Religion

Connecticut Catholic Church Vandalized With ‘Anarchist And Satanic Symbols,’ Archdiocese Says 

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A Catholic church in New Haven, Connecticut, has reported vandalism as attacks on churches continue throughout the U.S.

Pastor John Paul Walker of St. Mary’s Parish, which consists of both St. Mary’s Catholic Church and St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, announced in a Thursday Facebook post that St. Joseph’s Church was vandalized sometime between 9 p.m. Wednesday and 6 a.m. Thursday.

The Archdiocese of Hartford also shared a Facebook post confirming that “a person or group of persons had painted anarchist and satanic symbols on the doors of St. Joseph Church in New Haven.”

“This follows an apparent trend of desecrating Catholic spaces throughout the nation, as evidenced by incidents in Chattanooga, Queens, Boston, Sacramento, and Ocala,” the pastor wrote on Facebook. “The underlying motive of these sacrilegious attacks is clear: to intimidate and instill fear in the hearts of those who worship Christ.”

The pastor said that the Catholic faith has survived for over 2,000 years and is “not about to yield now.”

“Therefore, we remain unafraid and resolute in our faith, and we will pray for a conversion of the hearts of those who wish to terrorize us,” he added. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The New Haven police did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation on the matter.

News of the vandalism comes after Fr. Wilbert Chin Jon of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Calgary confirmed to the Daily Caller Thursday that vandals spray painted and used marker or chalk to deface a statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus at Sacred Heart Church in Calgary, Alberta on Tuesday around 1:30 a.m.

Numerous other statues of the Virgin Mary have also been vandalized throughout the country.