Holy Water Font Smeared with Excrement at Düsseldorf Church
At the Catholic Church of Our Lady in Flingen-Düsseldorf, the holy water font was reportedly smeared with excrement amid repeated incidents of disorder and vandalism in the church entrance area. In response, the parish has decided to close the church outside of religious services, restricting access to the community.
According to a report from 6 October, the Church of Our Lady had experienced repeated disturbances in recent times, including urination, smoking, and other disruptive behaviour in its entrance area.
In the most recent incident, the holy water font, a vessel holding blessed water used for baptisms, was smeared with excrement. "The holy water font was smeared with faeces from top to bottom," the parish pastor, Benedikt Bünnagel, reported. He was forced to hire a cleaning company to assist him cleaning the the building, he stated: "People are urinating, smoking, camping, and vandalizing in our church vestibule."
As a consequence, the parish responded to the "lack of respect" and decided to restrict access to the church outside religious services in the hopes of preventing the "deliberate desecration of what is sacred to him and his congregation," the report states. This limits the church's availability for visitors and local wishing to enter for private prayer.
Symbolic Image: Pixabay