Host desecration
Encyclopedia
Host desecration
is a form of sacrilege
in Christianity (most frequently identified as such in the traditions of Anglicanism
, Eastern and Oriental
Orthodoxy
, Lutheranism
, and Roman Catholicism) involving the mistreatment or malicious use of a consecrated host
— the sacred bread used in the Eucharistic service or Mass
. In Roman Catholicism, where the host is held to have become the body of Jesus Christ, host desecration is among the gravest of sins. Intentional host desecration is not only a mortal sin
but also incurs the penalty of excommunication
latae sententiae
. Throughout history, a number of groups have been accused of desecrating the Eucharist
, often with grave consequences due to the spiritual importance of the consecrated bread.
were a common pretext for massacres and expulsions throughout the Middle Ages
in Europe. Similar accusations were made in witchcraft trials; witch-hunter's guides such as the Malleus Maleficarum
refer to hosts as being objects of desecration by witches. It is part of many descriptions of the Black Mass
, both in ostensibly historical works and in fiction.
The Catholic Church
, along with the Orthodox churches and some Anglican churches, believes that during the celebration of the Eucharist
, the offerings of bread and wine are changed in substance into the body and blood of Jesus
, while still maintaining all the physical (or in sacramental terms, accidental) properties of bread and wine. While the Real Presence
of Christ in the Eucharist was believed from the earliest days of the Church, during the Middle Ages
Catholic theology offered the concept of transubstantiation
to explain this change of substance which was believed to be actual and not merely symbolic. The concept, defined as a dogma
at the Fourth Lateran Council of 1215, holds that the substances of the offerings are literally transformed, while the appearance of bread and wine remain.
Christians believe Jesus to be "true God and true man." In the Catholic Church, therefore, his "body" and "blood" in the form of the consecrated host are adored
. Theft, sale, or use of the host for a profane purpose is considered a grave sin and sacrilege, which incurs the penalty of excommunication
, which is imposed automatically
in the Latin Rite (See Code of Canon Law, Latin Rite Code canon 1367, or Eastern Rite Code canon 1442.) It is widely believed among Roman Catholics that, under certain circumstances such as disbelief or desecration, the host could display supernatural properties.
Some Protestant
denominations, especially Lutherans, have similar beliefs regarding the Eucharist and the Real Presence
, though they differ about the rite and reject the concept of transubstantiation which Catholics and Orthodox Eastern Christians hold to.
Host desecration has been associated with groups identified as inimical to Christianity. It is a common belief that desecration of the host is part of Satanic practice
, especially the Black Mass
. LaVeyan Satanists do not typically perform Black Mass as a regular ritual, though "Le Messe Noir" from Anton LaVey
's work The Satanic Rituals
does include some elements.
Since the publication of a document called Memoriale Domini in 1969, the Apolistic See of the Catholic Church has allowed certain countries to allow communicants to receive the Host in the hand, rather than directly onto the tongue, reviving an "ancient custom". Communion in the hand is now widespread in many parts of the world. The practice means that access to consecrated Hosts is easier than in the past, since the person receiving it in the hand may pretend to place it in their mouth for consumption. However, recent statements and practices of Pope Benedict XVI
have caused a recent shift in Catholic practice (notably at Papal Masses and amongst more traditional-minded Catholics) of receiving on the tongue while kneeling, which is also an ancient practice. (This practice was still performed commonly and consistently, even as recently as the early 1970s in America, and is still received orally in many churches and countries presently. Receiving on the tongue is still the official norm of the Catholic Church, while receiving in the hand [via the Memoriale Domini indult] is, in English-speaking countries, the practical norm.)
False accusations of "host desecration" leveled against Jews
were a common pretext for massacres and expulsions throughout the Middle Ages
in Europe. The libel of "Jewish deicide
": that the Jewish people were responsible for the killing of Jesus, whom Christians regard as God become man, was a generally accepted Christian belief. It was falsely claimed that Jews stole hosts, objects to which they attached no significance, religious or otherwise, and abused these hosts purportedly, according to these false accusations, to re-enact the crucifixion of Jesus
by stabbing or burning them. These accusations attributed Roman Catholic beliefs onto Jews who completely reject the belief that God can exist in the host; and who attach no significance to the host; thus making the concept of its "descration" obviously absurd.
