All cases

Majority of Hate Crime Victims (42%) Are Catholics

February 26, 2021, United Kingdom

Recent figures show that Catholics are the most common victims of religious prejudice and hate crime in Scotland. 42% of religiously motivated hate crimes are perpetrated against Catholics, compared to 26% against Muslims and 10% against Protestants. In contrast, Scottish Government figures show that racially-motivated hate crimes have fallen by 20% between 2014-15 and 2019-20. At the same time, the hate crime rate against transgender persons doubled in number. Assistant Chief Constable Gary Ritchie expressed that hate crime is an "under-reported offence", which means that victims "can be targeted on numerous occasions before they report to our officers".

Arson at the Church of Aranova

February 26, 2021, Italy

On February 26th, three youths vandalised the Church of Our Lady of Fatima in Aranova. The three perpetrators entered the church, set fire to the canopy and damaged the lectern. Local politicians described this as a very serious act that desecrated a sacred place of great value for all people who profess the Catholic faith and all those who believe in freedom of worship.

Spain Permits Feminist Marches, While Still Restricting All Forms of Worship Including Easter Celebrations

February 26, 2021, Spain

The Spanish authorities still maintain severe restrictions on public meetings and also religious services. In late February it was officially announced that public marches with up to 500 participants will be allowed on the International Women's Day, March 8th, which was demanded by feminist groups. At the same time, restrictions have already been announced for Holy Week celebrations and other church-related festivals, on the grounds that Holy Week processions are riskier than Women's Day marches. Fr Francisco José Delgado criticised the official decisions, saying that they were not primarily a matter of health policy: "The Ministry of Health advises against these marches, showing this is more about the political confrontation between the political parties in the government than from a real concern for the health of the people, which has been missing in the decisions that have been made since the pandemic started".

Christian NHS Director and Judge Loses His Appeal Against Being Fired Over Expressing His Traditional View On Family

February 26, 2021, United Kingdom

Richard Page, NHS director and judge, has lost his appeal after being dismissed and now wants to take his case to the Supreme Court. The Court of Appeal had ruled last Friday that his dismissals were lawful after Page said in a television interview in 2016 that children grow up best with a mother and a father. At the time, Page, who is now 74 and from Kent, was presiding over an adoption case and said he was discriminated against because of his Christian beliefs on parenthood. Since then, he has been fighting decisions to remove him from his positions and is supported by the Christian Legal Centre (CLC).

'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.

Saint Joseph Chapel In Lille Demolished For New University Building

February 24, 2021, France

The chapel of the former Jesuit college Saint-Joseph in Lille, which dates back to the 19th century but was not classified as a historical monument, was demolished on 24 February. Previously, the association 'Urgences Patrimoine' had appealed against the decision before the Lille Administrative Court, but was not successful. The chapel is part of a complex that is to be completely redesigned as part of a campus project led by Junia, a major engineering school and member of the university. It envisages 40,000 m2 of teaching space, including 22,000 new rooms and an investment of almost 128 million euros. As part of this, the chapel, which is desanctified, had to be demolished.

Fire Broke out in the Holy Cross Church

February 24, 2021, France

On 24th February, a fire broke out in the Sainte-Croix church and burnt around 20 square meters. Stained glass windows were also blown out. There were damage to the side entrance and the chapel. The parish suspected arson since neither electricity was installed nor the stored candles were used.

Baeza: Phrases Against Priest Written on Church

February 24, 2021, Spain

In February, The facade of the parish church in Baeza was targeted with graffiti that said "priest, you and your bells are worse than the Covid". The priest, Juan Quiles, was surprised by the inscriptions and explained how the bells had always rung without complaints and said "they only ring when necessary." The police of Baeza was notified of the incident and commented, "I think this is something more than an (act of) hooliganism."

Irish Bishop Banned By Twitter For Criticising Euthanasia

February 20, 2021, Ireland

After criticising the Irish government's plans to legalise euthanasia, Twitter has banned the Irish bishop Kevin Doran on February 20th. In his tweet, he spoke out about the Christian dignity in dying, paradoxically Twitter argues "he violated their rules by promoting (..) suicide or self-harm" because the tweet mentioned the term "Assisted Suicide" in it, which he opposes. According to writer David Quinn, Twitter has turned the bishop down on appeal.

Vandals Smear Church in Warsaw With Red Paint

February 19, 2021, Poland

During the night of February 19th, unknown perpetrators sprayed red paint on the doors and walls of the historic St Augustine's Church in Wola, Warsaw. After the police started an investigation in which they also released a video showing the suspect, the police arrested two men in connection with the case.