In an article published by USA Today, The Catholic Association’s Ashley McGuire warns that just as Americans have grown numb toward the prevalence of gun violence, we must not become apathetic toward attacks on our houses of worship as the rate of these incidents rises. In the piece entitled, “This Catholic school vandalism reveals a much bigger problem,” she writes:
“When did the desecration of houses of worship become normal?
The images of vandalism in February at Holy Innocents School in Long Beach, California, were shocking, and yet all too familiar. A knocked-over tabernacle. A smashed statue of the Virgin Mary. Classrooms trashed…
…I hope they catch the criminal or criminals who did this and bring them to justice, but I also hope Americans wake up. We are getting desensitized to the desecration of our most sacred spaces.
The only thing worse than these heinous and gross violations of our First Amendment freedoms is not caring about them. Just as Americans have become numb to gun violence, we risk becoming numb to attacks on our houses of worship as their rate accelerates…
…I can remember a time when even one such incident would have shocked the American conscience. Instead, these repeated incidents of hate, violence and bigotry on America’s most sacred spaces are becoming part of the background noise.”
– Ashley McGuire is a Senior Fellow with The Catholic Association and co-host of the nationally syndicated radio show, “Conversations with Consequences.”
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