In a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland on Tuesday, a group of Republican congressmen denounced what they called the Department of Justice’s passivity about the steadily rising number of anti-Catholic violence and hate crimes.
The letter, written by Michigan’s Catholic Rep. Lisa McClain and signed by 19 other GOP lawmakers, criticised Garland for doing little to stop the rise in vandalism and other assaults on Catholic organisations and churches since May 2020.
The letter claims that “millions of Christians are being attacked for just practising their constitutional right to freely worship their faith.”
We have to question if your Department of Justice will ever take action against the more than 100 crimes committed against Christian sacred places in America.
One such offence occurred in Brooklyn, New York’s St. Augustine Church in May of this year when a tabernacle was taken. Additionally, the Holy Eucharist was profaned, and the heads of the sculptures along each side of the tabernacle were severed.
In his letter, McClain cites a tracker kept by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), which lists more than 160 assaults against the Catholic Church since the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision on June 24.
The USCCB website lists these acts of vandalism and destruction as “arson, statues decapitated, limbs chopped, shattered, and painted, gravestones disfigured with swastikas and anti-Catholic slogans, American flags next to them torched, and other devastation and vandalism.”
Since the probable overturning of Roe v. Wade was leaked to the public in May, CNA has been monitoring graffiti assaults on Catholic churches, pro-life pregnancy centres, maternity homes, and other pro-life groups.
CNA has kept track of 94 similar instances. Anti-Catholic offences that do not have a blatantly pro-abortion aim are not included on CNA’s list.
The letter notes that the DOJ “persecuted Americans for speaking out at school board meetings and harassed peaceful protesters by investigating them for domestic terrorism” and that, under Garland’s leadership, the DOJ “refused to acknowledge the blatant acts of violence committed by groups such as Antifa.”
The letter also asks why certain offenders constantly manage to escape the DOJ’s attention.
“Americans are witnessing in horror as your DOJ fails to react to the violence endangering religious freedom throughout the nation,” it continues.
Republican Reps joined McClain. Among others, Jim Banks, Louie Gohmert, Bob Good, and Mary Miller.
McClain tweeted on Tuesday, “Enough is enough, anti-Catholic hate crimes cannot go unaccounted for.
“I’m organising the movement to demand answers from @TheJusticeDept on their reluctance to protect Christian Americans from violent assaults and maintain religious freedom.”
The letter asks Garland to respond by September 20 and outline how the DOJ intends to combat the increase in anti-Catholic crimes in America.
On Wednesday afternoon, a DOJ spokeswoman was not immediately accessible.