ICC Note: On July 26, a priest was violently murdered by ISIS-affiliated attackers in northern France. Following the attack, a church leader in the UK, who chose to remain anonymous due to the threat of retaliation, warned that this attack may be just one incident in an impending trend of persecution in Europe. He spoke of the threat of copycat attacks and warned that a similar trend of violence and discrimination that is taking place in Egypt could affect Europe as well.

By Harry Farley

07/26/2016 UK, France (Christian Today) – A senior Church leader in the UK has warned the murder of a priest in Normandy could be a “sign of things to come”.

A priest was killed on Tuesday morning by two assailants as he celebrated mass in a church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, near Rouen in northern France. Five people in the congregation were taken hostage and one was seriously wounded and left fighting for their life. The two hostage takers were shot dead by the French police.

But the Church leader, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals, told Christian Today a trend of attacks on Christians was developing and he was worried more would follow.

“There needs to be a connection made between what is happening here and what has been happening in places such as Egypt, Nigeria, Pakistan and Iraq,” the source told Christian Today.

“Suddenly we are seeing this in Europe. It could be an alarming sign of things to come.

“There is a lot of copycat psychology in these kinds of attacks. We are hoping this does not turn into anything more serious and get out of hand, but we are concerned that it might.”

Earlier this week the head of the Coptic Church in the UK, Bishop Angaelos, described the “exponential rise in attacks against Christians and Christian property” in Egypt. He warned that if they were not addressed, the attacks would “spiral even further”.

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