The reported desecration of a Catholic chapel in the Philippines by terrorist gunmen has been condemned “in the strongest terms possible” by Cotabato’s Cardinal Orlando Quevedo.
About 300 members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, an ISIS-affiliated group known as BIFF, attacked Pigcawayan town on June 21, displacing about 1,700 people and destroying religious images in the chapel according to the local police chief.
“The crucifix and images of the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ were destroyed while the sacred hosts were thrown all over the floor,” Chief Inspector Reylan Mamon said.
Describing the desecration as “wicked” and “gravely sinful”, the cardinal described the acts as “similar to the desecration of a mosque and the sacred Koran by non-Muslims”, and called on BIFF leaders to punish the men who had desecrated the chapel, while urging local Catholics to restore the chapel’s sacredness.