His story is compelling for countless reasons, but perhaps the strongest being that the attack on Hamel is symbolic of the multitudinous, increasing, and brutal assaults suffered by the Catholic Church over the past several decades.
Across the globe, Catholic churches are being burned, religious statues are being desecrated, laity are being threatened, and priests are being kidnapped, tortured, and killed. At the time of his death, he was serving as a parish priest in the Archdiocese of Rouen. Both men were 19 years old. Why are Catholic priests and churches so vulnerable? What is at the root of their loathing? Western civilization is being ransacked by barbarians, and the churches are always the first thing to go.
They want us demoralized and cut off from the true source of our strength: God Almighty. Massey is correct. Catholic churches are targets precisely because it is in these churches that our sacraments reside. The end result of church attacks is devastating. Recently, a news outlet published a map of France upon which small red icons were pinned to mark the locations of Catholic churches that had been set on fire, vandalized, or attacked. The map was a sea of ominous scarlet badges. One could no longer see France; it was entirely blotted out.
Each building is a precious deposit of Frankish heritage, and each has a tale to tell. The Saint-Pierre fire was deemed accidental. However, as with the Notre-Dame blaze, strong suspicions of vandalism linger. Certainly, churches are targets of those who seek to destroy the Catholic faith. But it can be argued that the prime target is the Eucharist. Catholics believe that their true source of strength—God Almighty—exists in the Eucharist.
In Communion, Christ is entirely and fully present. It is a Mystery and, admittedly, an extraordinarily challenging one. But it is nonetheless true. That Host survives intact to this day. Such incontrovertible evidence of the Living Christ is, of course, anathema to the dark enemies of Catholicism. It is no surprise, then, that those who abhor Catholicism would seek to obliterate priests.
