Arabic Graffiti on Church Bell Tower in Sacile
On the morning of October 6, Don Boris Bandiera, the priest at the Parish of San Odorico in Sacile, found graffiti on the front wall of the church bell tower. He immediately notified the police, who helped him translate the Arabic graffiti writing: "There is no God but Allah." Don Boris stated that this is not the first attack on his church that he has witnessed, but the message of this vandalism left him stunned.
In December of 2022 the priest reported the theft of the Baby Jesus displayed in the parish nativity scene in the church square. Shortly after that, the sacristy doors were unhinged and everything within the sacristy was found desecrated, causing thousands of euros of damage. More recent to this incident, the parish recorded acts of vandalism in the cemetery, where crosses were kicked down. Also, a few weeks ago a few teenagers occupied the oratory without consent, abandoning bottles of spirits, cigarette butts and remnants of joints. The parish priests does not suspect a link between the previous cases and the resent graffiti attack. The graffiti incident was reported to the police and the church is strengthening their video surveillance.
The priest states that there has been good collaboration between the two most widespread religious communities, Including the Muslim community, in the provincial territory, which never had any clashes, precisely because at the basis there is respect.
source: Il Gazzettino, Messaggero
picture: Messaggero