On Sunday June 5th, priest Monsignor Patrick Jacquin was hurt in Notre Dame Cathedral when about twenty members of the association ‘Act Up’ burst into the cathedral, defying the security personnel, in order to perform a mock marriage of two lesbians.
The former Spanish ambassador to the Holy See, Gonzalo Puente Ojea, affirmed that the Catholic Church is a public enemy nowadays. In the view of Puente Ojea, the Church is used to a privilege treatment and its bellicose tone towards the Spanish government is part of a power game.
French member of parliament, Christian Vanneste, sentenced to payments for "homophobic insults"; three years later acquitted by last juridical instance.
Staff sacked after refusing Sunday work.
(1996 - 2005) Legal developments put religious freedom at risk. Christian groups listed as dangerous sects. State power to interfere with religious exercise established by law.
Pastor Ake Green charged with committing a "hate crime" for preaching a sermon on homosexuality in Borghold.
New law prohibits criticism of homosexuality and makes biblical applications to today a criminal offence.
(October 2001-April 2002) Evangelical preacher arrested and fined for displaying a sign in public saying ‘Stop Immorality’.
(1995/1996) Several instances have been collected in which staff were denied the right to conscientious objection and lost their jobs.
Ayios Procopios, a Byzantine church of the 11th or 12th century situated in the village of Synkrasi, in the Famagusta district, in the Republic of Cyprus, was desecrated after the military had occupied the region by force. The iconostasis was destroyed and the portable icons were stolen. The church is today a refuge for birds.
Antifonitis Monastery, a Byzantine monastery, built at the end of the 12th century, was destroyed as a consequence of the Turkish invasion. The heads of the two Archangels in the apse of the church were ruined. Turkish illicit dealers in antiquities cut into pieces and removed from the walls the representations of the Day of Judgment and the Stem of Jesse, vandalising a large part of them.
Government lawyers have told the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) that Christians should “leave their religious beliefs at home or move to another job” when faced with a clash between the requirements of their faith and their employment.
More and more Evangelists in the UK, who preach on public streets are being prosecuted or are facing allegations due to the opinions they expressed. Due to the insecurity to know what can be or not be said, street preachers, but also comedians, secularists and LGTBT activists "came together (in 2013) against the criminalisation of “insulting” words or behaviour under the same Public Order Act. Referencing decisions by the European Court of Human Rights, they argued that freedom of speech did not only apply to information or ideas favourably received but also to those that offend, shock or disturb the state or any sector of the population. And they were successful. The removal of “insulting” from section 5 of the Public Order Act was heralded as a great victory which would prevent street preachers, comedians and peaceful protesters from facing unlawful arrest and legal uncertainty".