The “Christenschutz.at” Information Centre, a reporting and documentation platform for people who have been attacked because of their Christian faith, issued a statement today denouncing a rise in vandalism and desecration in Vienna. According to the organisation, a place of worship, a memorial to the Christian victims of Nazism, and a parish church have all been targeted by acts of vandalism in just 10 days. “The recent attacks show a new, frightening dimension of hatred and destruction that has profoundly shaken believers throughout Austria”, the President of the Information Centre, Jan Ledochowski, denounced. The Information Centre cited the case of the parish church “Zum Göttlichen Wort” in Vienna’s Favoriten district, which had to be closed on 14 September due to vandalism. And the memorial of the Austrian Cartel Association (ÖCV) that was defaced with anarchist symbols. Even the prayer garden on the Marchfeld Canal was repeatedly desecrated, according to the Information Centre. As well as the façade of the Paulanerkirche in Vienna-Wieden, which was sprayed with red paint. The President of the Centre made an appeal to both the public and the authorities: “The anti-Christian sentiment is a reality that can no longer be ignored or trivialised”. Not only do these acts violate property and the symbols of faith, but they are also “an attack on the respect that coexistence among different religions deserves”.