All cases

New Survey finds Christians in Scotland under pressure

July 23, 2024, United Kingdom

According to an opinion poll by the think tank “Logos” published in The Herald on July 23, Christians in Scotland feel “excluded”. More than 70% feel the Scottish Government does not support them and 75% were concerned about abuse against Christian politicians. 

Church of Saint-Paul in Orne defaced with satanic graffiti

July 21, 2024, France

In the night of Saturday, July 20 to Sunday, July 21, vandals defaced the façade of the church of Saint-Paul in Orne, France, with satanist graffiti. The tags included inverted crosses, pentagrams, and writings such as ‘False God’, ‘Liar’, and the number ‘666’, symbolising the devil. The statues on the façade were also sprayed with red paint, adding to the seriousness of the damage.

Woman threatens priest with a cutter during mass

July 21, 2024, Spain

On Sunday, July 21, a 46-year-old woman was arrested in Tudela, Navarra, after threatening the priest who was officiating the Sunday mass and the congregation with a cutter. According to the Municipal Police of Tudela, the woman not only threatened with the cutter, but also broke the glass of the entrance door of the church by throwing a stone. This act of vandalism increased the level of alarm among those present, who quickly called the authorities.

Daughter Taken Away After Parents Object to Puberty Blockers

July 15, 2024, Switzerland

A Swiss couple is taking legal action after their 16-year-old daughter was taken away from the parents and put into a government shelter due to the parents' objection to the daughter's "gender transitioning". The parents also said that doctors have been trying to administer puberty blockers to their daughter without their consent. The case has sent shockwaves around the world and raises severe concerns over the protection of parental rights, including for Christians objecting to the transitioning of their children.

Islamic tags and vandalism in Parisian Notre-Dame-du-Travail Church

July 15, 2024, France

Between Sunday, July 14 and Monday, July 15, vandals broke into the Parisian Notre-Dame-du-Travail Church, vandalised the building and left a number of Islamic anti-Christian graffiti, like "Submit yourselves to Allah infidels" and a knife planted in the throat of a statue of Mary.

Thieves behead Statue of Jesus and Steal Money from Shrine

July 13, 2024, Italy

On Saturday, July 13, unknown perpetrators broke into the sanctuary of the Madonna della Grotta, stole over 500 euro and beheaded the statue of the infant Jesus.

Young Christians attacked on Lake Constance while preaching

July 12, 2024, Germany

On Wednesday afternoon, July 12, a group of young Christians aged between 16 and 23 were attacked on Lake Constance while they were reading bible verses over a megaphone on a rental boat.

Man drives a truck into Austrian free church

July 8, 2024, Austria

On Monday evening, July 8, a man drove a truck into the Pentecostal Elim Church in Brunn am Gebirge, Austria. According to the police, this was a deliberate attack. The man confessed that he had acted out of anger, the perpetrator, however, is not known to the church.

"Death to Jews and Christians" graffiti in Croissy-sur-Seine

July 3, 2024, France

On July 3 at around 11 am, the police discovered anti-police, anti-Semitic and anti-Christian tags in Croissy-sur-Seine (Yvelines, west of Paris). The writings were found on the wall of the Canotiers' underground car park. According to the news, the following slogans are written in metre-high letters: "ACAB", "FLIC = TUEUR", "FREE PALESTINE", and "À MORT LES JUIFS ET LES CHRÉTIENS", inciting to killing police, Jews and Christians.

Profanation of a statue of Mary in Żary

June 30, 2024, Poland

On the night of June 29 to June 30, an unknown perpetrator damaged both hands of a statue of the Mary, which is located on Zielona Góra Street in Żary. The police are investigating the incident.

Tear gas attack during evangelical church service

June 30, 2024, France

On Sunday, June 30, a disturbing event shook took place during a church service in Dijon. During the Seventh-Day Adventist Sunday service, which assembled about a hundred faithful at around 11:00 a.m., an unidentified individual entered the building and sprayed the assembly with tear gas. This unexpected attack caused panic and dismay among the participants, nine of whom were injured.

