In early January, the priest of the San Giovanni Battista parish in Siniscola received a letter containing threats against two of his parishioners. The case is now being investigated by the police.
A nativity scene was burned and vandalised in the Catholic church of St Pius in Ingolstadt. The parish priest reported that "the stable was thrown over down and one figure was completely burnt".
On 4 January, a figure of the Infant Jesus disappeared from the nativity scene set up by the Agroverde Neighbourhood Committee in a public park. "A gesture that deeply offends the sense of community and the faith of many people," said the committee and further stated: "It is an act of vandalism that demonstrates a total lack of respect for the traditions, symbols and religious feelings of many people."
On the night of New Year's Eve, unknown people destroyed the nativity scene on the square of the Roncoferraro church. The vandals tore to pieces almost all of the particular figures depicting the nativity and scattered the fragments in the surrounding garden. This is not the first time that similar episodes have occurred.
Spanish police have foiled a terrorist attack just before Christmas. Four suspects aged between 14 and 17 were arrested on 19 December during a raid in the city of Elche. The group is accused of planning an Islamist terrorist attack on a Christian church.
On New Year's Eve, unknown vandals caused extensive damage to the exterior walls of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Loreto in Ribordone. Locals are calling for more security measures as this isolated church is frequently vandalised.
Three suspects have been arrested following a shooting at the Association of Salvation Churches in Istanbul. On 30 December, three gunmen arriving in a commercial vehicle opened fire at the association's building in the Cekmekoy district on the Asian side of Istanbul.
The Nativity Scene of Cullera, in the Valencian Community, has been vandalised with the destruction of an image of the Infant Jesus.
On 29 December, the back wall of the parish house in Regnano was set on fire. Only two weeks earlier, the door to the bell tower of the church had also been vandalised and destroyed.
A church in Lilienthal, Germany, was vandalised on 28 December. The offenders entered the unlocked church building and set off fireworks, among other things. They also damaged several organ pipes.