Attacks against American Catholics and churches are out of control

Beheaded statues and threatened parishioners, shattered stained glass and spray-painted walls, ransacking and arson, urine in holy water and feces in infants’ baptismal water, a murdered priest and a dynamited altar. Now, the United States can add an 8-year-old and a 10-year-old murdered as they prayed at Mass during their first week of Catholic school, along with 17 others wounded, including 14 children.

These are just some of the attacks on American Catholic churches this year. There have been 42, according to a list compiled by CatholicVote, an activist organization co-founded by Brian Burch, the current U.S. ambassador to the Holy See.

These are not random crimes. They are deliberate assaults on the Church and its faithful.

Forty-two. That’s an incredible number, given that you’ve likely heard little if anything about it.

Anti-Catholic vandalism and violence have reached every corner of the country in recent years. Since 2020, more than 520 attacks have been recorded. The motives range from pro-trans and pro-abortion activism to hostility toward marriage and outright hatred of the Church.

Democratic leaders haven’t exactly been silent. Attacks against Catholics and our faith have poured in from ostensibly Catholic and non-Catholic Democrats alike. These include former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and California Rep. Ted Lieu (D) challenging the church’s pro-life stances and authority over moral matters. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), still a U.S. senator, joined several of her colleagues in attacking the Catholic faith of multiple judicial nominees, including Justice Amy Coney Barrett. The late California Sen. Dianne Feinstein infamously said “the dogma lives loudly within you” when challenging Barrett’s fitness for the bench.

The Los Angeles Dodgers hosted Our Lady of Perpetual Indulgence, a stridently anti-Catholic, demonic trans and drag group, at one of their games. The bones of St. Junípero Serra had to be moved from their Carmel, California, mission resting place after anti-Catholic rioters toppled several statues of him and threatened to hurl his remains into the Pacific Ocean. Sixty ostensibly Catholic Democrats signed a "Statement of Principles" challenging Church teachings on life in a direct response to San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone's public rebuke of Catholic politicians supporting abortion.

California has seen the most incidents of the anti-Catholic violence, but no state is safe. Forty-two states and the District of Columbia have reported attacks on Catholic churches and institutions. The latest victims are the teachers and schoolchildren of Minneapolis.

Police have identified the killer, who shot himself before police could apprehend him, as 23-year-old Robin M. Westman. He changed his name from Robert Paul Westman in 2020 while still a minor.

Catholic imagery has long been the preferred target in American culture. Even in a Protestant-majority country, authors and Hollywood directors reach for the Catholic Church’s ancient symbols and rituals when they want to depict Christianity. The sacraments stand apart from the secular world, and they confront evil more clearly and beautifully than any other tradition.

That’s why the devil hates the Church, its sacraments, and its symbols. That's why the Church is the choice of anti-Christian musicians, the rich and famous, and traveling drag groups to mock and defame in their fashion, music videos, and performances. It's why the Church is a target in an America where people shout their abortions, politicians flout their bishops, Christian values and believers are under attack, and evil isn’t afraid to show itself in daylight.

After the shooting, prominent Democrats were quick to even attack prayer — the very act the children were engaged in when the murderer opened fire. Only more of their policy prescriptions could help!

Minnesota offers no refuge. The state has some of the most permissive abortion laws in the country and bans counseling children away from gender transition — all signed by Democrat Gov. Tim Walz.

When COVID-19 hit, Walz kept the Mall of America and other retailers open at 50% capacity, but capped churches at 10 people. Only under threat of civil disobedience did he raise the limit to 25% occupancy.

He also signed a law blocking Catholic school students from earning college credits available to their peers in public schools. Worse still, he signed a bill allowing the state to remove children from homes if parents refuse “gender-affirming care.”

This hostility is not unique to Minnesota. Across the country, governors and presidents have targeted Catholic hospitals, adoption agencies, and crisis pregnancy centers, forcing many to close permanently.

A nation that openly attacks the Church cannot pretend those attacks won’t turn physical — and they already have. These are not random crimes. They are deliberate assaults on the Church and its faithful. Priests and parishioners must summon the courage to name the evil plainly and demand that politicians do the same.

Blaze News: Democrats lash out over prayers for Christians murdered in devastating Minnesota shooting

Blaze News: FBI investigating rampage as anti-Catholic hate crime

Bedford in the Federalist (2021): Hate crimes against Catholics are multiplying (but politicians and media don’t want to talk about it)

Bedford on Fox (2021): Media activists ‘want to destroy Christianity’ while egging on Church attacks

Daily Caller: ‘Patently anti-religious’ Tim Walz has history of restricting faith-based institutions

Catholic News Agency: Gov. Tim Walz’s abysmal record on Catholic issues

Blaze News (2024): Ashes and accountability in the aftermath of Canada's unmarked Indian graves sham

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