France’s burned churches and faith under persecution

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anneramones

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Does faith under persecution grow?
The new of Notre Dame’s fire(which is being treated as accidental by the way) prompted me to do a little research about the Catholic situation in France and the number of catholic churches being vandalized/burned/ desecrated is increasing every year, more than twelve churches were vandalized or burned just days before Notre Dame’s fire. No responsibles have been found. A worrying anticatholic sentiment has been growing in the country for years now and I wonder what will be the future of the catholic faith in France, with a strong secular society and Islam as fastest growing religion.
 
Has the French government ascertained that the fire was intended? I was under the impression that it was an accident.
 
It’s an accident and the Muslim cleric exhorted Muslims to help rebuild Notre Dame.

I’m also willing to bet that not all the church vandalism, if any, is coming from Muslims. Probably a lot is coming from the usual subjects, namely, mentally ill people and delinquent youth.
 
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Notre Dame wasn’t burned by some secular zealots or islamic extremists. It was an accident caused by the construction site (At least, this is the main theory).
Also, the secularism is not just against catholicism, it’s against religion in general. Islam and judaism are also heavily targeted in France.

And, to be honest, I think that the event of Notre Dame actually had a positive effect: Many people (Not just catholics but also atheists, muslims and jews) showed their support and donated in two days a total of 1 billion to repair the cathedral. Also, the faith of the French Catholics seems to have been strongly reinforced by the disaster.
 
I heard a Priest on EWTN say the following about Notre Dame Cathedral fire, “Perhaps it’s a message from Jesus telling Pope Francis to Rebuild the Church”?

Perhaps we all are being called by Christ to “Rebuild the Church”?

We all should ponder this message.
 
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How are we not “rebuilding the Church” every day by being active, practicing Catholics who care enough about the faith to be posting on this forum?
 
Well, the investigators don’t actually know it was an accident yet—they are officially investigating the fire as one. I’m sure the scope of the investigation will change if they find evidence of a criminal act. To date and to my knowledge, they have not.
 
I posted a message from a Roman Catholic Priest. You may not want to think about his message, perhaps others do. My take on your reply is you completely missed the point of his message.
 
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You can go count churches that have been vandalized, but the reality is, last I checked, buildings get vandalized all the time. Even if a church is truly desecrated, those doing it are likely looking for the attention knowing they’d make people extra upset.

Also many of these great churches are well beyond the ability of an individual parish to maintain. The buildings were designed in an era when labor was cheap and building codes were nonexistent. The secular government generally has to step in to preserve them, be glad the community sees them worth maintaining no matter how religious.
 
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This thread needs some details, such as this recent Newsweek article (thanks to the folks who posted this in the Notre Dame fire threads):

www.newsweek.com

France: Catholic Churches Targeted by Vandals

Altars were vandalized, statues were defaced and human excrement was smeared onto a cross, sparking fears of a rise in anti-Catholic sentiment in the country.
www.newsweek.com www.newsweek.com

The Vienna-based Observatory of Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe, which was founded in cooperation with the Council of European Bishops Conferences (CCEE) but is now independent said there had been a 25 percent increase in attacks on Catholic churches in the first two months of the year, compared with the same time last year.

Its executive director, Ellen Fantini, told Newsweek that while in many cases the motive for the attacks was not known, France faced growing problems with anti-Christian violence, especially by anarchist and feminist groups.

“I think there is a rising hostility in France against the church and its symbols," but "it seems to be more against Christianity and the symbols of Christianity.
 
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