“Sacrilege is a grave sin, especially when committed against the Eucharist, for in this Sacrament the very Body of Christ is made substantially present to us.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church)
Newsroom (01/04/2022 09:00, Gaudium Press) Recently, Gaudium Press Portuguese Edition reported on the desecration of a tabernacle that occurred in a church in Brazil, in Tocantins. A ciborium was stolen and consecrated hosts were thrown on the floor.
We have received information that the same vile action has taken place in the USA and in Chile.
USA
Criminals broke into St. John the Evangelist Church in Maryland, USA, and took the tabernacle containing the Blessed Sacrament: two large ciboriums, a small ciborium and a lunula were stolen.
Along with the tabernacle of gold and silver containing the Eucharist, the thief or thieves stole six gold-plated candlesticks, four candelabras and the base for the processional cross. The financial damage is estimated at $20,000.
“All these items that were stolen could be replaced,” the parish priest stated, “but disrespecting the Eucharist is incalculable.”
The theft is believed to have occurred on the night of 25 March, the feast of the Annunciation.
Chile
In Chile, the desecration occurred in Santiago at the Shrine of the Grotto of Lourdes. According to Fr. Pedro Pedraza, two ciboriums containing consecrated hosts were stolen from the tabernacle of the shrine on 28 March.
Some hosts were found scattered on the street.
“Any assault on a home, on a community, is always painful, but when it also attacks what is most characteristic of the Christian faith, which is the Lord present in His Body and Blood in the Tabernacle of a Church or of a chapel, the profound faith of the community is being harmed,” said Fr. Andres Moro, spokesman for the Archbishopric of Santiago.
It is quite a coincidence that these desecrations are occurring simultaneously in various churches around the world. Is it really a coincidence? Or is it that the mask of religious tolerance is being taken off and they desire to attack God Himself, Our Lord Jesus Christ, present in Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Eucharist?
Compiled by Sandra Chisholm
