Israel: Vandals desecrate Catholic church

St Stephen's Church

Source: LPJ/CCCJ

On Wednesday, 20 September vandals broke into and desecrated St Stephen Church in Beit Gemal, near Beit Shemesh, west of Jerusalem. A statue of the Virgin Mary and stained-glass windows depicting important passages in the life of Jesus were smashed.

Bishop Boulos Marcuzzo, Patriarchal Vicar in Jerusalem and Palestine, who visited the Church yesterday, said: “this is not only an act of vandalism but an action against the sacredness of the holy places and the faith of people.”

He added that “In the Holy Land, is a deep faith and culture. We must live together with the diversity of beliefs. It is absolutely necessary to accept others, to accept each other in our diversity.”

In mid-December 2015, the cemetery of the convent was vandalized and several wooden and concrete tomb crosses were smashed and broken.

In addition to its strong condemnation of this atrocious attack, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem affirms that education is the solution to inculcate respect for the religious and cultural differences of people.

The Council of Catholic Churches in Jerusalem, said in a press release, that it demands “the State of Israel, with all its institutions concerned, punish who were responsible for such acts because it could easily lead to serious and unpredictable consequences, which would be most unwelcome in the current tense religious climate.”