A 100-year-old church under restoration in the Diocese of Almeria,
Spain was vandalized with graffiti and satanic symbols the weekend of
March 5.
Workers found the interior of the church vandalized with
satanic drawings and graffiti on March 7.
Experts said it appeared the
intention was to give the impression of a satanic ceremony.
The
vandalism took place after the diocese won a long-fought legal battle
against a private company that wanted to turn the church into a dance
club and tourist site.
The diocese was waiting for an official
construction permit from local officials to begin renovation.
The
Church of Las Salinas de Cabo de Gata, built in 1907, has been closed
for worship since 2004 due to its deteriorating structure.
The
diocese issued a press release the following day, condemning the
vandalism and “senseless profanation.”
The release stated that the
diocese also had finally received the construction permit authorizing
the renovation.
“This act offends the religious conscience and common
sense of every civilized person and in itself constitutes a gratuitous
attack on a space that is sacred to the Catholic faith.”
After an
examination by several experts, the damage, graffiti and disarray caused
by those responsible “seem to rule out the conclusion that this was a
satanic act,” the diocese said.
“Everything indicates that this
was a deliberate act of vandalism, the purpose and intention of which
the diocese does not wish to discuss for obvious reasons. In any case,
no one will force the diocese reverse its decision, supported by the
law, to carry out the renovation of this symbolic diocesan church, so
that it can be re-opened for worship,” the statement said.
The diocese has filed a formal petition demanding authorities apprehend and punish those responsible.
All
parishes of the diocese have also been asked to offer a special prayer
in reparation for the profanation of the church on the First Sunday of
Lent.
Luis Santamaria del Rio, an expert from the Ibero-American
Network for the Study of Sects, told CNA he agreed with the statement by
the diocese and that act of vandalism “does not appear to have anything
to do with Satanic rituals.”
He said the act was clearly aimed at the diocese over the issue of ownership of the church.
Vicente
Jara, an expert on Satanism with the Network, agreed with Santamaria.
“This was not a black Mass or a satanic ritual,” but rather “an act of
vandalism that included both satanic and non-satanic symbols,” he said.