Jerusalem, June 2, 2013
The offensive words compared Christians to monkeys and called for revenge against Jesus. This incident is the latest in a succession of desecration of Christian monasteries in September and October last year.
On 4 September 2012, a gate of the Latrun monastery near Jerusalem was torched and the walls sprayed with anti-Christian insults. In the following week, graffiti in Hebrew insulting Jesus, marked the gate of a Franciscan convent on Mount Zion in Jerusalem, located near the Cenacle, an important holy site for Christianity in the Holy City. A Romanian Orthodox church of St George was also the target of stones, bottles and trash.
Bishop Shomali, Patriarchal Vicar for Jerusalem, said: “it is absolutely necessary to stop these acts of vandalism by promoting better education of the youth, especially in schools. He said he was convinced this would be a long-term process, and said it will take “a lot of patience.”
In a statement, The Latin Patriarchate said he:
“condemns these acts of vandalism that is happening
in Jerusalem, the Holy City for the three religions
(Judaism, Christianity and Islam). Such an act of violence
is a despicable attempt to undermine coexistence between
believers.”