The violence that as seized Chile is linked to complex issues of history, economics and bitter political divisions.

As you would expect, American news operations have been busy covering other stories. I get that.

Meanwhile, the role of the Catholic Church in the politics of Chile is complicated and, as you would expect, decades of arguments about clergy sexual abuse and related topics has not helped the situation. I get that, too.

But I would like to note that activists/reformers/rioters — pick your label — have started burning Catholic churches, including holy objects stripped from altars. This is the kind of smartphone-video story that tends to make news, if only because the images are so striking.

I have been following these events on Twitter and, after several days of doing that, I decided to check and see what kind of mainstream news coverage these hellish scenes have received.

The answer: Next to none. In fact, it would appear that this is a “conservative news story,” which apparently means that attacks on Catholic churches in Chile is only of interest to political conservatives. I find this very depressing. Here is the top of a recent report from the ultra-conservative ChurchMilitant.com:

Vandals stormed La Asuncion Church in Santiago and took out pews and chairs to add to a burning barricade. They also took statues and images of Jesus from the church as well as statues of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the saints to be burned in the fire.

This occurred amid weeks of protests in the capital. Protests began in response to a recent raise in subway fares in Santiago. But demonstrators' complaints grew to include income inequality, low wages and Chile's high cost of living.