All cases
Spanish Councilor of Culture Hints that Churches Should be Burned
June 4, 2017, SpainAida Ginestar Pau, town councilor for sport and culture of the Spanish city Alzira in the province of Valencia, attacked the Catholic Church and Christianity on social media. On her Facebook page, the left-wing Podemos politician wrote a post that spoke about the Catholic Church, in which she laughed at the institution and in what could be seen as incitement to violence asked "but are there still churches that have not burned all??" In Valencian: "Jajajaja jajajaja!!!! Però queden esglesies encara?? No les han cremat totes???".
School Holidays Changed to Remove Religious Connection
June 3, 2017, SpainThe Ministry of Education in Spain has proposed changing the Carnival and Easter Holidays to a week in late February and May respectively in order to remove the religious connections from the school holidays. This proposal is waiting to be ratified and implemented for the school year 2017/2018.
Man Burst into Church Yelling "Allah is Great"
June 3, 2017, SpainA Muslim man shouting "Allah is great" disrupted a wedding in the Church of San Pablo in the city of Valladolid. He approached the altar with the apparent intention of overthrowing various liturgical objects and assaulting those present, including the priest.
Relic of St John Bosco Stolen
June 2, 2017, ItalyThe urn containing St John Bosco’s brain was stolen from the Salesian Basilica of Castelnuovo Don Bosco in the Piedmont region of Italy. The Archbishop of Turin, Bishop Cesare Nosiglia, has condemned the theft and urged return of the relic.
Rome Bus Stops the Target of Blasphemous Images
June 1, 2017, ItalyUnknown perpetrators placed offensive and obscene posters inside publicity screens of the Roman transport company ATAC on June 1, 2017. One poster, called Immaculata Conceptio - In Vitro was a depiction of the Virgin Mary holding a baby, presumably Jesus Christ, with her hand on another woman's thigh, implying that they were a couple who used in vitro fertilization to conceive the child. Another poster, entitled Ecce Homo Erectus, shows an obscene image of Jesus Christ with a child.
Several Cemeteries Vandalized across France
May 31, 2017, FranceBetween May 24th and May 31st, 2017, four cemeteries in France have been vandalized. The cemeteries have had their graves, including Christian graves, desecrated, crosses, vases and grave plaques destroyed to various degrees. Each cemetery has had their own suspects and three people have been identified and questioned by the local police, two cemeteries suspects remain unknown.
Orthodox Chapel Vandalized
May 30, 2017, FranceFather Archimandrite Amphilokios of the Orthodox Monastery of Saint Michael in Marseille reported an act of vandalism to the French Observatory. An image of the cross which was mounted on the monastery’s wall was torn. The community reacted by posting a sign condemning the act.
Swedish Pro-Life Midwives Fined
May 29, 2017, SwedenEllinor Grimmark and Linda Steen are two pro-life midwives who challenged their employment termination cases in court. Grimmark's case was taken to the Labor Court where she lost the case in April 2017. Due to this loss, she has been ordered pay all the court costs and received an invoice from the Jönköping County in the amount of 1 640 000 Swedish Kronor (€168 634). Linda Steen was denied an appeal in the Labor Court, but she will receive an invoice of 1.2 million Swedish Kronor (€123 391).
Attack Against a Catholic Bishop
May 29, 2017, SpainA Catholic bishop had to be escorted by the police after several dozens of people holding LGTB banners assaulted him at the entrance of the church after a service.
Cemetery Vandalized in Saint-Brès
May 27, 2017, FranceTwo teenagers entered the cemetery of Saint-Brès France and destroyed two graves, crosses, statues, and grave plates. The police were called and the two teenagers were identified through surveillance cameras.
Reparation Prayers for Abortion Banned by Hospital Management
May 27, 2017, SwitzerlandPrayers in reparation for the victims of abortion have been held in the chapel of the University Hospital (CHUV) in Lausanne on the 13th of every month for the past 10 years, organized by the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX). Pierre-Francois Leyvraz, the CEO of the hospital claimed not to have known about the events when the media contacted him. He informed the SSPX that they would no longer have access to the chapel and that the chapel will be closed on the 13th of each month to prevent the prayer meetings. He noted that abortion is legal and they will not permit people opposed to abortion to meet in the hospital chapel.