It has been asserted by modern scholars, such as the Catholic priest Gavin Langmuir, that these false accusations against Jews represented profound doubt about the truth of Christianity. Catholics were being told, in the so-called transubstantiation
doctrine, that they, by consuming the host, were eating human flesh and drinking human blood. To dispel their doubts about transubstantiation, Christians projected a system of belief onto Jews that was completely alien to Judaism
and Jewish law where strict dietary laws forbid the consumption of blood; even when consuming kosher animals
.
Jews in the Middle Ages were frequently victims of similar accusations, considered more serious desecration of other revered items, such as relics or images of Jesus and the saints. The accusations were often supported only by the testimony of the accuser, who may potentially bear a prejudice against the accused Jew or the Jewish people. Despite this, some alleged perpetrators were tried and found guilty, on little evidence or through torture.
The penalties for Jews accused of defiling hosts were severe. Many Jews, after false accusations and torture, "confessed" to abusing hosts, and the accused Jews were condemned and burned, sometimes with all the other Jews in the community, as happened in Berlitz
in 1243. in Prague
in 1389, and in many German cities, according to Ocker's writings in the Harvard Theological Review. According to William Nichol in Christian Antisemitism, "over 100 instances of the charge have been recorded, in many cases leading to massacres."
The first recorded accusation was made in 1243 at Berlitz, near Berlin. As a consequence all the Jews of Berlitz were burned on the spot, which was subsequently called Judenberg. Another famous case that took place in 1290, in Paris, was commemorated in the Church of the Rue des Billettes and in a local confraternity. In 1370 in Brussels
, the charge of host desecration, long celebrated in a special fest and depicted in artistic relics in the Church of St. Gudule, led to the extermination of the Jews of the city. The case of 1337, at Deggendorf
, still celebrated locally as "Deggendorf Gnad", led to a series of massacres across the region. In 1510, at Knoblauch
, near Berlin, 38 Jews were executed and more expelled from Brandenburg
.
The alleged host desecration in 1410, at Segovia
, was said to have brought about an earthquake, and as a result, the local synagogue was confiscated and leading Jews were executed; the event continues to be celebrated as a local feast of Corpus Christi
. Similar accusations, resulting in extensive persecution of Jews, were brought forward in 1294, at Laa
, Austria; 1298, at Röttingen
, near Würzburg
, and at Korneuburg, near Vienna
; 1299, at Ratisbon; 1306, at St. Pölten; 1330, at Güstrow
; 1338, at Pulkau
; 1388, at Prague
; 1401, at Glogau; 1420, at Ems; 1453, at Breslau; 1478, at Passau
; 1492, at Sternberg, in Mecklenburg-Schwerin; 1514, at Mittelberg, in Alsace
; 1556, at Sochaczew, in Poland. The last Jew burned for stealing a host died in 1631, according to Jacques Basnage, quoting from Manasseh b. Israel. In some cases host desecration legends emerged without actual accusations, as was the case of the host desecration legend of Poznan (Posen).
The accusation of host desecration gradually ceased after the Reformation
when first Martin Luther
in 1523 and then Sigismund August of Poland in 1558 were among those who repudiated the accusation. However, sporadic instances of host desecration libel occurred even in the 18th and 19th century. In 1761 in Nancy, several Jews from Alsace
were executed on a charge of host desecration. The last recorded accusation was brought up in Bislad, Romania
, in 1836.
criticized the reaction to a local student's perceived act of host desecration (the student had attempted to bring the host to a friend who was curious about communion). Myers described the level of harassment against the student and expressed his intent to desecrate the wafer, which Catholics consider a mortal sin
.
Myers expressed outrage that Fox News appeared to be inciting readers to cause further problems for the student, and ridiculed reports that armed guards would attend the next Mass. Myers suggested that if any of his readers could acquire some consecrated Eucharistic hosts for him, he would treat the wafers "with profound disrespect and heinous cracker abuse, all photographed and presented here on the web."
A number of Catholics immediately reacted strongly. William A. Donohue
of The Catholic League
accused Myers of anti-catholic bigotry
, described his proposal as a threat to desecrate what Catholics hold to be the Body of Christ
, and sent a letter asking the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota State Legislature to take action against Myers.
According to Donohue, as the Pharyngula
website was accessible via a link from the University of Minnesota website, it should be bound by the institution's code of conduct which requires faculty to be "respectful, fair and civil" when dealing with others. Subsequently, Myers explained to the Star Tribune
that while his post was "satire and protest", he had received death threats regarding the incident but was not taking them too seriously.
