Attacker of religious sister arrested amid spate of anti-Catholicism in Austria

November 2, 2020 CNA Daily News News Briefs 1 Print

CNA Staff, Nov 2, 2020 / 02:02 pm (CNA).- After a Catholic religious sister was attacked on a bus, police have arrested a 19-year-old Afghan, according to police in the Austrian state of Styria. The attack came among a spate of anti-Catholic attacks and demonstrations in Austria.

The nun, 76, was attacked on Saturday afternoon on a bus in the Austrian city of Graz. The perpetrator hit the sister in the face and then fled.

Police officers seized video material from the bus, after which the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Counter Terrorism arrested the Afghan-born teenager. The suspect, already known to the police for drug offenses and assault, has confessed to the crime; his motive is still unclear, police say.

Several anti-Christian incidents have caused a stir in Austria, after last week’s terrorist attack by a man shouting Islamist phrases at a cathedral in France.

Between 30 and 50 young people also attacked a church in Vienna-Favoriten on Thursday evening. According to several media reports, the perpetrators were a group of young Turks. The attackers stormed into the parish church of St. Anton in Favoriten, shouted “Allahu Akbar,” and kicking pews and other furnishing in the church.

The Archdiocese of Vienna condemned the attack and called for “quick clarification” and “consequences.”

The Vienna State Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Combating Terrorism was given video material by the church’s deputy pastor, which is currently being evaluated.

Another Afghan was arrested over the weekend while shouting “Islamic slogans” in St. Stephen’s Cathedral, Vienna police confirmed to CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German language news partner.

Churches in Vienna are now being monitored more closely as part of the patrol service, the police told CNA Deutsch.

A version of this report was first published by CNA Deutsch. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

 

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In Scotland, flying the Vatican flag ‘provocatively’ could be criminal

October 4, 2018 CNA Daily News 2

Edinburgh, Scotland, Oct 4, 2018 / 03:54 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Police Scotland maintains that “if flown or displayed in a provocative manner or altered,” the display of the Vatican flag could be a criminal act.

Scotland has experienced significant sectarian division since the Scottish Reformation of the 16th century, which led to the formation of the Church of Scotland, an ecclesial community in the Calvinist and Presbyterian tradition which is the country’s largest religious community.

Sectarianism and crimes motivated by anti-Catholicism have been on the rise in Scotland in recent years. Football hooliganism in the country can be linked to sectarian football clubs.

“It would be very concerning if the Vatican flag was in any circumstance deemed offensive,” a Church spokesman said, according to the Scottish Catholic Observer.

The Herald obtained the Police Scotland document which shows symbols and flags, the “provocative” use of which could be a crime.

“Whilst the display of the following flags is not an offence, in itself, if flown or displayed in a provocative manner or altered, constitute a common law Breach of the Peace or an offence under Section 38 of the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2000,” the police document stated.

Among the flags deemed potentially criminal are those of the Vatican, Israel, Ireland, Palestine, Catalonia, and the Basque Country.

“If they are altered to contain a reference to a proscribed organisation they may constitute an offence under Section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000.”

“Irrespective of the above, the possession of these flags within a football ground may constitute a breach of ground regulations.”

Police Scotland Chief Superindendent John McKenzie said that “often flags themselves are not the issue but the criminal conduct that accompanies them is. This could include, but is not limited to, threatening gestures or words, or flags being amended to show support for a proscribed terrorist group or amendments which constitute a hate crime.”

And a spokesman for the Scottish government said, “It is not an offence to fly the flag of the Vatican or any other country.”

A Church spokesman noted that the Vatican flag “has been flown proudly in Scotland on the occasion of two Papal visits without upset or incident and its use should not be restricted in any way.”

Sectarianism has been a problem in Scotland in recent years.

Glasgow has rerouted Protestant marches associated with the Orange Order.

An April poll of Catholics in Scotland found that 20 percent reported personally experiencing abuse of prejudice toward their faith; and a government report on religiously-motivated crime in 2016 and 2017 found a concentration of incidents in Glasgow.

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