All cases

More than 25 Catholic Pages Blocked by Facebook as "Spam"; Later Restored

July 17, 2017, European Institutions (EU, ECHR, et.al.)

Between the night of July 17 and the morning of July 18, 2017 Facebook unpublished more than 25 Catholic pages in English, Portuguese and Spanish with no explanation to page administrators. After restoring the pages around 1:00 in the morning of July 19th, Facebook gave a statement to ACI Prensa: "The pages were reestablished. The incident was a malfunction of the spam detection mechanism in our platform. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused." In 2016, Facebook came under fire for allegedly censoring trends to news deemed "conservative."

U.K. Foreign Office Agency says Evangelical Christians in the Global South Should “Reinterpret” the Bible

July 17, 2017, United Kingdom

The Barnabas Fund has highlighted a Wilton Park (an executive agency of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office) report from 2016 in which it describes biblical sexual morality as 'hateful' and evangelical Christians in prejudicial terms. A key recommendation of the report is "challenging the interpretation of sacred texts."

Political Party Tried to Boycott Inauguration of Virgin Mary Monument

July 15, 2017, Spain

Party members of Podemos failed to prevent the inauguration of a monument dedicated to the Virgen del Rocío when they were denied authorization to hold a second protest march.

Man Attacked for Wearing a Cross in Berlin

July 14, 2017, Germany

In the early morning hours of July 14, 2017, three teenagers attacked a 39-year-old man on a tram who was wearing two wooden Christian crosses on a chain around his neck. They pointed at the necklace and asked in broken German "what's that?" The teenagers, who appeared to be North African, proceeded to taunt him with insults and slapped him in the face repeatedly.

Church Desecrated in Villarreal

July 14, 2017, Spain

The Basilica San Pascual de Villarreal was desecrated on July 14, 2017. One or more perpetrators forced open the tabernacle and stole the ciborium containing consecrated hosts. This act of desecration requires that a Mass of reparation be celebrated according to Canon Law.

Iraqi Man Threatened to Kill Church Members

July 9, 2017, United Kingdom

Zana Hassan interrupted a Sunday afternoon church service in Barnard Castle, County Durham on July 9, 2017 “shouting and swearing.” After being arrested by police, he threatened to “kill all the English,” making references to the war in Iraq. He was later convicted of a racially aggravated offense.

Arson at Church in Luleå

July 5, 2017, Sweden

The Catholic Church in Luleå Sweden was the victim of arson on July 5, 2017. The fire was started at two places outside of the church, one of them being the main entrance of the church. The parish priest, Nelson Mendoza Caserial, is shocked and surprised about the attack. He has stated that the church had not received any prior threats, either to the congregation, the employees, or himself. He lives in a house on the church property and was sleeping when the police alerted him at midnight. "I was really shocked and still shaking. I have not slept a wink since the police came and told us that the church was on fire," he said.

Spanish law on Religious Freedom to Change

June 29, 2017, Spain

The Spanish congress has passed a vote to change the law guaranteeing ideology, religion and freedom of worship in Spain. The Parliamentary Group Spokesman Joan Tarda stated that the law needs to be renewed as the Spanish society today no longer resembles the society of the 1980s and thus needs to be updated. New drafts of the law will have to be submitted prior to the end of the next session.

The Arran Organization Lleida Launches Obscene Campaign Against Bishops

June 27, 2017, Spain

The Catalan separatist youth organization launched a campaign against the Bishop of Solsona, Xavier Novell, and Cardinal Archbishop of Valencia, Antonio Cañizares. Arran distributed a poster with the image of Antonio Cañizares and Xavier Novell practicing anal sex as "denunciation" of the Church's position on homosexuality.

Saying Grace in Christian Kindergarten Prohibited

June 26, 2017, Sweden

An independent religious kindergarten in Umeå, Sweden, was forced to stop saying grace before meals by the county government. The Education Act says that religious elements may be included in education at independent schools, but they must be voluntary in order for the children to participate. The law does not say that the children themselves must agree, but rather that their parents consent on their behalf. The county argued that the children have not made the choice to participate in saying grace and have thus prohibited it. Preschool Director Britt Marie Mårtensson said they replaced grace with "Thank you for the sun and the rain and the food on our table."