Group, sent its reporters including one Muhd Ridwan Abdul Jalil, to two churches in the Klang Valley
, as part of a special investigative report. The act of desecration occurred at St Anthony's Church in Jalan Robertson, Kuala Lumpur
.
After its publication, two lay
Catholics from Penang
, Sudhagaran Stanley and Joachim Francis Xavier, jointly lodged a police report against the reporters. The police took no action despite a potential charge under Section 298A (1) of the Penal Code for causing disharmony, disunity or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill will, or prejudicing the maintenance of harmony or unity, on grounds of religion.
The desecration caused widespread outrage and condemnation from non-Muslims as well as Muslims across the country. Parties including the Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur, Murphy Pakiam; the Catholic Lawyers Society; as well as numerous editorials in the media, criticised the government and the Attorney-General for its failure to act. Many saw this inaction as a case of the government's double standards, when dealing with religious issues.
Some nine months later, in early March 2010, Al-Islam published an apology to the Catholic Church and other Christians for the article. It was posted on the website of its publisher. Archbishop Pakiam, who is also president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, accepted the apology and said that no further (legal) action would be taken. The journalist and his colleague have personally never made any public statements on the matter nor apologised.
Desecration
Desecration is the act of depriving something of its sacred character, or the disrespectful or contemptuous treatment of that which is held to be sacred or holy by a group or individual.-Detail:...
is a form of sacrilege
Sacrilege
Sacrilege is the violation or injurious treatment of a sacred object. In a less proper sense, any transgression against the virtue of religion would be a sacrilege. It can come in the form of irreverence to sacred persons, places, and things...
in Christianity (most frequently identified as such in the traditions of Anglicanism
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
, Eastern and Oriental
Oriental Orthodoxy
Oriental Orthodoxy is the faith of those Eastern Christian Churches that recognize only three ecumenical councils — the First Council of Nicaea, the First Council of Constantinople and the First Council of Ephesus. They rejected the dogmatic definitions of the Council of Chalcedon...
Orthodoxy
Orthodoxy
The word orthodox, from Greek orthos + doxa , is generally used to mean the adherence to accepted norms, more specifically to creeds, especially in religion...
, Lutheranism
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
, and Roman Catholicism) involving the mistreatment or malicious use of a consecrated host
Sacramental bread
Sacramental bread, sometimes called the lamb, altar bread, host or simply Communion bread, is the bread which is used in the Christian ritual of the Eucharist.-Eastern Catholic and Orthodox:...
— the sacred bread used in the Eucharistic service or Mass
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
. In Roman Catholicism, where the host is held to have become the body of Jesus Christ, host desecration is among the gravest of sins. Intentional host desecration is not only a mortal sin
Mortal sin
Mortal sins are in the theology of some, but not all Christian denominations wrongful acts that condemn a person to Hell after death. These sins are considered "mortal" because they constitute a rupture in a person's link to God's saving grace: the person's soul becomes "dead", not merely weakened...
but also incurs the penalty of excommunication
Excommunication
Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive, suspend or limit membership in a religious community. The word means putting [someone] out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group...
latae sententiae
Latae sententiae
Latæ sententiæ is a Latin term used in the canon law of the Catholic Church meaning literally "given sentence".Officially, a latae sententiae penalty follows automatically, by force of the law itself, when the law is contravened....
. Throughout history, a number of groups have been accused of desecrating the Eucharist
Eucharist
The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...
, often with grave consequences due to the spiritual importance of the consecrated bread.
Overview
Accusations against JewsJews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
were a common pretext for massacres and expulsions throughout the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
in Europe. Similar accusations were made in witchcraft trials; witch-hunter's guides such as the Malleus Maleficarum
Malleus Maleficarum
The Malleus Maleficarum is an infamous treatise on witches, written in 1486 by Heinrich Kramer, an Inquisitor of the Catholic Church, and was first published in Germany in 1487...
refer to hosts as being objects of desecration by witches. It is part of many descriptions of the Black Mass
Black Mass
A Black Mass is a ceremony supposedly celebrated during the Witches' Sabbath, which was a sacrilegious parody of the Catholic Mass. Its main objective was the profanation of the host, although there is no agreement among authors on how hosts were obtained or profaned; the most common idea is that...
, both in ostensibly historical works and in fiction.
