Chile: 3 churches firebombed in Santiago ahead of Pope Francis' visit

---

A Mass he has planned to hold on Tuesday in a Santiago park is expected to attract more than 500,000 people. Protests on issues ranging from indigenous rights to the Church’s ongoing sexual abuse scandal are expected.

Times of Ahmad | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source/Credit: The Santiago Times
By News Desk | January 12, 2018

Vandals in Santiago attacked three churches with at least four bomb attacks before dawn on Friday in protests against Pope Francis’s visit to the South American country January 15-18, local media reported.

In three of the attacks the churches suffered damage, to their doors and facades in particular, while the fourth attack was thwarted by police, the media said.

At Penalolen, at the Cristo Vencedor Chapel, a bomb did not cause major damage.

At Recoleta, another attack struck the Emanuel Chapel, where a bomb broke a door and some windows.

Finally, at the Cristo Pobre shrine, police said they had “neutralised” a rubbish bin apparently full of fuel.

The attackers, whose identity is still unknown, also left notes threatening the pontiff.

One of the pamphlets read: “Pope Francis, the next bomb will be in your robe,” authorities said.

“One has the right to protest, but it’s a different thing entirely to use violence,” Interior Minister Mahmud Aleuy told reporters early on Friday after inspecting the damage inflicted on the churches.

Francis, who hails from Argentina and is the first Latin American pope, arrives in Chile on Monday. A Mass he has planned to hold on Tuesday in a Santiago park is expected to attract more than 500,000 people.

Protests on issues ranging from indigenous rights to the Church’s ongoing sexual abuse scandal are expected.


Read original post here: Chile: 3 churches firebombed days before Pope Francis visit


This content-post is archived for backup and to keep archived records of any news Islam Ahmadiyya. The views expressed by the author and source of this news archive do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of Times of Ahmad. Times of Ahmad is not an organ of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community, nor in any way associated with any of the community's official websites.