CCTV footage showed a man setting small fires in St Mary’s Catholic Church in Regent Road, Great Yarmouth, England, then attempting to burn an icon he took from the altar, replacing it with a picture of Satan. The incident happened on March 29, 2018. Police have arrested a 17-year-old youth after a church in Great Yarmouth was attacked and desecrated.
As reported by Catholic Herald, the parish priest of the Church, Fr Anthony Nwankwo remarked that “I was shocked and saddened when I discovered what had happened. When I looked at the altar I saw this picture of something satanic. My immediate thought was to get some holy water and use it with a prayer to nullify what the person had done. Our church and sanctuary have been desecrated. When I celebrated Mass this morning I did not use the altar or sanctuary, because I felt the altar has been desecrated.” Further, he added, “Something similar happened four months ago when someone came into the church and left a satanic picture at the foot of a cross we have at the back of the church. Two weeks ago someone came in and stole a microphone we use on the altar.”
The attack has been condemned by Fr Anthony Nwankwo and His Grace Bishop Alan Hopes of East Anglia, who pledged that the incident would not stop the diocese leaving its churches across the region open as places of prayer and sanctuary.
Source: Catholic Herald