Cross at General De Gaulle's Grave Vandalized
May 27, 2017, FranceTwo unknown perpetrators were seen entering the cemetery of Colombey-les-Deux-Eglises, where General de Gaulle's grave is located. One of the two men was suspected of having climbed on the grave and reversed the cross of the grave. Police are investigating.
ISIS Graffiti on Catholic Church in Sweden
May 24, 2017, SwedenThe Catholic church in Västerås was vandalized in several places with graffiti with the Arabic letter “N,” which stands for Nazarene or Nasrani, the Arabic word for "Christian". In ISIS-controlled areas, this tag has been used in combination with attacks on Christian’s homes and properties. Its use has been used as a signal: convert, pay a tax or be killed. Members of the parish are both frightened and upset about this attack. Cardinal Anders Arborelius has stated that he believes this is the first time a Catholic church has been tagged with ISIS graffiti in Sweden.
Berlin's Left-Wing Politicians Opposed Cross on City Palace
May 20, 2017, GermanyThe Greens and the Left party objected to plans to put a cross on top of the rebuilt Stadtschloss, the future site of the Humboldt Forum, saying the plan endangers the "open cultural dialogue" intended for the site. The Humboldt Forum is an art and culture museum project.
Medical Director's Dismissal Reversed
May 20, 2017, GermanyOn May 19, 2017 the Lüneburg labor court ruled that the termination of Medical Clinic Director Markus Fröhling was unjustified. In February 2017, Fröhling was dismissed after publicly voicing his support for the former gynecology chief physician Thomas Börner, who declined to do abortions in his department. This support caused criticism by both the media and politicians.
Christian Bookshop in Marseille Vandalized
May 19, 2017, FranceThe children’s display case window of the bookshop “La Bible pour tous” (The Bible for All) was found vandalized some time during the night between the 18th and 19th of May with a black paint bomb and graffiti tags reading “neither God nor master” (“Ni Dieu ni maître”), along with the anarchist's "A". The bookstore is adjacent to the church église évangélique Action Biblique Marseille.
Church Vandalized by Graffiti
May 18, 2017, FranceThe church of Saint-Joseph was tagged with the slogan “Down with love, long live solidarity” (“à bas la charité, vive la solidarité”). The graffiti was painted with green spray paint.
Crown of the Virgin Stolen from the Musée de Fourvière
May 12, 2017, FranceThe crown of the Virgin, was stolen from the Museum of Religious Art in Fourviere, shortly before 3:30 am on the night of May 12th. Asking for prayers, the Fourvière Foundation denounced the theft and noted that it was the symbolic value of the crown that made the theft most painful as it was given by families in Lyon to prove their devotion to Notre-Dame de Fourvière.
News Article Used Pro-Life Rally Picture to Illustrate "Religious Extremism"
May 11, 2017, GermanyNews and email website GMX published an article by journalist Mathias Heim about a recently-published study correlating certain head trauma with religious "fundamentalism." Although the article begins with “The problem of the religious fundamentalists has been a topic in science even prior to IS-Terror”, and never mentions Christians or Christianity, the photograph accompanying the article, with the headline “Injuries in the brain can lead to religious extremism”, depicts a peaceful Christian pro-life demonstration. This clearly negatively stereotypes Christian pro-life activists as "extremists".
Tabernacle Stolen from Chapel
May 10, 2017, FranceThe tabernacle of the chapel of Collognes has been stolen. This theft is not the first for this small chapel, three years ago the statue of Virgin Mary was stolen and the collection boxes have been emptied several times. The parish is very upset and the local police have opened an investigation. The chapel will remain open to the public as it is on the pilgrimage route of Santiago de Compostela and St. Francis of Assisi and thus has many visitors throughout the year.