Assailants vandalize chapels in southern Philippines
Churchmen fear desecrations in Mindanao may have been an attempt to stoke unrest between Catholics and Muslims
Catholic lay ministers sprinkle ash on the head of a faithful during Ash Wednesday Mass at a church in Manila on Feb. 17, marking the start of the Lenten season. (Photo: Jam Sta Rosa/AFP)
Church officials in the Philippines have condemned recent attacks on several chapels in Basilan province in the Mindanao region during which religious items were desecrated.
The attacks in the Muslim-majority region took place just before Catholic worshippers at St. Isidore and Immaculate Conception chapels in Lamitan City were about to celebrate Ash Wednesday on Feb. 17.