A Jerusalem church, the Chapel of Condemnation, was vandalized last Thursday, February 2, by an American tourist.
Newsroom (05/02/2023 7:21 PM, Gaudium Press) The Chapel of Condemnation, located in the city of Jerusalem, was the target of a vandalism attack last Thursday, February 2.
A man armed with a hammer broke into the church and struck a few times the image of Christ that is in the chapel.
The suspect is an American tourist of about forty years old. He was restrained by the sacristan after the first blows. Then the priests of the church called the police who detained him.
The police officers confirmed that the man was detained and that an investigation has been opened, the psychological state of the suspect will also be evaluated.
The Chapel of Condemnation is located in the Old City of Jerusalem on the Via Dolorosa in eastern Jerusalem, in the Palestinian sector occupied and annexed by Israel.
The chapel was built on the site where Our Lord was condemned to death in 1904 in the Church of the Flagellation. The chapel is under the responsibility of the Franciscans, custodians of the Holy Land.
The image that received the hammerings was damaged. Made of wood, the image came from Spain in 1912.
Church authorities in Jerusalem report an increase in acts of violence against the Christian community in the Holy Land, and in December 2021 they said Christians were being victims of attacks by radical groups. (FM)
Compiled by Dominic Joseph
