Churches in Zweibrücken Repeatedly Targeted
In Zweibrücken, both Protestant and Catholic churches have been repeatedly vandalised, prompting concern among church leaders. Dean Peter Butz and Pastor Wolfgang Emanuel have reported ongoing damage to church buildings, including graffiti, smashed windows and cases of desecration.
The Holy Cross catholic Church on Gutenbergstrasse has been targeted repeatedly. Fr. Emanuel reports frequent vandalism of the display cases and multiple instances of window damage, some of which was caused by objects that were thrown at the windows. Even more disturbingly, the church has been spray-painted with obscene language and has been used as a place to smoke and urinate. The most severe incident occurred few years ago when youths set fire to a valuable nativity scene during the Christmas season.
Peter Butz, dean of the St. Alexander’s Protestant church admits: "For many years now, we have repeatedly experienced damage to the exterior of the building." In February, two rounds of graffiti appeared on the church, the first of which read “Don’t vote for Nazis”. The church leadership noted the financial burden of removal. Similar acts have occurred elsewhere in Germany, including in Mainz and Worms, such as graffiti on altars and people misusing confessionals as toilets.
Dean Peter Butz also underlined that the situation is a lot more severe in bigger cities. ‘We once went on an excursion to Dortmund, where we were told that you can no longer leave the church open during the day under any circumstances.’
Source: Pfälzischer merkur
Picture: Wiki commons
?uselang=de#/media/File:Heilig-Kreuz-Kirche_Zweibr%C3%BCcken.jpg){kind=link}