Anti-Catholicism Vandalism Ignites AOH Call to Action
On Friday, May 14th a statue of the crucifix was torn down and an American flag was burned at St. Athanasius Roman Catholic Church in Brooklyn, New York. This occurrence is only the latest of a series of disturbing attacks against various Catholic institutions and parishes throughout the country. There have been at least 70 incidences of arson, vandalism and other destruction of Catholic churches and schools since May 2020, including the deliberate torching of the historic San Gabriel Mission in California and the crashing of a minivan through the front door at Queen of Peace Church in Florida where the man proceeded to ignite an incendiary device.
The Ancient Order of Hibernians remain vigilant in our mission to protect our Catholic churches and schools from any manifestation of anti-Catholicism, which Professor Philip Jenkins called the last acceptable prejudice in America. This anti-Catholic prejudice manifests itself in the lack of interest and attention by our local and national media and our elected officials on the dramatic increase in both numbers and intensity of hate crimes against the Catholic institutions. Such deliberate acts of violence targeting the destruction of images and buildings sacred to the Catholic community reflects a disturbing trend and should draw condemnation from across the political spectrum and should be widely reported in the national media. Similar hate crimes against the Asian community and other communities of faith have rightfully garnered a significant amount of media attention and vigorous political action by our political leaders in New York and Albany. Where do they stand on hate crimes against the Catholic community?
We call on Governor Cuomo, Mayor de Blasio and our local elected officials to publicly recognize the increasing number of attacks and strongly condemn these cowardly acts of violence against the Catholic community and invest more resources into protecting our Catholic churches and schools. Please contact Governor Cuomo and your local state Assemblymen and Senators calling on them to publicly condemn the continued acts of violence and vandalism against Catholic Churches.
In Friendship, Unity and Christian Charity,
Ancient Order of Hibernians – New York State Board