Between December 23 and 30, three figures were stolen from the nativity scene in St Anthony's Church in Amberg, Germany. In addition, a fourth figure was completely smashed. The police are asking anyone with information to contact them.
According to the local diocese, the parish church of La Piarre has been desecrated with the theft of a chalice and the desecration of consecrated hosts.
A primary school in Agna, Padua, decided to change its Christmas play by removing Christian references, including the name of Jesus, replaced by Cùcù, and the nativity scene. Teachers said they made the decision to avoid discontent among families of different faiths, but it offended Catholic parents. The play was changed without the parents' knowledge. Some families decided not to send their children to class in protest.
On November 20, three wooden sculptures, included in the register of cultural values, disappeared from the church in Rietavas, Lithuania.
On December 21, an unknown perpetrator wrought havoc on the grounds of the church of St. Michael the Archangel in Smorgon. Several religious statues and the priest's car were damaged. The man shouted that the Catholic Church should "get out of here".
On December 21, slogans attacking the asylum seekers' centre, a swastika and other symbols were found on the walls of the Church of Our Lady in Budel, North Brabant. On the side wall of the church building, texts were found such as 'azc weg' ('close down the asylum seekers' center'), 'own people first' and 'f*ck the police'. There is also a middle finger on one of the entrances to the church and a picture of the Prophet Muhammad on the church building.
St. Mary’s Armenian Apostolic Church in Södertälje, Sweden, was the target of a raid on 20 December. Intruders gained access through a window leading to a room used for various ceremonies and stole valuable items with great sentimental value for the community. “We didn’t expect this. We are facing an empty altar before Christmas,” said Alexander Sharoyan, the church’s representative. A police investigation has been initiated.
On December 20, a fire destroyed the nativity scene in the parish church of Brentonico, Rome. A woman raised the alarm when she saw the church was completely filled with smoke. The parish priest, Don Daniele Laghi, suspects arson, as the nativity scene had already vandalised a few weeks ago. The police have opened an investigation to establish the facts.
Between December 19 and January 3, unknown persons broke and pulled down several headstones in the graveyard of Saint Eunan's Cathedral in Raphoe, Ireland. Some were broken, other stones were pulled out of the ground. Local police are appealing to anyone with information about the vandalism.
A German High Court rejected the claim that the presence of a cross infringes on the religious freedom of the plaintiffs. On December 19, the Federal Administrative Court of Leipzig dismissed a lawsuit against a Bavarian decree (Kreuzerlass) from 2018, which required the display of crosses in public institutions "as an expression of the historical and cultural identity of Bavaria".