Who’s behind the violent attacks on the Church?

By Phil Lawler | Nov 11, 2024

Today’s CWN headlines include two different reports about violent attacks on Catholic clergy: one in Spain, the other in Singapore. In each case the assailant was quickly apprehended; in each case the suspect had a history of drug-related crime and appeared seriously disturbed. In each case authorities assured us that this was not an act of terrorism.

So can we relax, reassured that there is not a worldwide, concerted attack on Catholic priests and the Catholic Church? Maybe not.

Sometimes the violent attacks on Catholic targets (priests or religious, churches or schools) clearly are carried out by religious or ideological zealots: Islamists or Marxists or Hindu nationalists. Sometimes they may be part of a political campaign, in which Catholics are linked (rightly or wrongly) with one of two rival parties, as in Myanmar or the Democratic Republic of Congo. Sometimes the attacks may be motivated by a simple desire for financial profit, as in the spate of kidnappings in Nigeria. And sometimes— as with the rash of vandalism in Canada and in the US— the Church has become the favorite target of the sexual revolutionaries.

So there are many different reasons why angry people might lash out at the Catholic Church, her clergy, and her institutions. But that variety of motives doesn’t necessarily mean that the attacks are not coordinated. True, we cannot trace all the violence to a source in any human authority. But we do know that Someone hates the Church, and our greatest battle is always with principalities and powers.