All cases
Profanation and Robbery in a Parish Church in Madrid
November 13, 2018, SpainOn the 13th November at dawn, the parish of Our Lady of Madrid was vandalized and robbed by vandals. The perpetrators entered by forcing the door open and desecrated the tabernacle and stole the ciborium and a small monstrance, they also took objects from the parish office. The police is investigating.
British Government Denies Asia Bibi Asylum for Fear of Community Unrest
November 9, 2018, United KingdomAsia Bibi, who spent eight years on death row in Pakistan, was released from prison after the Supreme Court of Pakistan overturned her sentence for “insulting the Prophet Mohammed.” Her acquittal led to unrest and riots among Pakistan's Muslim hardliners, prompting the government to try to prevent her from leaving the country. Her husband, Ashiq Masih, pleaded to the UK government: “I am requesting the Prime Minister of the UK help us and as far as possible grant us freedom.” The British government reportedly rejected this request for fear of civil unrest.
Church Door Set on Fire
November 9, 2018, SpainOn the 9th of November the door of the parish church in Llamas de la Ribera was set on fire, causing severe damage. Police arrested the perpetrator.
Arson in Church; Heavy Damage to Renovated Organ
November 7, 2018, GermanyPolice determined that a fire set to an organ in the St Franziskus Church in Gummersbach was intentional. The damage done to the organ was estimated to be in the six-figure range. Due to the rapid intervention of the fire department, greater damage was prevented. "Perhaps the whole church could have gone up in flames if the fire had not been discovered so quickly," noted Father Christoph Bersch.
Vandalism in the Church of Sainte Croix
November 7, 2018, FranceA press release of the parish of Port de Bordeaux reported that there were “more then 40 chairs crumbled to pieces, tables and displays thrown over” in the 11th century church of Sainte Croix. Debout France – a local federation – published information about this incident on its Twitter expressing regret saying: “vandalism (…) is more and more frequent within our church.”
Historic Forest Church in Badia Tedalda Heavily Damaged by Vandalism
November 6, 2018, ItalySeveral stained glass windows of the Lama Church were broken by rocks and the door was smashed by an axe. The damage was estimated at several thousand euros.
Vandalism at Wallyford Church
November 5, 2018, United KingdomEast Lothian (Scotland) Police investigated a case of vandalism at the Wallyford Livingroom Church. Vandals smashed a window by throwing stones.
Vandalism to Parish Church
November 4, 2018, GermanySometime between November 4th and 7th, unknown perpetrators smashed in a window at the St. Walburgis Church in Menzelen-Ost. The damage was discovered by church staff on the evening of November 7th. The perpetrators threw an object into a glass window with lead glazing with an unknown object.
Parish Church Vandalized
November 2, 2018, GermanyPolice reported that two teenagers are suspected of having caused at least €3,000 in damage to the Reichertshausen parish church St. Stephanus between August 31st and September 13th. Many statues were damaged: the wing of a dove (representing the holy spirit) was broken, the statue of John the Baptist was damaged, and the head of a statue on the altar was broken off. A foul smelling and foamy liquid was poured into the holy water. The sacristan who discovered all of this damage also found remainders of ashes and crumbs, spilled beverages, a burned prayer book, and the note “F… dich Gott” (“F… you God”) in a book for prayer requests.
Offensive Graffiti and Vandalism in Church
November 2, 2018, GermanyUnknown perpetrators sprayed three walls and a prayer bench with offensive graffiti in the St. Benedikt-Kirche in Herbern. The local police spokesperson referred to the act as "antisocial behavior" and suspected "marauding teenagers" committed the vandalism sometime between 11 am and 5 pm on November 2nd.