Bishop Malooly issued the following statement Feb. 28 regarding recent anti-Semitic activities around the country and in our community:
“Recent shocking acts of vandalism at Jewish cemeteries and the spate of bomb threats made against Jewish community centers across the nation, including the Siegel Jewish Community Center in Wilmington, reveal an ugly anti-Semitism that I condemn with all people of the Diocese of Wilmington and religious leaders of all faiths in our community.
“I express my sympathy to members of the Jewish community in Delaware and the Eastern Shore of Maryland for the hate crimes being committed. The Catholic Church rejects this wave of anti-Semitism and, in the words of Pope Francis, sees these kinds of unconscionable acts as ‘completely contrary to Christian principles and every vision worthy of the human person.’
“As Christians begin the season of Lent on Ash Wednesday, March 1, I call on parishioners of the diocese to share God’s love with all their neighbors and speak out clearly against all forms of prejudice and hate directed toward any of God’s people.”
New Castle County Police reported on Feb. 27 that a third bomb threat in a month was made against the Siegel Jewish Community Center in north Wilmington that morning. The building was swept by police and cleared as safe. The threat was made a day after more than 100 headstones were discovered vandalized at a Jewish cemetery in Philadelphia. Similar headstone-toppling vandalism was discovered Feb. 21 at a Jewish cemetery near St. Louis, Missouri.
