Bishop denounces attack on Ajaccio mosque

Protesters attacked a mosque on Christmas Day, claiming they were defending this Mediterranean island’s “Christian identity”, writes Tom Heneghan.

Bishop Olivier de Germay of Ajaccio immediately condemned the attack, which came on the evening of Christmas Day, after hundreds demonstrated against the island’s Muslim minority.

The protests occurred amid recent mounting tension in Corsica, especially after the radical Islamist massacre in Paris in November and the 13 December regional election, which for the first time chose a pro-independence party to run the island’s local assembly.

The bishop rushed to the mosque right after the attack to assure its leaders that “Catholics absolutely do not identify with this type of aggression”.