Vandalism in the Catholic cemetery of Chanià, on the Isle of Crete, Greece. It has been reported by mgr. Francesco Papamanolis, bishop of Syros, Santorini and Crete, and president of the Greek Bishops Conference, in a note sent to SIR, in which he states that "for the third time the Catholic cemetery of Chanià, on the Isle of Crete, has been the target of sacrilegious men, who entered the sacred place some night between 3rd and 7th October and outrageously damaged the graves of the dead. Those who were there, on Sunday 7th October, saw an indescribable scene: the graves had been uncovered, the crosses broken, the marble slabs of the graves upturned, the tombstones broken into two. The Catholic cemetery looked like a bombed place. In the French military section of the cemetery goes on the note , where the French soldiers who died in the fights for the liberation of Crete (18961913) rest, destruction is nothing short of total. Not even one cross has been left standing. Even a monumental tomb that is inside that section has been damaged". (continued)” ” ” “
