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Church Arsonist Confesses in Court

A 40-year-old unemployed man appeared in court on 10th of September 2018 for the arson of two churches, St. Jodok in Ravensburg and St. Martin in Schlier. The incidents occurred in March 2018, which we reported at the time. The fire at St. Jodok church in Ravensburg caused at least two million euros in damage. Read more about the first day of trial below.

September 10, 2018, Germany

Fire in the Church of Santa Maria della Roccella

A fire broke out in a basement of the cloister of the Church of Santa Maria della Roccella. The flames affected some unused materials and various forms of waste that had piled up in a basement of the cloister. The fire brigade intervened and found four LPG tanks near the fire which they removed and secured promptly. Fortunately there was no damage done to the building and no one was hurt. The police started an investigation and did not exclude arson as the cause of the fire.

September 9, 2018, Italy

Parish Church in Gutau Vandalized

Between 18.00 and 22.45 on September 7th, unknown perpetrators vandalized the facade of the parish church in Gutau with red and black paint. The cost of the damage is still to be determined.

September 7, 2018, Austria

Anarchist Graffiti on Monument to the Virgen del Rocío

Sometime in the early morning hours of September 5th, vandals sprayed the anarchist "A" on the well-known monument. After city workers were unable to remove the paint using water, the monument's sculptor himself, Elías Rodríguez Picón, arrived to remove the paint. Local residents and officials expressed their outrage over the incident. Police began an investigation and reviewed security camera footage to identify the perpetrators of vandalism.

September 5, 2018, Spain

Chapel Vandalized in Péré

Parish announcements and a lectionary were burned in the small chapel Saint-Jean in the district of Péré, the lower town of Saint-Sever. Additionally, the monstrance was broken and a cross was thrown into a confessional. The vandalism occurred on the same day as the school fire of Toulouzette Park school in Saint-Sever. Police investigated a connection between the two incidents.

September 3, 2018, France

Senior Scottish Judge Criticized Asylum Tribunals for Disregarding Evidence of Christian Conversion

An appellate court ordered a rehearing by immigration tribunals after Judge Lord Glennie, one of the appeal judges, found that the asylum judges had disregarded churchgoer's evidence of the Christian conversion of two Iranian asylum seekers who have been attending Tron Church in Glasgow and had been predisposed to rejecting their claims.

September 3, 2018, United Kingdom
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NEWS & ACTIVITIES

Resumen Informe Observatory en Español: España acumula el 20% de los casos de cristianofobia en Europa, sólo superado por Francia

September 12, 2018,

2018 Report Highlighted on The Catholic Thing

July 2, 2018,

"The Vienna-based Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe has published a 74-page 2018 Report that’s a real eye-opener. This is not simply a compilation of complaints or over-sensitive reactions to clashes in pluralist societies. It provides a portrait of an extensive problem that everyone who cares about liberty, religious liberty included, should be aware of." - Robert Royal, editor-in-chief of The Catholic Thing, and president of the Faith & Reason Institute in Washington, D.C.

Observatory Participated in International Seminar in Slovakia

June 25, 2018, Slovakia

Ellen Fantini joined Ján Figel', EU Special Envoy for the promotion of freedom of religion or belief outside the EU, and Tristan Azbej, Hungary's Deputy State Secretary for Persecuted Christians, on a panel in Bratislava.

Report 2018: Over 500 Documented Cases in 2016 and 2017

May 1, 2018, Austria

The cases in Observatory's report for 2016 and 2017 represent the range of hostilities Christians experience in their daily lives: from the ‘squeeze’ of interference with religious liberty, parental rights, freedom of expression and conscience, to the ‘smash’ of physical attacks, and vandalism of churches and cemeteries.
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