All cases

Blasphemious and Hurtful Art Funded by and Displayed in Valencia

May 31, 2007, Spain

"Art" in Valencia: Piece "Jaula de Canarios" (Canaries Cage) shows an image of God covered with birds excrement. Another piece shows nuns dancing with members of the military force; and another one displays Jesus and the Virgin Mary being "cooked" in a pan. Sacred images have been beheaded, and the original heads replaced with Disney's characters.

Traditional Patronal Festival Stripped of Original Christian Meaning

May 26, 2007, Spain

Representatives of Esquerra Unida and ERPV at the Sueca City Hall, Valencia, decided to suppress the religious connotation of the traditional festival that honors the Virgin of Sales. The proposal seeks to strip it of any religious meaning disregarding its Catholic origins. The representatives decided to run the festival under a new dedication, the "Rice Festival".

Three Christians, Employees of a Christian Publishing, Tortured, Stabbed and Killed

April 18, 2007, Turkey

Three Christians tortured, stabbed, and killed in Turkey. Four of the five men detained, confessed having committed the crime for nationalist and religious reasons.

Bishop in Court for Criticing Homosexual Behaviour

April 15, 2007, Belgium

In April 2007 André-Mutien Léonard, then the Roman Catholic bishop of Namur gave an interview in the weekly magazine Télé Moustique, where he was asked his opinion on homosexuality. In his answer he referred to Sigmund Freud and deduced that homosexuality was essentially psychological in nature. The court cleared the bishop - but the fact that he went through trial is of great concern.

Catholic Church Forced to Withdraw from Adoption

April 1, 2007, United Kingdom

New gay rights law forces the Catholic Church to pull out of offering adoption services in the UK.

Church Attacked in Kosovo

March 30, 2007, Kosovo

In Dean/Decane, Kosovo, the wall of one of the Serbian-Orthodox church’s most revered sites, a 14th-century monastery, was damaged by an anti-tank missile. On 4 May, the Kosovo police service said they had identified a suspect, but no arrest was made.

Community Metal Cross Broken and Dragged Away

March 30, 2007, Bosnia and Herzegovina

In Prozor, Bosnia and Herzegovina, four people broke down a metal cross that belonged to the Catholic community from a nearby village, and dragged it a few hundred meters away. The four defendants signed a plea agreement with the Prosecutor’s Office in Mostar, admitting their guilt. Three defendants were sentenced to two months’ imprisonment with a probation period of one year, and one defendant got a sentence of three months’ imprisonment.

Regulations Barring Religious Schools from Teaching against Homosexuality

March 22, 2007, United Kingdom

Regulations Barring Religious Schools from Teaching Against Homosexuality Approved Sexual Orientation Regulations Pass House of Lords. Concerned Christians prayed outside of the Houses of Parliament.

Turkish-Origin Youth Gang Bullies Protestant Parish

March 21, 2007, Germany

A Turkish youth disturbed Protestant church services for weeks at a time by making noise in front of church windows in Oberstenfeld (Baden-Wurttemberg).

Catalog Containing Anti-Christian and Hurtful Images Funded by City

March 15, 2007, Spain

The City Hall of Leida issued with public funds a catalog in support of a cartoon exhibition showing the evolution of homosexuals groups over the time. The catalog contained pornographic drawings were mixed with Christians symbols; (an artwork of Nazario Luque Vera). The mayor of Leida, Xavier Sàez, was requested to apologize and to stop the further distribution of the catalog but denied any wrongdoing.