(OSV News) – An attack on a Texas priest – along with recent incidents in Catholic churches in the US and Canada – shows the need for parishes to implement stronger security measures , experts told OSV News.
On April 10, Father Tony Neusch, rector of St. Mary’s Catholic Church, was sprinkled
In a Facebook post that same day, Father Neusch wrote that “someone about health problems” had attacked him. He said he “did not require medical attention,” adding that the police had been notified. Not recorded in this case.
Father Neusch, who declined to comment on OSV News, said in his post that “the church will release the Confessions, except by choice, until the installation of security cameras to the Chapel.
“I’m sorry for any inconvenience this may cause, but the safety of our preachers and those waiting to attend the festival must be taken care of,” he wrote.
In recent weeks, Catholic churches and cathedrals in the US and Canada have seen several security incidents:
— The Easter Vigil Mass was concluded at the Cathedral of St. Three protesters were arrested and charged under New York State law with disturbing a religious service.
— The Parishioners of St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church in Toronto closed until the end of their 10 a.m. liturgy on March 24, due to a bomb threat made by a mentally challenged woman.
— Pastor Leo Hambur escaped unharmed after an assailant vandalized The Grotto, the National Shrine of Our Lady in Portland, Oregon, Feb. The suspect was arrested and charged with multiple crimes, including three felonies.
Abuse in religious buildings is far from unheard of – Jesus spoke of Zechariah the son of Barachias who was “killed between the temple and the altar” (Mt 23:35 ), and St. was killed. Thomas Becket and St. Wenceslaus in the church during. the Middle Ages.
In recent years, America has seen gunmen commit mass murders at the Pittsburgh Tree of Life Synagogue and the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina.
In security industry parlance, mosques and other places of worship are known as “soft targets” – public, civilian areas where security is easily and often limited. Growing awareness of that vulnerability has led to events like the Department of Homeland Security’s Church Security Program and the annual Church Security Essentials Conference, which will be held April 25-26 in Austin, Texas. Texas.
Maintaining pastoral hospitality and general security in places of worship can be a fine balance, says Craig Gundry of Critical Intervention Services, a Tampa, Florida security consulting firm with extensive experience in security. of the church.
“Churches want wider communities, and that is desirable. That’s what we want to do,” Gundry told OSV News. “And that presents some issues from a security perspective.”
Gundry said his department is focused on the details of “improving physical security for churches while maintaining an environment conducive to community and spiritual celebration.”
In addition to developing policies and procedures, joining a “church care team (is) invaluable,” Gundry said.
“Basically they’re the guardians of the family … to check and check for threats,” he said.
In fact, such organizations were established in Ireland in the 16th-century under the Penal Laws to protect Catholic priests from their secret celebration of Mass. Nativist parties.
The Catholic Community of St. Thomas More in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, founded his St. Michael the Defender Ministry in 2017, led by Jeff Malkovsky, an expert in the field of global crisis and threat management.
Weekend Masses are staffed by an off-duty Chapel Hill police officer, and the group holds an annual “Safety Sunday” featuring off-duty lessons. In addition, members of the St. Michael with the parish’s mental health volunteers to identify and prevent problems during worship.
Malkovsky – whose team was put to the test in real life when a mass shooting opened in August 2023 on campus near the University of North Carolina – told OSV News that security is a comprehensive project. .
“The more people you know at all levels in every organization, every job, the more you can start to build safety nets around it… (in o) prevention, mitigation and response,” said Malkovsky.
He added that the Diocese of Raleigh, North Carolina, has agreed to use the St. John’s model. Michael the Defender Ministry in about 80 churches and 30 schools.
In the Diocese of Memphis, Tennessee, Bishop David P. Talley has established a safety and security advisory committee for parks and schools in that diocese.
Malkovsky explained that parish security begins with gaining “knowledge” and “understanding” of “problems and threats.”
“Because they’re all different,” he said. “The urban environment will be different than the rural environment. A large yard is different than a small yard.”
Regardless of the size of the parish, however, the protection of the priests and penitents during the celebration of the feast, held in anonymity and the seal of the preacher, must be think again, yes from St. Thomas More pastor Father Scott McCue.
“The sermon is very strict. It’s one way in and one way out,” Father McCue told OSV News before an April 16 meeting with the St. John’s service group. Michael.
He noticed that some modern churches show evidence that they are not just closets or alcoves, but rooms that are connected with full rooms and have to him “a veil or (some) means by which the priest and the penitent may be seen face to face.”
“But again, the priest’s room was locked inside, so that (the attacker) couldn’t just go there?” said Father McCue.
The attack on Father Neusch, he said, “is a good conversation starter” for new discussions about parish security.
Gina Christian is a multimedia reporter for OSV News. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) at @GinaJesseReina
Information about the St. Michael the Defender Ministry here: stmchapelhill.org/st-michaels-ministry
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