Background
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
, along with the Orthodox churches and some Anglican churches, believes that during the celebration of the Eucharist
Eucharist
The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...
, the offerings of bread and wine are changed in substance into the body and blood of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
, while still maintaining all the physical (or in sacramental terms, accidental) properties of bread and wine. While the Real Presence
Real Presence
Real Presence is a term used in various Christian traditions to express belief that in the Eucharist, Jesus Christ is really present in what was previously just bread and wine, and not merely present in symbol, a figure of speech , or by his power .Not all Christian traditions accept this dogma...
of Christ in the Eucharist was believed from the earliest days of the Church, during the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
Catholic theology offered the concept of transubstantiation
Transubstantiation
In Roman Catholic theology, transubstantiation means the change, in the Eucharist, of the substance of wheat bread and grape wine into the substance of the Body and Blood, respectively, of Jesus, while all that is accessible to the senses remains as before.The Eastern Orthodox...
to explain this change of substance which was believed to be actual and not merely symbolic. The concept, defined as a dogma
Dogmatic definition
In Catholicism, a dogmatic definition is an extraordinary infallible statement published by a pope or an ecumenical council concerning a matter of faith or morals, the belief in which the Catholic Church requires of all Christians .The term most often refers to the infallible...
at the Fourth Lateran Council of 1215, holds that the substances of the offerings are literally transformed, while the appearance of bread and wine remain.
Christians believe Jesus to be "true God and true man." In the Catholic Church, therefore, his "body" and "blood" in the form of the consecrated host are adored
Adoration
Adoration is love given with deep affection. The term comes from the Latin adōrātiō, meaning "to give homage or worship to someone or something."-Ancient Middle East:...
. Theft, sale, or use of the host for a profane purpose is considered a grave sin and sacrilege, which incurs the penalty of excommunication
Excommunication
Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive, suspend or limit membership in a religious community. The word means putting [someone] out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group...
, which is imposed automatically
Latae sententiae
Latæ sententiæ is a Latin term used in the canon law of the Catholic Church meaning literally "given sentence".Officially, a latae sententiae penalty follows automatically, by force of the law itself, when the law is contravened....
in the Latin Rite (See Code of Canon Law, Latin Rite Code canon 1367, or Eastern Rite Code canon 1442.) It is widely believed among Roman Catholics that, under certain circumstances such as disbelief or desecration, the host could display supernatural properties.
Some Protestant
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
denominations, especially Lutherans, have similar beliefs regarding the Eucharist and the Real Presence
Real Presence
Real Presence is a term used in various Christian traditions to express belief that in the Eucharist, Jesus Christ is really present in what was previously just bread and wine, and not merely present in symbol, a figure of speech , or by his power .Not all Christian traditions accept this dogma...
, though they differ about the rite and reject the concept of transubstantiation which Catholics and Orthodox Eastern Christians hold to.
Host desecration has been associated with groups identified as inimical to Christianity. It is a common belief that desecration of the host is part of Satanic practice
Satanism
Satanism is a group of religions that is composed of a diverse number of ideological and philosophical beliefs and social phenomena. Their shared feature include symbolic association with, admiration for the character of, and even veneration of Satan or similar rebellious, promethean, and...
, especially the Black Mass
Black Mass
A Black Mass is a ceremony supposedly celebrated during the Witches' Sabbath, which was a sacrilegious parody of the Catholic Mass. Its main objective was the profanation of the host, although there is no agreement among authors on how hosts were obtained or profaned; the most common idea is that...
. LaVeyan Satanists do not typically perform Black Mass as a regular ritual, though "Le Messe Noir" from Anton LaVey
Anton LaVey
Anton Szandor LaVey , born Howard Stanton Levey, was the founder of the Church of Satan as well as a writer, occultist, and musician...
's work The Satanic Rituals
The Satanic Rituals
The Satanic Rituals is a book by Anton Szandor LaVey published in 1972 as a companion volume to The Satanic Bible. It is a collection of nine rituals with an introductory essay to each.It was published by Avon Books as a 224-page paperback...
does include some elements.
