New Oxford Review, May 2025 and Fox News.
The Face of Evil.
Authorities in Kansas are investigating a possible hate crime after St. Patrick Church in Wichita suffered “extensive vandalism,” including the beheading of a statue of St. Patrick, the breaking of candles and windows, the burning of an American flag, and the scrawling of the name of a Satanic website on a wall. The Catholic Conference of Kansas responded to the incident by saying “this is the face of evil” and noting that the website belongs to a group that was planning a Satanic ritual at the state capitol. Wichita police arrested Michael Angel Gonzalez, 23, in connection with the case. Despite the attack, parishioners, who are predominantly Hispanic, held a St. Patrick’s Day parade. “Their resilience was evident, especially after the heartbreaking burglary and vandalism that occurred yesterday,” said Police Chief Joe Sullivan, who attended the parade. Gonzalez faces charges of burglary, criminal desecration, and criminal damage to property (Fox News, March 17).
More from NOR: Terror in the Pews… Here
Attacks against Catholic churches approach 300 incidents since May 2020: report
Most of the attacks indicate ‘primary motive is not material gain,’ according to CatholicVote
Hundreds of Roman Catholic churches have been attacked since the violence that erupted nationwide following George Floyd’s death in May 2020, according to a Catholic nonprofit.
Since May 2020, there have been nearly 300 attacks against U.S. Catholic churches as far afield as Emmonak, Alaska, with the most recent tally at 275 as of Sunday, according to a tracker from CatholicVote.
The religious nonprofit organization noted that “while the riots and looting mostly died down in the summer of 2020, the attacks on Catholic churches have continued and escalated.”
Catholic Critique 