In the early hours of Friday 1 March, St Matthew's Church in Berlin was the scene of several fires. Police are investigating arson.
Burning wooden slats and fire accelerators were discovered by a passer-by at the main entrance door of the church in Berlin-Schöneberg at around 2.40am. The witness removed the slats from the door, causing only minor damage. Shortly afterwards, another witness reported burning wooden slats on a side door of the church.
Both fires were quickly extinguished, but the door sustained significant damage. Police are investigating and suspect attempted arson.
The parish priest, Dr Wieneke, expressed his relief that the fire was discovered in time. Otherwise the church could have been burnt to the ground. The priest also reported that this was not the first time his church had been targeted. In the past there had been vandalism and graffiti attacks by far-left and far-right political groups.
Father Dr. Wieneke also expressed his concern about the lack of reaction of the state security and local politicians after the arson attack.
Sources: t-online, Berliner Zeitung, katholische.de, tagesschau.de, personal interview with Fr. Dr. Wieneke