Defiled: missals burned, excrement spread in French church

In the church, prayer books were burned, excrement spread, a statue thrown to the ground.  

Details (via Google translate): 

Mass books torn and burned, others soiled with excrement, a cross thrown to the ground,  a fire extinguisher emptied, a statue thrown on the benches of the faithful: such are the damages discovered.

Wednesday early afternoon, two individuals entered the church of St Jean de Tarbes, to commit these degradations in this church located in the center of the prefecture of the Hautes-Pyrénées.

According to Bishop Nicolas Brouwet, Bishop of Tarbes and Lourdes, this is not a desecration of the pure religious meaning of the term. This word is used only when liturgical objects – altar, tabernacle, service objects – are degraded or stolen.

In this case, this is an act of abuse and defilement committed against a place of worship.

The mayor of Tarbes, Gérard Trémège and the prefect of the Hautes-Pyrénées have shown their solidarity with the Catholic faithful, struck by this event. “These acts should not be trivialized. Respect for beliefs and convictions of any kind must be absolute,” said the prefect of Hautes-Pyrenees Brice Blondel.

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Earlier this year, Le Figaro reported an average of three acts of vandalism per day in France.

Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy …