Unknown perpetrators have destroyed a statue of Mary in the Saint-Aubin Basilica in Rennes. Attacks on religious symbols are a growing concern in the region.
Unknown persons have vandalised the nativity scene set up by the fire brigade for the local community. The vandals not only damaged the nativity scene, but also urinated on the scene and set off a firecracker in the middle of the hay.
The Church of Christ the King in Valledoria has been attacked twice in a very short period of time. The first arson attack took place during the celebration of mass on 5 January, and the second only a few days later, on 8 January.
In Austria, a Catholic teacher has been banned from teaching for two years after being sacked for defending traditional moral values at public demonstrations. The teacher was also ordered to pay €24,000 in legal costs.
On the afternoon of 7 January, unknown perpetrators broke into the church of St. Francis Hochdahl in Erkhart. A leg of a religious figure, one of the Three Magi, disappeared and the burglars knocked over several other figures. Police are now investigating and looking for suspects.
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.