[Grem] Miért hallgat a Nyugat a katolikus Szűz Mária szobrok, papok, templomok megszentségtelenítéséről?

[Emoke Greschik]

The unnamable violence: Why the West is silent about the wave of
desecration
Matthew Schmitz <https://catholicherald.co.uk/author/matthew-schmitz/>

https://catholicherald.co.uk/magazine/the-unnamable-violence-why-the-west-is-silent-about-the-wave-of-desecration/

*When churches are desecrated, statues smashed and priests attacked, the
once-Christian West doesn’t know how to respond *

On July 14, parishioners of *Saint-Budoc à Porspoder in France* learned
that *a vandal or vandals had vomited in the parish’s holy water stoups and
thrown a cross in the trash.*

On July 26, *paint was splashed on the faces and crotches of figures *in*
the Valinhos Way of the Cross* in *Fatima, Portugal.*

On July 28, *three men entered the sacristy of a Catholic church in
Szczecin, Poland, demanded vestments for use in a same-sex wedding, and
beat the church’s pastor. *Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki described the
attack as an instance of the “ever more frequent attacks of hatred against
believing people and priests”.

The Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians, a
non-profit organisation based in Vienna, reports that* anti-Christian
attacks and acts of vandalism are on the rise across Europe. *In France
alone, according to the French Interior Ministry, anti-Christian acts
quadrupled between 2008 and 2019.

The rise in violence against Catholics has been *strangely ignored and
downplayed* – not only by the media, but by Catholics themselves. Many
Catholics are understandably reluctant to complain about what Pope Francis
has called “polite persecution” when their brothers abroad are being
beheaded by ISIS. Catholic leaders also rightly stress that they suffer
less than some other religious groups – most notably Jews, who likewise
face a surge in violence.

Other Catholics fear that drawing attention to these attacks will encourage
the scapegoating of Muslims, despite the fact that most of these acts do
not seem to be perpetrated by Muslims. *Satanist symbols like “666” or
slogans of sexual liberation are a recurring features of these attacks*.
These are not the symbols employed by ISIS.

These legitimate concerns have led to *an unfortunate pattern of
minimisation.* “We adopt a reasonable attitude. We do not want to develop a
discourse of persecution. We do not wish to complain … We are not victims
of a ‘Cathophobia’,” Archbishop Georges Pontier, head of the French
bishops’ conference, told Le Point magazine. “In its history, Judaism has
fought an ongoing struggle against anti-Semitic groups. We Catholics in
France now do not have to face such violence every day!”

Attempts to minimise anti-Catholic violence may be well-intentioned, but it
is doubtful they are having the desired effect. As several scholars have
noted, one of the main reasons Western elites overlook the persecution of
Christians around the world is the fact that they perceive Christians as a
privileged group. Highlighting the rise in violence against Christians in
the West is the simplest way to challenge this assumption.

It also seems unhelpful to pit *anti-Catholic violence against anti-Semitic
violence*, as if acknowledging the one required ignoring the other. Since
the Second Vatican Council, Catholics have sought to stress what they have
in common with the Jewish people. *Today the two religions unhappily share
the hatred of a society that resents the demands of religion, tradition,
and community.*

One of the goods that can be brought forth from attacks on Christianity is
a heightened appreciation for what Catholics and Jews have in common. It is
notable in this regard that *Catholics have been attacked for a sexual
ethic that they share with Jews. The disfiguring of the figures at Fatima
is only one minor example. Sexual graffiti, disfigurings of the Blessed
Virgin and other similar acts are commonplace in desecrations of Catholic
churches*.

One sign of how far we are from reckoning with anti-Christian acts is the
fact that we have no generally agreed upon word to describe them. Acts of
aggression against Islam and Judaism are instantly describable using widely
understood terms. No such term exists for attacks on Christians. Various
intellectuals and activists have suggested terms such as Cathophobic,
Christianophobic, and Christophobic, but no suggestion has received wide
acceptance. *Our society has a kind of aphasia about acts of aggression
against Christians. It is the violence that cannot be named.*

Part of the problem lies in the sociologically unique position inhabited by
Catholics in the West. Our liberal culture has a highly developed
vocabulary for protecting minority rights. But there is no set of terms for
describing violence against the faith that in many ways defined the West,
and that remains the majority faith in many Western nations.

Given the unique constituting role Catholic Christianity has played in
Western life, describing it as another subaltern faith will always be
awkward. Even in Protestant nations, where Catholics have been an oppressed
minority, *Catholicism** is widely identified with an oppressive past. As
other religious bodies have cast off the formerly universal Christian
opposition to contraception and abortion, **Catholicism has stood firm. *T*his
makes it a symbol of tradition and authority *even in societies that long
ago shook off its authority.

One recent example of this occured at the height of the recent US debate
over abortion laws. As heavily Protestant states such as Alabama and
Georgia (77 per cent and 70 per cent Protestant, respectively) passed
restrictions on abortion, *the Catholic Church **became a target of ire.*
On May 19,* the doors of Notre Dame de Lourdes parish *in the wealthy
college town of Swarthmore, PA, *were tagged with the words “You do not
have the right to decide how others live, #ProChoice.”*

Because the West was once defined by its acceptance of Catholicism and is
now in many ways defined by its rejection of it, achieving an equal and
neutral treatment for Catholicism is all but impossible. Western society
looks on the Church as one might look on a former lover. Given their
tangled history, the only future possibilities are resentful obsession or a
revival of pass­ionate attachment. Nothing is more unlike­ly than the kind
of casual relationship one might enjoy with a new acquaintance.

JHH Weiler, a Jewish legal scholar who defended Italy’s practice of
displaying the crucifix in public buildings before the Eur­opean Court of
Human Rights, has called on Europe to overcome its “Christophobia” by
acknowledging its Christian identity. In a short book entitled A Christian
Europe: An Exploratory Essay, Weiler described what such a Europe would
look like:

“It is a Europe that, while celebrating the noble heritage of Enlightenment
humanism, also abandons its Christophobia and neither fears nor is
embarrassed by the recognition that Christianity is one of the central
elements in the evolution of its unique civilisation. It is, finally, a
Europe that, in public discourse about its own past and future, recovers
all the riches that can come from confronting one of its two principal
intellectual and spiritual traditions.”

*Benedict XVI issued a similar call in his 2011 message for the World Day
of Peace. He lamented “hostility and prejudice against Christians” and
urged Europe to “be reconciled to its own Christian roots”:*

“I also express my hope that in the West, and especially in Europe, there
will be an end to hostility and prejudice against Christians because they
are resolved to orient their lives in a way consistent with the values and
principles expressed in the Gospel. *May Europe rather be reconciled to its
own Christian roots, which are fundamental for understanding its past,
present and future role in history; in this way it will come to experience
justice, concord and peace by cultivating a sincere dialogue with all
peoples.”*

*Confronting anti-Catholic acts requires a different sort of work than
confronting violence against other faiths*. *The problem is not hatred of
the other, but hatred of the self. It is a refusal of patrimony, an attempt
to deny one’s own character. **As Weiler and Benedict have both clearly
seen, Christianity does not require the West’s tolerance; it demands its
loyalty. **Unless Europe realises that toleration of other religions does
not justify denial of Europe’s own Christian identity, anti-Christian acts
are likely to increase, while being studiously ignored by those who purport
to deplore all prejudice.*

*Matthew Schmitz is senior editor of First Things*
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