All cases

Holy See Urges OSCE and Council of Europe to Pay Attention to Discrimination Against Christians

June 9, 2016, European Institutions (EU, ECHR, et.al.)

The Holy See’s Permanent Representative to UN offices in Vienna, Msgr. Janusz Urbanczyk, has urged the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Council of Europe to pay greater attention to discrimination against Europe’s Christians.

Parliamentary Report Finds Inadequate Assessment of Religion-Based Asylum Claims

June 7, 2016, United Kingdom

The All Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief released a 35-page report in which it said the questions used to assess conversion asylum claims demonstrated a "lack of understanding and misperceptions of religion."

Christian Union Banned From Holding Meetings on College Premises

June 7, 2016, United Kingdom

A Christian union has been banned from holding meetings on college premises, as a result of the government’s counter-terrorism strategy "Prevent".

Islamists Attack Christian Refugees

June 7, 2016, Germany

A group of 30 thirty people, led by a self-proclaimed imam, attacked a Syrian Christian and his roommate at the Rottach-Egern refugee accommodation.

Relic of Pope John Paul II Stolen from Cologne Cathedral

June 5, 2016, Germany

German police report that unknown perpetrators stole a small piece of fabric with a drop of the Pope's blood.

Christian Refugees in Austria Harassed and Threatened

June 5, 2016, Austria

Christian refugees in various accommodation centers in Austria endured abuse at the hands of Muslim fellow refugees, including being forced to wake early in the morning to pray, being told they were impure, having belongings stolen, and instances of physical violence.

Court Case begins for Norwegian Doctor Fired for Exercising Right to Conscience

June 1, 2016, Norway

Katarzyna Jachimowicz, a Polish family physician working in Norway, became the first medical professional in the country fired because she exercised her conscience rights by refusing to administer abortifacients.

Church the Victim of Two Fires in One Day

May 24, 2016, Belgium

In Mont-Sainte-Geneviève, two fires significantly damaged an historic church. The first started in the sacristy. The fire fighters had just left the scene after managing to control that fire when another much bigger fire in the church roof was reported.

European Court of Human Rights Finds Turkey Interfered with Freedom of Religion

May 24, 2016, Turkey

The case concerned the inability of Mersin and Izmir Jehovah's Witnesses in Turkey to obtain an appropriate place to engage in worship due to restrictive laws. The ECtHR held that such restrictions amounted to a direct interference with their freedom of religion.

Three Incidents in Churches in the Same Region in Just Two Weeks

May 22, 2016, France

In a press release Father Benoît Delabre reported that on May 15th the altar in the Church of St. Madeleine-de-l'Île was set on fire in Martigues, about 800 kilometers south of Paris. On the same day, another unknown person desecrated the tabernacle which contained the consecrated hosts in the church at Jonquières in the same region. Additionally, Father Delabre himself was attacked a week later by a man he caught at the church door who appeared to be “trying to steal something.”