All cases

Anti-Catholic Slogans and Vandalism in Glasgow

May 18, 2021, United Kingdom

Football Hooligans vandalized the city of Glasgow after a game on the 18th of May. They smashed the windows ft the St Maria Goretti church in Cranial and draped a banner with anti-Catholic slogans was across railings in time for evening mass of another church, which wants to remain unidentified. There were further reports of abusive heckling within church grounds. Two incidents were reported to Police of Scotland.

School Chaplain Reported to Terrorist Watchdogs after Giving a Sermon on Christian Values Sues School

May 8, 2021, United Kingdom

Trent Colleges' school chaplain Reverend Dr Bernard Randall held a sermon at the schools chapel in June 2018, in which he encouraged students to respect and debate upon 'identity beliefs' and 'identity ideology'. Rev Dr Randall was afterwards reported to the governments' anti-terrorist unit 'Prevent' and forced out of his job. The school claimed that the sermon was "harmful to LGBT+" Students, and Rev Dr Randalls views were extremist. The former chaplain is now taking Trent College to court for unfair dismissal, discrimination, harassment and victimization. A hearing is awaited for June 14, 2021.

Pastor Arrested In Greater London for Public Preaching on Biblical Marriage

April 23, 2021, United Kingdom

Pastor John Sherwood, the pastor of a church in North London, preached a sermon on a public street on 23 April, in which he advocated for the biblical image of the family consisting of a father, mother and children and that marriage can only be between a man and a woman. After a while, some police officers appeared on the scene, approached Pastor Sherwood and stated that three complaints had been received about the sermon. After a lengthy conversation between the pastor and the police officers, the police officers asked him to come down from the steps where he was standing and said that he was now under arrest. The police accusation was that Pastor Sherwood had made homophobic remarks. An officer then took the Bible from the pastor's hand, pulled him off the steps and handcuffed him behind his back. The pastor was arrested for causing alarm and distress under section 5 of the Public Order Act, according to police. The preacher was detained by the police for about 21 hours, and he is still under investigation after his release.

Church in Aichach Tagged with Insulting Graffiti "Hypocrite Church = Child Molester" During Easter Week

April 4, 2021, Germany

On the night of Easter Sunday, April 4th, unknown perpetrators tagged the facade of the town parish church in Aichach with an insulting and stereotyping slogan. In the morning, the sacristan reported the damage to property to the police. The police are investigating.

Repeated Paint Attacks by Pro-Choice Group on Church in Berlin

March 3, 2021, Germany

On the night of March 3rd, St Elisabeth's Church in Berlin-Schöneberg was attacked with paint for the third time by pro-choice activists. The perpetrators sprayed slogans with "My body, My choice" on the church walls to the right and left of the main portal. Although the perpetrators are not yet known, the attack is in line with two very similar attacks last year, after which there were letters of confession from a left-wing extremist pro-choice group. For this reason it is assumed that the same group is responsible for the crime occurring this year. The damage amounts to about 4000€, which the parish has to pay for itself. The police is investigating.

'No-Protest-Zones' Around Abortion Clinics Demanded in Edinburgh

February 24, 2021, United Kingdom

"Buffer zones" around abortion clinics are to be introduced in Edinburgh to prohibit pro-life activists from standing and praying around the clinics. The buffer zones are initiated by a campaign of university students called "Back off Scotland", who got supported by the city council's policy committee. The campaign group repeatedly called for 150-meter "no protest zones" outside the entrance to Chalmers Street Sexual Health Centre after a survey showed that pro-life protests outside the clinic made the majority of women feel uncomfortable. The pro-life activists say their aim is to support women to make a different choice and the wrong allegations towards them are neither supported by Police Scotland, NHS Lothian nor the council itself.

Church in Sligo Attacked With Red Graffiti

February 17, 2021, Ireland

On February 16th unknown perpetrators attacked a catholic church in Sligo with red graffiti. The incident occurred after politician Tánaiste Leo Varadkar appeared on the Irish RTE programme "Prime Time" in which he claimed that dead babies were buried in a tank in Tuam. Varadkar referred to the mother and child home in Tuam that was run by the church and were it was recently discovered that mothers and babies have been severely abused and even a mass grave for babies were found. Sligo is about a 50-minute drive from Tuam. According to the Irish government, there is no evidence that babies are buried in a tank in Tuam. So far it is not known whether the two cases are related.

25% of UK Pro-Life Students Attacked at their University New Survey Finds

February 11, 2021, United Kingdom

For being pro-life, almost one of four students have been "threatened, abused, alarmed or distressed" at their university. According to a survey by the national student pro-life group, the Alliance of Pro-Life Students (APS), nearly three quarters of pro-life students have been confronted with situations in seminars where they experienced a restriction in freedom of expression. APS Executive Director Madeline Page said: “These statistics are alarming, yet confirm what we already know – pro-life students are being marginalised and silenced at universities. Institutional policies which refuse to allow certain topics to be discussed don’t just damage free speech – they destroy a culture of tolerance and respect on campus, ruining the chance for all students to engage with people of diverse opinions and understandings."

Radical Feminists Attacked Austrian Platform For Christian Democracy With Paint

February 8, 2021, Austria

On February 8th, radical feminist groups disrupted a solidarity rally, in front of the Polish embassy in Vienna, of the Platform for Christian Democracy. The Platform demands an end to the discrimination against people with disabilities and therefore wanted to demonstrate its support for the new amendment of the Polish abortion law, which denies abortion on the ground of eugenics. After interrupting the march, the perpetrators smeared the Platforms' office walls with radical feminists and insulting slogans, reading "fundamentalists abort them". The Platform filed a complaint at the police who is investigating.

Christian Conservative Institution in Slovenia Vandalised

February 2, 2021, Slovenia

Vandals graffitied the facade of the Christian conservative institution Zavod Iskreni in Slovenia on the night of 2 February. The perpetrators broke the windows and smeared the entrance door of the institute with swastikas and wrote the word "corruption" on it. Minister of Defence Matej Tonin condemns this vandalism as a "systematic attack on Christian values". The police are investigating.

ÖCV (Austrian Catholic Cartel Association) Resistance Memorial Smeared by Vandals

January 19, 2021, Austria

In the morning hours of January 19th, the ÖCV (Austrian Catholic Cartel Association) house was vandalized. A group of left-wing extremists entered the ÖCV house and smeared several signs in the entrance area with black paint. The plaque at the memorial for the victims and resistance fighters from the rank of the ÖCV was demolished with red paint and elsewhere anarchist symbols were left behind.

Protestant Mayor Charged for not Willing to Bless Homosexual Couples

December 24, 2020, France

Franck Meyer, evangelical mayor of a small town in Normandy, Sotteville-sous-le-Val, has now been accused by two LGBT associations. The evangelical mayor, president of the Protestant Committee for Human Dignity (CPDH), declared that he would not bless a marriage "between two men or two women" out of fidelity to his religious convictions. He called for a "conscience clause", as exists in the case of infant baptism or for doctors who oppose abortion, but which does not apply to elected representatives. For the lawyer of the two LGBT associations, Franck Meyer's remarks constitute "discrimination committed by a person with public authority in the course of his functions". Meyer vehemently contradicted this in a press release on 17 December: "I therefore formally deny the accusations of discrimination made against me and consider that they amount to a defamatory denunciation. "

Christian CEO Bullied For His View On Same-Sex Marriage

December 16, 2020, United Kingdom

An employment tribunal told on December 16th, that a CEO was exposed to bullying, hostility and harassment because of his christian view on same-sex marriage. Kenneth Ferguson files his former employer, the Robertson Trust for unlawful termination, discrimination and religious harassment. He claims that the Trust's chair, Shonaig Macpherson, became "incandescent with anger" after she found out that the Stirling Free church was hiring a Trust property. Mr Ferguson is an elder and treasurer of the Stirling Free church, which is opposing same-sex marriage and abortion.

BBC Equated Conversion Therapy And Group Prayer with Corrective Rape

December 16, 2020, United Kingdom

The section of Family & Education on the BBC News website perpetuated misinformation about `conversion therapy‘ for same sex-attraction. The BBC News LGBT Correspondent, Ben Hunte, says, “While some violent practices which may be classed as conversion therapy, such as ‘corrective rape’, are already covered by existing criminal offences, many religious practices, such as ‘group prayer”, are not.”

Paint Attack On Pro Femina in Munich

November 26, 2020, Germany

On November 26th the Pro Femina consulting center in Munich was the target of a paint attack. After the growing political pressure on Pro Femina in the last few weeks, the office building was smeared with pink paint. On the opposite side of the street, posters were hung up with the slogans: "Decriminalize abortion", "My body, my choice" or "Kill fetuses". The police have been informed and a criminal complaint has been filed.

'Burn the Clergy' Hashtag Tolerated By Twitter Spain

November 25, 2020, Spain

On November 24th, Pope Francis beatified 127 Catholics who were killed in hatred of the faith in Spain in the 20th century. At the same time the hashtag demanding Catholic priests to be burned alive became a trend on Twitter. Tweets with the hashtag #FuegoAlClero, which means "Burn the Clergy" were permitted by Twitter. Some of those tweets included pictures of priests with their heads in flames and others labeled priests as "pedophiles" and "thieves". Although Twitter's current user policy states that the promotion of violence on the basis of religious affiliation is not allowed, these pictures of priests in flames were not removed until the 25th of November.

False Accusations Against De Ligonnès' Prayer Group

November 23, 2020, France

In mid-November, two of the five sons of a 60-year-old man accused a traditionalist prayer group, called 'Eglise de Philadelphine', of abusing their father by exploiting his savings. The prayer group has been targeted by anti-cult groups because of unconfirmed rumors. However, a court in Metz dismissed the charge of abuse of weakness.

Vandals Smeared Facade of St. Jan Kanty Church in Warsaw

November 15, 2020, Poland

On November 15th the St. Jan Kanty church in Warsaw was smeared with accusations and the lightning symbol. The symbol is known as the sing of the women's strike. The parish was target by activists connected to the women's strike group before. After attempts of breaking into the church during holy mass, the parishioners took action themselves and hired a security guard.

Anti-Abortion Slogans On the Facade of St. Matthew's Church in Warsaw

October 23, 2020, Poland

Unknown vandals tagged the Church of St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist in Warsaw with anti-abortion slogans saying: "My body ≠ your religion" and "women's hell" on the facade. The incident occurred during the weekend of October 23rd, when the law for abortion in Poland was amended.

Wave of Attacks Against Churches in Poland by Feminist Group's After New Abortion Law Was Passed

October 22, 2020, Poland

On October 22nd, the polish Constitutional Tribunal decided that eugenic abortion is unconstitutional. This led to an outrage of the left-wing feminist organization "Women's Strike". among others, which started attacking churches across Poland and interrupting church services. The activists vandalized the facades of many religious buildings by tagging them with vulgar or insulting slogans. Among the attacked churches were the St. Magda Magdalena in Warsaw and the parish church St. Jakub in Warsaw, the St. Vincent de Paul church in Otwock and other Shrines and buildings. The police is investigating.