Since the publication of a document called Memoriale Domini in 1969, the Apolistic See of the Catholic Church has allowed certain countries to allow communicants to receive the Host in the hand, rather than directly onto the tongue, reviving an "ancient custom". Communion in the hand is now widespread in many parts of the world. The practice means that access to consecrated Hosts is easier than in the past, since the person receiving it in the hand may pretend to place it in their mouth for consumption. However, recent statements and practices of Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
have caused a recent shift in Catholic practice (notably at Papal Masses and amongst more traditional-minded Catholics) of receiving on the tongue while kneeling, which is also an ancient practice. (This practice was still performed commonly and consistently, even as recently as the early 1970s in America, and is still received orally in many churches and countries presently. Receiving on the tongue is still the official norm of the Catholic Church, while receiving in the hand [via the Memoriale Domini indult] is, in English-speaking countries, the practical norm.)
Medieval accusations against Jews
False accusations of "host desecration" leveled against Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
were a common pretext for massacres and expulsions throughout the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
in Europe. The libel of "Jewish deicide
Jewish deicide
Jewish deicide is a belief that places the responsibility for the death of Jesus on the Jewish people as a whole.This deicide accusation is expressed in the ethnoreligious slur "Christ-killer." As a part of Second Vatican Council , the Roman Catholic Church under Pope Paul VI issued a declaration...
": that the Jewish people were responsible for the killing of Jesus, whom Christians regard as God become man, was a generally accepted Christian belief. It was falsely claimed that Jews stole hosts, objects to which they attached no significance, religious or otherwise, and abused these hosts purportedly, according to these false accusations, to re-enact the crucifixion of Jesus
Crucifixion of Jesus
The crucifixion of Jesus and his ensuing death is an event that occurred during the 1st century AD. Jesus, who Christians believe is the Son of God as well as the Messiah, was arrested, tried, and sentenced by Pontius Pilate to be scourged, and finally executed on a cross...
by stabbing or burning them. These accusations attributed Roman Catholic beliefs onto Jews who completely reject the belief that God can exist in the host; and who attach no significance to the host; thus making the concept of its "descration" obviously absurd.
It has been asserted by modern scholars, such as the Catholic priest Gavin Langmuir, that these false accusations against Jews represented profound doubt about the truth of Christianity. Catholics were being told, in the so-called transubstantiation
Transubstantiation
In Roman Catholic theology, transubstantiation means the change, in the Eucharist, of the substance of wheat bread and grape wine into the substance of the Body and Blood, respectively, of Jesus, while all that is accessible to the senses remains as before.The Eastern Orthodox...
doctrine, that they, by consuming the host, were eating human flesh and drinking human blood. To dispel their doubts about transubstantiation, Christians projected a system of belief onto Jews that was completely alien to Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
and Jewish law where strict dietary laws forbid the consumption of blood; even when consuming kosher animals
Kosher animals
Kosher animals are those that comply with regulations for Kosher food in Jewish religion. These food regulations form the main aspect of kashrut, and ultimately derive from various passages in the Torah...
.
Jews in the Middle Ages were frequently victims of similar accusations, considered more serious desecration of other revered items, such as relics or images of Jesus and the saints. The accusations were often supported only by the testimony of the accuser, who may potentially bear a prejudice against the accused Jew or the Jewish people. Despite this, some alleged perpetrators were tried and found guilty, on little evidence or through torture.
The penalties for Jews accused of defiling hosts were severe. Many Jews, after false accusations and torture, "confessed" to abusing hosts, and the accused Jews were condemned and burned, sometimes with all the other Jews in the community, as happened in Berlitz
Berlitz
Berlitz can refer to:* The Berlitz Corporation, formerly Berlitz International* Maximilian Berlitz, founder of the Berlitz Language Schools* Charles Berlitz, grandson of Maximilian Berlitz and author of several Bermuda Triangle related books...
in 1243. in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
in 1389, and in many German cities, according to Ocker's writings in the Harvard Theological Review. According to William Nichol in Christian Antisemitism, "over 100 instances of the charge have been recorded, in many cases leading to massacres."
The first recorded accusation was made in 1243 at Berlitz, near Berlin. As a consequence all the Jews of Berlitz were burned on the spot, which was subsequently called Judenberg. Another famous case that took place in 1290, in Paris, was commemorated in the Church of the Rue des Billettes and in a local confraternity. In 1370 in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, the charge of host desecration, long celebrated in a special fest and depicted in artistic relics in the Church of St. Gudule, led to the extermination of the Jews of the city. The case of 1337, at Deggendorf
Deggendorf
Deggendorf is a town in Bavaria, capital of the district Deggendorf.The earliest traces of settlement in the area are found near the Danube, about 8,000 years ago. Both Bronze Age and Celtic era archeological finds indicate continuous habitation through the years...
