Shortly before the Palm Sunday Mass in the cathedral Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, a unidentified man shouted “Allahu Akbar” into the microphone. When approached by a parishioner, he ran away. Notably, the incident happened two days after an ISIS-inspired terrorist attack in southern France.
The parents of a two-year old student objected to the school participating in the Viernes de Dolores (Friday of Sorrows) procession. The Escuela Infantil Sagrada Familia organized the procession from the school to the neighborhood parish on March 23rd as part of the traditional celebrations of the Holy Week. The school council approved the voluntary event, but the Andalusian educational authority cancelled it after the parents complained.
An unidentified man forced open the tabernacle in the chapel of the convent of Bridgettines in Bremen to take the consecrated Hosts with the liturgical objects that were inside, as well as the relics of the founder of the Order, St. Bridget of Sweden.
Member of the Irish Parliament, Carol Nolan TD was suspended from the left-wing Irish political party Sinn Féin for a period of three months after voting against a bill which would allow a Irish referendum on the Eighth Amendment which effectively bans abortion. Nolan said, "I voted according to my conscience and did not vote in favour of the legislation put before me as it was greatly at odds with my strong pro-life values."
The City Council of Madrid placed an advertising poster for a publicly-funded theatrical performance entitled "The place where the whores pray" (El lugar donde rezan las putas) directly in front of two Catholic schools. The play, performed at the public Teatro Español, was described by promoters as exploring "theater in times of rage."
The Canada Summer Jobs program funding application for 2018 requires that applicants sign a statement supporting, among other things, abortion and transgender rights in order to be eligible for funding. Hundreds of applicants, including Christian charities, pro-life groups, and churches have refused to sign the attestation because of the government's positions on moral issues.
The 13th century fresco of the Madonna dell'Arco di San Callisto in Trastevere was tagged with a graffiti artist's signature on March 18th. Locals were outraged to discover a white signature across the beloved image. A suspect was arrested in early April.
Facebook suspended the account of Catholic historian Michael Hesemann for 30 days after he published a post commenting on the negative influence of Islam in the history of Europe and, specifically, in Germany.
The political party Equo Andalucía demanded that the Junta de Andalucía (Regional Government of Andalusia) exercise extreme vigilance to prevent public schools from organizing and celebrating Easter processions for children during Holy Week. Party leaders reminded the government that they had registered complaints about children's processions the previous year.
Far-left activists and undocumented migrants demonstrated inside the Basilica of Saint-Denis on March 18th to protest the French government’s new asylum law before being forcibly removed by police, resulting in the evening Mass being cancelled.
A woman in the community of Callosa de Segura was sanctioned 100 euros per day for projecting the image of a cross on the wall of the church of San Martin.
On March 17th, locals discovered that 18 graves in the Saint-Romain-d'Ay cemetery had been vandalized, with crosses broken. Complaints were filed and the police began an investigation.
Spanish actor and activist Willy Toledo announced that he does not intend to appear before a judge to respond to a complaint made by the Spanish Association of Christian Lawyers for having committed an offense "against religious sentiments." Toledo was investigated after he posted a rant in July 2017 against God, the Virgin Mary, and his criticism of a trial against three women who had been charged for their part in a 2014 anti-Christian procession in which the image of the Virgin Mary was replaced by a giant vagina ("el coño insumiso").
A witness discovered blood poured on the stairs and door of the Eglise de Bellevue in Fort-de-France on the morning of March 15th.
On March 15th, investigators found 100 works of art, from paintings and statues to ciboriums and candlesticks, with a value estimated at 100,000 euros in an apartment in Pas-de-Calais. Following September robbery complaints from two churches in Likques and Sainghin-en-Weppes, a coordinated investigation resulted in the arrest of three art students, two men and a woman, who admitted having stolen the works art from various churches in Hauts-de-France, as well as in Belgium, over a two-year period.
The governing party announced the proposal on March 13, 2018, citing concerns about "systematic gender segregation and opinions that do not belong in Swedish schools." Although no examples of problems in Christian schools were cited, they would be included in the plan. Jewish schools would be exempted.
A man burst into the crowded Evangelical Church of Wittenheim in Alsace during the Sunday service and shouted “Allahu Akbar” while mimicking the use of a weapon, frightening the congregation. The man, known to authorities for psychiatric disorders, was detained and sent to a psychiatric hospital.
Catholic protesters holding a prayer rally were physically harassed, spat on, and assaulted by LGBT activists on March 11th while denouncing retailer Suitsupply's advertising campaign featuring men "groping and kissing" each other.
On March 10th police and firefighters responded to a massive fire in the 14th-century St. Jodok Church. Firefighters were able to save valuable pieces of art, but the organ was completely destroyed. Initial damage estimates were at least 2 million euros, as the church had been completely renovated in 2010. In addition to that, a fire was also set in St. Martin's church in Schlier, only a few kilometers from Ravensburg. Police received an anonymous message after the incident reading, “More churches will burn.” The arsonist was arrested on March 21st and convicted in September 2018, receiving a seven-year prison sentence.
A small fire in a church was reported in Ravensburg on the same day as a devastating fire in the St. Jodok Church.