Suspect arrested for attacking a church of the Portuguese community in France

A 47-year-old Ukrainian was detained by French police after attacks on three churches in Paris, including the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fatima, dedicated to the Portuguese community, which caused “tenderness” and “surprise” among believers.

Early in the morning of January 17, Tuesday, and January 22, Sunday, the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fatima was the target of two attempts to set fire near the main entrance to the building. On the first attempt, the safety net prevented the bag of papers from setting fire to the door, but on the second attempt, with stronger fuel, the door actually caught fire.

“People on Sunday were emotional, they were surprised, but no one spoke directly, they were just interested in helping. Young people wanted to mobilize to help, and I kept the church going, with catechism and meetings with parents. were calm, no one left because of what happened. It was clear that this was an attack on property, not people,” Nuno Aurelio, rector of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fatima, said in statements to the Luz agency.

Meanwhile, two other churches have been similarly attacked, Saint Laurent and Saint Martin des Champs, both in the 10th arrondissement, with the attack on Saint Laurent this week leading to the arrest of 47- summer man. The suspect, who has not yet been formally charged, is now in custody and transferred to the psychiatric ward of the Paris prefecture prison.

According to French media, the motives for these attacks were religious, as the man professes Orthodoxy.

Immediately after taking action with the police, the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fatima received the support of the Diocese of Paris, as well as the mayor of the 19th arrondissement, where the church is located, and the Consulate General of Paris. . Since the beginning of these attacks, the Church has preferred to remain silent due to the possibility of repeated attacks in a context where this type of crime is becoming more common in France.

“Here there was no attack on people, there was an attack on the built heritage, which is always better than an attack on people. The diocese asked us to remain silent so as not to lead others, perhaps unbalanced, to the same thought, since sometimes there is a risk of infection, ”said the Portuguese priest.

Now the investigation will continue, but the Sanctuary has already decided to increase security by installing another surveillance camera at the entrance to the church. The arrest of this man brings relief to the Portuguese community, but Nuno Aurelio hopes that the suspect will be tried as a man with all his abilities.

“We are more relieved if we assume that it was he who carried out the four attacks. Now this needs to be proven by the investigation. Although he was committed to a psychiatric hospital, he is not insane. case, he adjusted the strategy,” he concluded.