. . . “We don’t understand, and it hurts. Before, they would steal candles, now they are going after statues and in particular the Virgin Mary. Who will be next?” he told France-Bleu radio.
A statement by the Diocese of Bayonne made clear that these events are part of a pattern that is becoming increasingly pervasive. “Generally speaking, the number of anti-religious or racist provocations and attacks (such as the desecration of the Jewish cemetery in Bayonne last weekend) continues to grow in our country, where 1,704 anti-religious acts (1,063 anti-Christian acts, 541 anti-Semitic acts and 100 anti-Muslim acts) were recorded by the Ministry of the Interior in 2018. … It would be irresponsible not to be concerned about them or to downplay their gravity,” it said.
On Thursday, before the four last desecrations had been discovered, Bishop Marc Aillet of Bayonne made the following personal statement that repeated the above statistics.
“Having been informed by Fr. Jean-Jacques Dufau, parish priest of Christ the Savior in Pau, that five statues of the Blessed Virgin have been found overturned and broken in three churches of the parish (Notre-Dame, Saint-Martin and Saint-Jacques), I cannot but react.
“This is not only a totally unacceptable act of vandalism, but a sacrilege that deeply offends the faith of believers, in whose eyes the Virgin Mary is the Mother of God, the Mother of the Church and the Mother of us all.
“A complaint was, of course, lodged with the police this morning.
(…)
“In Pau, a Mass, followed by a prayer vigil, will be celebrated on Tuesday January 14 at 7 p.m. in the church of Notre-Dame, in reparation for the outrages committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
“Let us not be afraid, in these circumstances, to invoke the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary: ‘O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee’.” . . .
