A German cardinal has condemned an arson attack that destroyed a reception centre for asylum seekers. Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich-Freising, president of the German bishops’ conference, said the attack showed that “some groups” were trying to “sow hatred” against migrants. The incident in the Bavarian town of Reichertshofen was the latest in a wave of attacks against hostels for asylum seekers as anti-immigration sentiment rises in Germany in the face of unprecedented numbers of asylum applications. Noting that there have been 150 attacks against centres for refugees and asylum seekers in the first half of 2015, Cardinal Marx said the Church must make clear its opposition to such “hatred and violence”. “Some groups are trying to poison the climate in our society and to sow hatred,” Cardinal Marx said in a statement posted on the websites of the bishops’ conference and the Archdiocese of Munich-Freising. “We must never tolerate this.” The attacked building in Reichertshofen was being converted into a hostel for up to 67 asylum seekers.