The Church of England accused the National Trust of “airbrushing” Christianity out of Easter festivities, after it renamed “Easter Egg Trail” as the “Great British Egg Hunt.” Cadbury, which sponsors the event, said it wanted the event to appeal to non-Christians, saying: “We invite people from all faiths and none to enjoy our seasonal treats.” The Prime Minister said “[Easter is] a very important festival for the Christian faith for millions across the world. So I think what the National Trust is doing is frankly just ridiculous.”
HazteOir.org, the group behind a Christian anti-gender ideology publicity campaign using a bus, suffered a computer attack on some of its old accounts and social networks on April 4, 2017. The self-identified "cybercriminals" attempted to use the stolen information to blackmail and extort the president of the group on social networks.
On April 4, 2017 a witness reported the disappearance and decapitation of several religious statuettes in roadside shrines in Saint-Expedit, in the east of Réunion. This comes two days after the devastation of the site of the Black Madonna. In a shrine at the exit of the village of Bois-Blanc, the body, foot, and head of a statuette were left broken and scattered on the altar. The other statues had been taken, but offerings remained untouched. Nearby, at a shrine on the way to Cambourg in Saint-Benoît, four statuettes were decapitated. On the route de la Plaine, the well-known shrine, all statues were missing, and an auditor confirmed that this was also the case in the shrine located in the Jamaican sector in Saint-Denis.
In the afternoon of April 4th, two adolescents entered the Church of Saints Pierre-et-Paul, emptied the fire extinguishers and broke several candles.
The political party "Ahora Getafe" has filed a motion for the Catholic Church and other religious entities to pay property taxes, despite its exemption. Due to the Concordat Agreements of the Spanish State with the Holy See in 1979, the Catholic Church was given a variety of privileges including not having to pay property taxes.
On April 3, 2017 neighbors discovered that the head of statue, which sits at the opening of a cave of the Paraje de las Tobas, in the region of the Sierra de Aracena and Picos de Aroche, had been removed. The Civil Guard investigated.
The Sainte-Julienne church in Verviers (province of Liège) was sprayed with black paint on the walls and the side door of the building with messages such as: "Welcome to Hell" and "Apocalypsy".
Six statues were vandalized from March 22 - 29, 2017, bringing the total number of incidents to 62 since the end of October 2016.
The statue of Our Lady of Lourdes in a cave of the Paraje de las Tobas, a natural area of the Sierra de Huelva, was decapitated and its hands were broken off. The head was found, but the civil guard continued to search for the hands as well as the perpetrators.
On April 2, 2017, the Pastor and his wife were awakened by flames that lit up the window of their room above the church. A rubbish bin filled with gasoline had been set on fire in front of the building's door. Firefighters were called and immediately intervened. The fire was brought under control and only the facade and the cross were blackened by the flames. A week earlier, the building had been stoned, destroying the double glazing of the front door. The Pastor noted that stoning incident immediately followed the visit of an Iraqi pastor who came to talk about the situation of the Eastern Christians. Police are investigating.
On April 2, 2017, a groundskeeper discovered the statue of the Black Madonna Rivière-des-Pluies (la Vierge Noire à la Rivière-des-Pluies) had been thrown to the ground and completely destroyed at a religious site where many faithful go to pray. The Cross of the Jubilee, placed in front of the church, was also vandalized. The priest of the parish expressed shock and disappointment that “people will desecrate holy places” and said that the site would be temporarily closed while the gendarmerie investigated. Parishioners expressed shock, sadness, and anger at the destruction.
A female Afghan Christian convert was stabbed to death by an Afghan asylum seeker in front of her children in front of a supermarket in Prien am Chiemsee. The 29-year old Muslim attacker yelled at Farina S. before stabbing her. He continued to stab her until an off-duty policeman and several witnesses dragged him aside. The woman, who moved to Bavaria six years earlier, died of her wounds. The victim’s family is convinced that the motive for the attack was the 38-year old woman’s religion. The police report: "For us, only facts count. But there is evidence of a religious motive for this act that we are pursuing."
Ten Swiss Christian youth federations working with 10,000 young people every year will no longer have the support of the public authorities. The decision of the federal government (“Bundesrat”) comes after decades of successful collaboration.
The public calvary cross (calvaire) in city of Ille-et-Vilaine was stolen by unknown perpetrators.
The municipal government's proceedings are an attempt to nullify the inmatriculación (entry into the property registry) of La Catedral de San Salvador de Zaragoza, known La Seo and Iglesia de La Magdalena by claiming the buildings are public property. The spokesman for the Archbishop of Zaragoza, José Antonio Calvo, replied that that the city cannot prevail because the Church has owned the buildings since the 12th century.
Spanish Journalist Fernando Pérez Monguió published a blog post about the Bishop of Cordoba, Demetrio Fernández, in which he called him "a fanatic and a dangerously sexist and homophobic prelate." He accused the Bishop of having attacked the honor and dignity of homosexuals and women and demanded an apology. Among the writer's complaints were the Bishop's remarks against abortion, homosexuality, and gender ideology -- each of which are consistent with the teaching of the Catholic Church.
The Spanish Radio and Television Network RTVE apologized to viewers for broadcasting the performance of the Gala Drag Queen of Las Palmas. Many viewers were upset as the winning act portrayed the Virgin Mary and during the act transformed into a crucified Christ.
The Ponferrada en Común (PeC), el Partido Comunista (PCE) e Izquierda Unida (IU) demanded immediate closure of a Holy Week exhibition in a public school by the Confraternity of Jesus of Nazareth (la Real Hermandad Jesús Nazareno). The political groups argued that such an exhibition “should not take place in a public school in a state that is defined as non-denominational.” They also claimed that the display "endangered safety at the school" as it is in a corridor that could be needed in an emergency.
The Swedish Court of Appeals concluded that a Jehovah's Witness was discriminated against on the basis of his religious convictions by the public Job Center (arbetsförmedlingen).
Between 16 and 20 March, 2017 during the night, 32 graves - mostly Christian - were excavated and searched. Officials presume the perpetrators were looking for valuables. A thorough inspection of the cemetery of 15,000 graves, on about ten hectares, was carried out. Surveillance of the premises was strengthened.