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Bitter Winter

A magazine on religious liberty and human rights

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Home / International / Testimonies Global

Three Austrian Churches Vandalized in Two Weeks

05/27/2022PierLuigi Zoccatelli |

The incidents show that the epidemic of vandalic attacks against places of worship is now extending to Austria

by PierLuigi Zoccatelli

Priest Wolfgang Pucher in Graz, Austria, shows the altar of his church where the word “Satan” was painted. From Twitter.
Priest Wolfgang Pucher in Graz shows the altar of his church where the word “Satan” was painted. From Twitter.

Bitter Winter has repeatedly reported about attacks against Christian churches in Europe and in the United States. One country that seemed comparatively less affected by this epidemic of hate crimes and vandalism was Austria. Cases had been reported, particularly in Graz, but were less frequent than in neighboring countries. However, the Vienna-based Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe and local Austrian media denounced several recent cases.

On April 28, graffiti hailing Satan appeared in Graz in the church of St. Vincent. The word “Satan,” the number 666, and upside-down crosses were painted in red both on the outside walls and inside the church, on the altar. Red spray paint was also used to deface the statue of an angel. A Bible was burned.

The angel’s face painted in red in St. Vincent’s. From Twitter.
The angel’s face painted in red in St. Vincent’s. From Twitter.

Parish priest Wolfgang Pucher did not believe that this was just juvenile vandalism, and saw the incident as part of a “systematic assault on Christianity.” Also recalling the previous incidents in Graz, the spokesperson for the local Catholic diocese, Thomas Stanzer, connected the attack with “displeasure” towards the Catholic Church. Such “displeasure” is sometimes fueled by the very media that condemned the attack.

“Satanic” graffiti in St. Vincent’s. From Twitter.
“Satanic” graffiti in St. Vincent’s. From Twitter.

On May 6, vandals targeted an evangelical church in Vöcklabruck, in Upper Austria. The unknown perpetrators broke the donation box and stole the money. However, it was not a simple theft, since they destroyed three path lights in front of the church and went on a rampage inside the sanctuary, destroying a microphone and scattering all over notices, brochures leaflets, which had been placed near the altar for free withdrawal. They also tried to damage the organ.

The church in Mautern after the attacks. Source: Mautern police via Twitter.
The church in Mautern after the attacks. Source: Mautern police via Twitter.

Also on May 6, the external walls of the Catholic parish church in Mautern, in Styria, were sprayed with Nazi symbols and anti-Christian slogans. Two brothers aged 21 and 27 were identified as perpetrators.

Tagged With: Austria, Catholic Church

Professor PierLuigi Zoccatelli
PierLuigi Zoccatelli

PierLuigi Zoccatelli (born July 30, 1965 in Verona) teaches Sociology of Religions at Pontifical Salesian University, Torino, and Sociology of Esotericism at the University of Turin. He is deputy director of CESNUR, the Center for Studies on New Religions, and the associate editor of The Journal of CESNUR. Among other affiliations, he is a member of the scientific committee of the Interdepartmental Center for Research in Religious Sciences “Erik Peterson” (CSR) of the University of Turin, and of Contemporary Religions And Faiths in Transition (CRAFT), a research center of the Department of Cultures, Politics and Societies of the University of Turin. He is also a member of the section “Sociology of Religion” of the Italian Sociology Association (AIS), and of the European Society for the Study of Western Esotericism (ESSWE). He is the author of several books and articles in the field of New Religious Movements and Western Esotericism, and co-director of the widely reviewed Encyclopedia of Religions in Italy. His writings has appeared in 12 countries and in 8 languages.

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