. Cosa ci si credeva? Che avessimo dimenticato?
Ma i Cattolici hanno la Speranza: non mero ottimismo o simulacro di scaramanzia, bensì una Virtù Teologale.
Porta inferi non praevalebunt.
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«A church in Angoulême, France, was severely damaged on 8 March by vandals seemingly intent on sabotaging worship services.
The intruders sabotaged the sound system and threw large quantities of paint on walls, chairs, a piano and Bibles at the Hope and Life Church. The cost of repairs is estimated to be €11,000 (£9,400; $12,400).
The church’s Pastor Joseph Miall spoke of a deliberate “will to destroy” that seemed to be intent on preventing worship services.
This was the latest in a spate of attacks against churches in France since the beginning of the year. The National Council of Evangelicals in France report that there has been an increase of 25% in serious incidents of vandalism against Christian churches in 2019, compared with the same period in 2018.
On 5 February, a fire was started at the Cathedral of Lavaur and, the following day, excrement was smeared in the shape of a cross on a wall of a church in Nîmes. A church interior in Dijon was defaced on 9 February and a statue of Christ was beheaded at a church in the village Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie on 23 February. A church in Houilles was reportedly targeted three times within a week, near the beginning of the year.»
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The world watched in horror at Paris’ historic Notre Dame Cathedral erupting in flames Monday. The fire is the latest in a series of troubles that have plagued Catholic churches in France in the last several months.
Some of those incidents were acts of vandalism, unlike the fire at Notre Dame, which appears to be an accident connected to renovations of the church.
The image of the famous spire engulfed in flames is a hard hit to the historically deeply Catholic France. While Notre Dame is undoubtedly the most well-known landmark to be affected, Paris’ second largest church, Saint-Sulpice, briefly burst into flames on March 17, with fire damaging doors and stained glass windows on the building’s exterior. Police later reported that the fire had not been “an accident.”
In February, a cross of human excrement was smeared on the wall of the Notre Dame des Enfants in Nimes. The vandals also looted the church and threw consecrated wafers in the garbage.
The same month, the altar at Saint-Alain Cathedral in Lavaur was set on fire, while statues and crosses were smashed throughout the premises. Two teenagers were later arrested.
In another incident on February 4, a statue of the Virgin Mary was found smashed on the ground at St. Nicholas Catholic Church in Houilles, Yvelines. Just days later, the Eucharist was scattered and the altar cloth soiled at the Church of Notre Dame de Dijon.
There is no evidence that the devastation at Notre Dame was anything but accidental, though the near-destruction of the iconic cathedral has put a tragic focus on the previous months’ events.
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Catholic churches in France are being targeted with arson attacks, vandalism, desecration of holy statues, and the destruction of the Eucharist. The attacks have been happening since the start of the year.
The Church of St. Sulpice in Paris, where the Da Vinci Code movie was filmed, was set on fire just after midday mass on Sunday, Le Parisien reports. Firefighters and police said the blaze was an arson attack.
In February, a 19th century statue of the Virgin Mary was smashed at the St. Nicholas Catholic Church in Houilles. The statue was “completely pulverized,” Father Francois-Laurent Heart said. “It is irreparable.” The church reported three incidents in 10 days, with a cross also thrown on the floor by vandals.
At Saint-Alain Cathedral in Lavaur, statues and crosses were smashed and an altar cloth was burned in February. A statue of Christ on a cross was also interfered with, as vandals twisted one of the arms to make it appear that Jesus was dabbing, La Depeche reports. Two teenagers were later arrested over the damage.
Meanwhile, the Notre-Dame des Enfants church in Nimes was looted and vandals used human excrement to draw a cross on the wall in February. Consecrated hosts of unleavened bread, which Catholics believe is the body of Jesus Christ, were found scattered outside with rubbish.
Also in February, eucharistic hosts were stolen and scattered around Notre-Dame church in Dijon, with Father Emmanuel Pic denouncing the attack as on the “heart of the Catholic faith.”
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