, still celebrated locally as "Deggendorf Gnad", led to a series of massacres across the region. In 1510, at Knoblauch
Knoblauch
Knoblauch, Knobloch, Knoblock, or Knoblaugh, is a German surname meaning garlic. It may refer to:*Eduard Knoblauch, German architect*Edward Knoblock, American dramatist*Karl-Hermann Knoblauch, German physicist...
, near Berlin, 38 Jews were executed and more expelled from Brandenburg
Brandenburg
Brandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
.
The alleged host desecration in 1410, at Segovia
Segovia
Segovia is a city in Spain, the capital of Segovia Province in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is situated north of Madrid, 30 minutes by high speed train. The municipality counts some 55,500 inhabitants.-Etymology:...
, was said to have brought about an earthquake, and as a result, the local synagogue was confiscated and leading Jews were executed; the event continues to be celebrated as a local feast of Corpus Christi
Corpus Christi (feast)
Corpus Christi is a Latin Rite solemnity, now designated the solemnity of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ . It is also celebrated in some Anglican, Lutheran and Old Catholic Churches. Like Trinity Sunday and the Solemnity of Christ the King, it does not commemorate a particular event in...
. Similar accusations, resulting in extensive persecution of Jews, were brought forward in 1294, at Laa
Laa an der Thaya
Laa an der Thaya is a town in Lower Austria, Austria near the Czech border. The population in 2001 was 6137.In June 2005, about 250 townspeople and 80 visitors from the US, Israel and Europe with historical family links to former Jewish citizens of Laa an der Thaya assembledwith Mayor Fass to...
, Austria; 1298, at Röttingen
Röttingen
Röttingen is a town in the district of Würzburg, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 30 km south of Würzburg, and 15 km east of Bad Mergentheim.-Climate:...
, near Würzburg
Würzburg
Würzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located at the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. The regional dialect is Franconian....
, and at Korneuburg, near Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
; 1299, at Ratisbon; 1306, at St. Pölten; 1330, at Güstrow
Güstrow
Güstrow is a town in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany the capital of the district of Güstrow. It has a population of 30,500 and is the seventh largest town in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Since 2006 Güstrow has the official suffix Barlachstadt.-Geography:The town of Güstrow is located...
; 1338, at Pulkau
Pulkau
Pulkau is a city in the district of Hollabrunn in Lower Austria, Austria.- External links :* * * * * *...
; 1388, at Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
; 1401, at Glogau; 1420, at Ems; 1453, at Breslau; 1478, at Passau
Passau
Passau is a town in Lower Bavaria, Germany. It is also known as the Dreiflüssestadt or "City of Three Rivers," because the Danube is joined at Passau by the Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north....
; 1492, at Sternberg, in Mecklenburg-Schwerin; 1514, at Mittelberg, in Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
; 1556, at Sochaczew, in Poland. The last Jew burned for stealing a host died in 1631, according to Jacques Basnage, quoting from Manasseh b. Israel. In some cases host desecration legends emerged without actual accusations, as was the case of the host desecration legend of Poznan (Posen).
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
when first Martin Luther
Martin Luther
Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...
in 1523 and then Sigismund August of Poland in 1558 were among those who repudiated the accusation. However, sporadic instances of host desecration libel occurred even in the 18th and 19th century. In 1761 in Nancy, several Jews from Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
were executed on a charge of host desecration. The last recorded accusation was brought up in Bislad, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, in 1836.
2008 controversy in the US
In his July 8 blog entry, University of Minnesota Morris biology professor PZ MyersPZ Myers
Paul Zachary "PZ" Myers is an American biology professor at the University of Minnesota Morris and the author of the Pharyngula science blog. He is currently an associate professor of biology at UMM, works with zebrafish in the field of evolutionary developmental biology , and also cultivates an...
criticized the reaction to a local student's perceived act of host desecration (the student had attempted to bring the host to a friend who was curious about communion). Myers described the level of harassment against the student and expressed his intent to desecrate the wafer, which Catholics consider a mortal sin
Mortal sin
Mortal sins are in the theology of some, but not all Christian denominations wrongful acts that condemn a person to Hell after death. These sins are considered "mortal" because they constitute a rupture in a person's link to God's saving grace: the person's soul becomes "dead", not merely weakened...
.
