All cases
Mongolia Magazine Puts "Transgender Jesus" on Cover
April 6, 2017, SpainIn response to the bus campaign of Hazte Oír promoting a traditional view of gender with the slogans "Boys have penises; girls have vulvas. Do not be deceived," Mongolia magazine used an image of a transgender Jesus as its cover image. The magazine cover also has slogans such as “God has a penis” and “God has a vulva” (“Dios tiene pene” and Dios tiene vulva”).
Christmas and Easter School Holidays to Change Names
April 6, 2017, SpainThe Christmas and Easter school holidays will be re-named "first and second period" in the region of Castile and Leon in Spain for the academic year 2017/18 so as to be disassociated with the Christian holidays.
German Family's Homeschooling Case Filed at European Court of Human Rights
April 6, 2017, GermanyThe Wunderlich family brought its case against Germany to the European Court of Human Rights in April 2017. In 2013, the Christian parents began homeschooling their children. German authorities took temporary custody of the children and imposed criminal penalties on the parents for not sending their children to school. The European Court of Human Rights will examine whether Germany violated the Wunderlich’s fundamental right of parents to direct the education of their children.
Bulgarian Justice Ministry Proposes Ban on Foreign Financing of Religious Groups
April 4, 2017, BulgariaThe Justice Ministry of Bulgaria has presented a draft bill that would ban foreign countries from financing religious groups in the country, unless an inter-state treaty is in effect. The bill would require that foreign citizens serving as religious workers be fluent in Bulgarian and that no Bulgarian citizen can do the work. This could affect Roman Catholic and Protestant churches, as well as Islam and Judaism.
Church Leaders and Prime Minister Criticized National Trust
April 4, 2017, United KingdomThe Church of England accused the National Trust of “airbrushing” Christianity out of Easter festivities, after it renamed “Easter Egg Trail” as the “Great British Egg Hunt.” Cadbury, which sponsors the event, said it wanted the event to appeal to non-Christians, saying: “We invite people from all faiths and none to enjoy our seasonal treats.” The Prime Minister said “[Easter is] a very important festival for the Christian faith for millions across the world. So I think what the National Trust is doing is frankly just ridiculous.”
National Police Investigate Hacking of HazteOir.org
April 4, 2017, SpainHazteOir.org, the group behind a Christian anti-gender ideology publicity campaign using a bus, suffered a computer attack on some of its old accounts and social networks on April 4, 2017. The self-identified "cybercriminals" attempted to use the stolen information to blackmail and extort the president of the group on social networks.
At Least Four Shrines Vandalized in Saint-Expédit
April 4, 2017, FranceOn April 4, 2017 a witness reported the disappearance and decapitation of several religious statuettes in roadside shrines in Saint-Expedit, in the east of Réunion. This comes two days after the devastation of the site of the Black Madonna. In a shrine at the exit of the village of Bois-Blanc, the body, foot, and head of a statuette were left broken and scattered on the altar. The other statues had been taken, but offerings remained untouched. Nearby, at a shrine on the way to Cambourg in Saint-Benoît, four statuettes were decapitated. On the route de la Plaine, the well-known shrine, all statues were missing, and an auditor confirmed that this was also the case in the shrine located in the Jamaican sector in Saint-Denis.
Church Vandalized by Youths
April 4, 2017, FranceIn the afternoon of April 4th, two adolescents entered the Church of Saints Pierre-et-Paul, emptied the fire extinguishers and broke several candles.
Motion Filed for Catholic Church to Pay Property Tax
April 4, 2017, SpainThe political party "Ahora Getafe" has filed a motion for the Catholic Church and other religious entities to pay property taxes, despite its exemption. Due to the Concordat Agreements of the Spanish State with the Holy See in 1979, the Catholic Church was given a variety of privileges including not having to pay property taxes.
Statue of the Virgin of Lourdes of Higuera de la Sierra Found Decapitated
April 3, 2017, SpainOn April 3, 2017 neighbors discovered that the head of statue, which sits at the opening of a cave of the Paraje de las Tobas, in the region of the Sierra de Aracena and Picos de Aroche, had been removed. The Civil Guard investigated.