All cases

Statue of Virgin Mary vandalised in Łańcut

June 24, 2024, Poland

On June 24, 2024, in Łańcut, a twenty-seven-year-old man devastated a roadside chapel and smashed a statue of Virgin Mary. The man was already arrested by the police.

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.

Cemetery vandalised: Perpetrators post video on social media

June 23, 2024, Spain

On the night of 23 June, the Spanish fiesta of San Juan, young people destroyed all the niches and some religious images in the Valdoviño cemetery ( La Coruña) by kicking them down. They also smashed statues of saints on tombstones and tore off their heads. They recorded their acts of destruction and abuse, including shouts and insults such as "F*** Jesus Christ", and uploaded the video to social networks.

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, ECtHR dismisses case

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 backed the decision by the tax authorities. An appeal at the European Court of Human Rights has been dismissed. The case 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.

More than 80 crucifix broken off and stolen from cemetery

June 20, 2024, Spain

Figures of Jesus were broken off and stolen from more than 80 crosses in the cemetery of Estremera, Madrid, in the night from 19 to 20 June, leaving behind empty stone crosses. The local community is shocked.