Northern Westphalia: 40 crosses and statues destroyed.
Münster (kath.net / idea)
A series of attacks against Christian symbols there has taken place in recent weeks in northern Westphalia: The Münster police have registered since September a total of 40 cases in which religious statues, had the head was chopped off, bent or burned crosses and shrines and chapels were destroyed. This was announced by the press officer of the Münster police, Angela Lüttmann, on request, to the Protestant news agency Idea.
A series of attacks against Christian symbols there has taken place in recent weeks in northern Westphalia: The Münster police have registered since September a total of 40 cases in which religious statues, had the head was chopped off, bent or burned crosses and shrines and chapels were destroyed. This was announced by the press officer of the Münster police, Angela Lüttmann, on request, to the Protestant news agency Idea.
We assume that it is part of a series and thus a single offender. There are no leads presently. It could be that the perpetrators acted out of pure destruction. It is also possible that they had religious reasons and therefore wanted to express their displeasure about Christianity. Since it is not inconceivable that it was about religiously motivated crime, Time determined and the state protection. Affected by the attacks are Ibbenbueren, Saerbeck, Hoerstel, Hopsten, Mettingen, Tecklenburg and Rheine.
In most cases, there had been roadside crosses on private property, according to the police spokeswoman. But it has also affected the Catholic St. Barbara's Church in Ibbenbüren-Dickenberg. There, standing on the church square is a statue of Saint Barbara, who is also the patron saint of miners, was beheaded. The vicar Paul Greiwe told Idea that he had never experienced this level of vandalism in such a short time. As the Münster State People's Daily (Rheine) reported that students of Ludgeri school in Mettingen (at Ibbenbüren) put a sign up against the destruction: They made crosses during religious instruction and they hung them on an undamaged procession house and wrote: "This is illegal. Stop with the vandalism. "
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com.
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