Spanish Bishop Denounces Arson Attack Targeting Mosque, Offers Support for Muslim Community
The bishop of Sant Feliu de Llobregat, an industrial city just 15 kilometers southwest of Barcelona, Spain, denounced the attack as a “xenophobic and vandalic act”.
Bishop Xabier Gómez in a statement expressed deep sorrow over the incident and extended the Church’s support to the local Muslim community.
“This was an attack on a place of worship that hadn’t even opened its doors,” he said. “It is a blow not only to our Muslim neighbors, but to the very dignity of coexistence in our town.”
COPE reported how Catalonia’s Interior Minister, Núria Parlon, confirmed that evidence suggests the fire was deliberately set. If confirmed, it could be prosecuted as a hate crime.
Speaking on RAC1 radio, Parlon also warned of a dangerous trend: hate-filled rhetoric spreading “irresponsibly and systematically” online and in political spaces, which may be encouraging real-world violence.
The bishop’s statement recalled key principles from the Church’s social teaching, emphasizing that defending religious freedom is not optional — it is a duty.
As the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches, “The right to religious liberty is a natural right of the human person” and must be respected in both law and practice (§2106).
He added that acts of violence against people of faith — any faith — betray the values that underpin a just society.
In a gesture of solidarity, Bishop Gómez offered the resources of the local Church to the Muslim community in Piera, affirming their dignity and their right to worship freely.
“We place ourselves at their service for whatever they may need in this moment of pain,” he said.
The bishop also cited the Church’s commitment to the “culture of encounter and peace.” He pointed to the Church’s responsibility toward migrants and minorities, recalling the four verbs highlighted in Catholic teaching: welcome, protect, promote, and integrate.
These principles echo the Catechism’s call to treat migrants “with charity and justice,” and to ensure that all people, regardless of origin, are “helped to integrate into society” (§2241).
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The mosque, which had not yet been inaugurated, suffered serious damage in the fire. In response, Catalonia’s major Muslim federations — UCIDCAT, FCIC, and FIC — issued a joint statement condemning the incident as a “cowardly assault” designed to fracture the town’s long-standing tradition of peaceful coexistence.
This attack, while deeply troubling, has also revealed something else: a Church ready to stand with its neighbors — not despite differences in faith, but because of a shared human dignity. As Bishop Gómez made clear, “Religious freedom is not a favor granted — it is a right we are all called to defend.”
Source: aleteia.org