Secular Belgian court fines Catholic prelates for denying a woman access to deacon training

June 27, 2024, Belgium

Belgian prelates Archbishop Luc Terlinden of Mechelen-Brussels and former archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels Cardinal Jozef De Kesel were convicted by a Belgian court after they denied a woman entry into a diaconate formation program and ordered to pay compensation.

Arson at Methodist church in Doncaster

June 26, 2024, United Kingdom

As reported on 26th June, 100 year old Rossington Methodist church in Doncaster has been destroyed due to fire. It is believed to be an arson attack. The church was added to the Local Heritage List last year. It has been closed for worship since 2019.

Attack on Orthodox churches and synagogues in Dagestan

June 23, 2024, Russia

On June 23, militant gunmen attacked two churches and two synagogues in Russia’s North Caucasus republic Debrent. While numbers vary with sources, at least 25 people have been killed, including 4 civilians, 19 police officers and one priest, Father Nikolai Kotelnikov, and at least 46 people have been injured. The Church of Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, an Orthodox Church in Derbent, was also set on fire. It was the Pentecost Sunday for the Russian Orthodox Church. The Islamic terrorists allegedly screamed “Allahu Akbar”. These attacks against Christians and Jews happened in the Muslim-predominant Dagestan region of South Russia, bordering Georgia and Azerbaijan.

Attempts to Cancel Faith Conference in Munich

June 23, 2024, Germany

From June 20 to 23 the Christian ecumenical conference UNUM24 took place in Munich. Despite the fact that it was a prayer meeting, focussing on common worship and faith, and the organisers highlighted that it was "not a platform for political or social disputes", demonstrations by LGBTIQ activists demanded the cancellation of the event as the Christians participating in the event were assumed to be "anti-LGBTIQ rights". The Third Mayor of the City of Munich, Verena Dietl, from the Social Democrats, even called the event a meeting of "different fundamentally Christian LGBTIQ* hostile actors" and expressed her regrets that she did not have any legal possibility to prevent the event.

Arson in Windischbergerdorf

June 22, 2024, Germany

On June 22, the local priest of St. Michael's Church in Windischbergerdorf noticed a pungent smell inside the church. A wooden stand had been set on fire and the Bible was also covered with soot. Earlier, the priest has noticed 3 children riding away from the church on their bikes. The police believe that the fire was arson. The damage is estimated to be around 300 EUR.

Vandalism in Völklingen Church

June 21, 2024, Germany

Between June 20 and 21, a window of the Church of Reconciliation on Poststrasse in Völklingen was smashed. The damage is estimated to be around 300 euros.

"Debanking" of Christian pro-life organisations

June 20, 2024, Sweden

As reported on June 12 by CNE, two Christian pro-life organisations in Sweden and the Netherlands, have experienced "debanking". Mats Selander, who started the pro-life organisation Center for Bioethical Reform in Sweden (CBR-S) was forced to end his 30 year customer relationship with Scandinavian Bank Nordea. The bank subsequently even closed down his private account. He was not given any explanation besides "not enough customer knowledge", despite having disclosed all his transactions. Salender believes it is due to his pro-life views. With increasing regulations, many banks have been shutting down customers for their beliefs.

Evangelical church in Rome refused tax exemption

June 20, 2024, Italy

As reported on June 20, the Supreme Court of Italy has ruled between Breccia di Roma, an evangelical church, and the Italian tax authorities. The authorities had refused to give the Breccia di Roma Church tax-exemption under Italian law, available to all religious places of worship, on the grounds that its premises lacked the “intrinsic characteristics” of a religious building. The Supreme Court now backed the decision by the tax authorities. This ruling raises massive concerns about discrimination of evangelical churches in Italy.

Vandalism of Beauvais Cemetery

June 20, 2024, France

As reported on June 20, several graves were found vandalised in the Tilloy cemetery in Beauvais. Pots were overthrown, flowers were on the ground, plaques were broken.