There is a small pilgrimage church in the Praterauen in Vienna – the “Maria Grün” church. As in all churches in Austria, the resurrection of Jesus Christ should be celebrated there on Easter Sunday. But this year the church remained closed. A note on the church door read:
During the night from Friday to Saturday there was a break-in and vandalism, therefore no service on Saturday and Sunday.
In the ” diverse, progressive” and above all “safe” federal capital, a Catholic church is vandalised on Easter weekend. It’s bad enough that there is no respect for our places of worship in this country any more. And bad that such an incident should be kept from the public. Because nothing was to be found about the burglary in the press releases of the Vienna Provincial Police Headquarters. Was there so much more important to report, or was it not allowed to make it public?
What “spectacular” things did the police tell the press about on Holy Saturday, for example? About a burglary in a caravan, about a speeding action and not to forget – “Alcoholic demolishes bank branch”. But you look in vain for a report of “burglary and act of vandalism in church” in the police press releases. What nobody knows, nobody cares about.
Only when specifically asked by the medium heute.at did the police confirm that there had been a break-in at the church and that the offertory box had been looted.
Imagine that on Yom Kippur, the highest Jewish holiday, a synagogue in Vienna was looted and desecrated. All the newspapers would print a huge story, politicians from the Federal President downwards would express their consternation and the State Security Service would investigate.
Or imagine that on the Feast of the Sacrifice, the most important Islamic holiday, a mosque in Vienna was broken into and vandalised. The State Security Service would investigate, all the newspapers would report and in the district of Favoriten there would probably be civil war-like riots by outraged Muslims.
Imagine that on Easter weekend, the most important Christian holiday, a church in Vienna is broken into and vandalised. A cloak of silence covers the city.