Church sanguine after foiled Islamist plot

French Catholics will not succumb to fear and terror, the bishops’ conference declared last week after a planned attack on two suburban Paris churches by a presumed Islamist was thwarted, writes Tom Heneghan.

The conference has not asked for extra police surveillance of churches following the discovery of the plot. “Churches ... must remain open and welcoming places, in line with the spirit of the Catholic religion,” it said.

The plot was uncovered on Sunday 19 April when Algerian student Sid Ahmed Ghlam called the ambulance service because of a gunshot wound in the leg he claimed to have suffered during a robbery. Police found weapons in his car and material in his flat indicating plans to attack two churches in the southern suburb of Villejuif. Further police investigations showed Ghlam had been in telephone contact with Islamists in Syria, raising the spectre of an attack in France by the Islamic State. The Government was quick to denounce the plot. “The Catholic faithful should be able to go to Mass in complete serenity. Attacking a church equals attacking France,” said Prime Minister Manuel Valls.