Myers expressed outrage that Fox News appeared to be inciting readers to cause further problems for the student, and ridiculed reports that armed guards would attend the next Mass. Myers suggested that if any of his readers could acquire some consecrated Eucharistic hosts for him, he would treat the wafers "with profound disrespect and heinous cracker abuse, all photographed and presented here on the web."
A number of Catholics immediately reacted strongly. William A. Donohue
William A. Donohue
William Anthony "Bill" Donohue is the president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights in the United States, a position he has held since 1993.-Life and career:...
of The Catholic League
Catholic League (U.S.)
The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, often shortened to the Catholic League, is an American Catholic anti-defamation and civil rights organization...
accused Myers of anti-catholic bigotry
Bigotry
A bigot is a person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices, especially one exhibiting intolerance, and animosity toward those of differing beliefs...
, described his proposal as a threat to desecrate what Catholics hold to be the Body of Christ
Transubstantiation
In Roman Catholic theology, transubstantiation means the change, in the Eucharist, of the substance of wheat bread and grape wine into the substance of the Body and Blood, respectively, of Jesus, while all that is accessible to the senses remains as before.The Eastern Orthodox...
, and sent a letter asking the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota State Legislature to take action against Myers.
According to Donohue, as the Pharyngula
Pharyngula (blog)
Pharyngula is a blog on FreeThoughtBlogs and ScienceBlogs run by PZ Myers. In 2006, the science journal Nature listed it as the top-ranked blog written by a scientist. Pharyngula also won the 2005 Koufax Award for Best Expert Blog. The blog topics are eclectic, delving into the non-scientific as...
website was accessible via a link from the University of Minnesota website, it should be bound by the institution's code of conduct which requires faculty to be "respectful, fair and civil" when dealing with others. Subsequently, Myers explained to the Star Tribune
Star Tribune
The Star Tribune is the largest newspaper in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is published seven days each week in an edition for the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area. A statewide version is also available across Minnesota and parts of Wisconsin, Iowa, South Dakota, and North Dakota. The...
that while his post was "satire and protest", he had received death threats regarding the incident but was not taking them too seriously.
Al-Islam magazine
In 2009, two Muslim reporters from Al-Islam, a small Malaysian magazine, participated in a Catholic Mass and received Holy Communion, which they then spat out and photographed. The resulting photo was then published in their May 2009 edition. The magazine, which is owned by Utusan Karya, part of the Utusan MalaysiaUtusan Malaysia
Utusan Malaysia is a Malay language pro-government newspaper in Malaysia. First published in Jawi, the newspaper is now published in romanised letters...
Group, sent its reporters including one Muhd Ridwan Abdul Jalil, to two churches in the Klang Valley
Klang Valley
Klang Valley is an area in Malaysia comprising Kuala Lumpur and its suburbs, and adjoining cities and towns in the state of Selangor. An alternative reference to this would be Kuala Lumpur Metropolitan Area or Greater Kuala Lumpur. It is geographically delineated by Titiwangsa Mountains to the...
, as part of a special investigative report. The act of desecration occurred at St Anthony's Church in Jalan Robertson, Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
.
After its publication, two lay
Laity
In religious organizations, the laity comprises all people who are not in the clergy. A person who is a member of a religious order who is not ordained legitimate clergy is considered as a member of the laity, even though they are members of a religious order .In the past in Christian cultures, the...
Catholics from Penang
Penang
Penang is a state in Malaysia and the name of its constituent island, located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. It is bordered by Kedah in the north and east, and Perak in the south. Penang is the second smallest Malaysian state in area after Perlis, and the...
, Sudhagaran Stanley and Joachim Francis Xavier, jointly lodged a police report against the reporters. The police took no action despite a potential charge under Section 298A (1) of the Penal Code for causing disharmony, disunity or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill will, or prejudicing the maintenance of harmony or unity, on grounds of religion.
The desecration caused widespread outrage and condemnation from non-Muslims as well as Muslims across the country. Parties including the Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur, Murphy Pakiam; the Catholic Lawyers Society; as well as numerous editorials in the media, criticised the government and the Attorney-General for its failure to act. Many saw this inaction as a case of the government's double standards, when dealing with religious issues.
Some nine months later, in early March 2010, Al-Islam published an apology to the Catholic Church and other Christians for the article. It was posted on the website of its publisher. Archbishop Pakiam, who is also president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, accepted the apology and said that no further (legal) action would be taken. The journalist and his colleague have personally never made any public statements on the matter nor apologised.