All cases
Vandalism Reported at Unused Derio Monastery Targets Religious Objects
November 20, 2025, SpainThe unused monastery of Derio in Bizkaia fell victim to an act of vandalism and desecration, when unknown perpetrators broke into the monastery and caused deliberate destruction of crucifixes, chalices, and religious paintings. The religious community emphasised that intruders went to break one by one the liturgical objects they found.
Tabernacle Stolen and Statue of Mary Damaged
November 19, 2025, SpainThieves broke into the Los Urrutias church in Cartagena, stole the tabernacle, and damaged the statue of the Virgin del Carmen, which they left in the streets.
Cross of Morkaiku in Elgoibar Torn Down
November 18, 2025, SpainOn the night of 18 November 2025, unknown individuals demolished the Cross of Morkaiku in Elgoibar, Gipuzkoa—an act now under police investigation. The cross, originally erected during Spain’s Franco regime, had sparked ongoing local tensions over the presence of religious symbols linked to the dictatorship, despite its historical recontextualisation.
Sacristan Assaulted Outside Paris’s Église de la Madeleine
November 18, 2025, FranceA parish employee was violently attacked after enforcing security rules near the historic church.
Bomb Threat Targets Catholic Church During Family Service
November 16, 2025, GermanyPolice sealed off the Church of the Assumption of Mary in Aichach after a bomb threat disrupted a mass attended by hundreds.
Vandals Desecrate a Church Crucifix and Welcome Sign
November 16, 2025, ItalyA church in Moscufo was targeted by vandals who broke a welcoming sign and attached a condom to a crucifix. Municipal administrators condemned the act.
Protesters Occupy Catholic Church
November 15, 2025, GermanyAround 50 pro-abortion protesters entered St. Mary’s Church in Flensburg, displaying banners and refusing to leave until police intervened. The archdiocese of Hamburg underlined that the church is a "holy place for Catholics" and should not "be abused for political rallies and disrespect".
Neo-Fascist Graffiti on Church Condemned as “National and Religious Blasphemy”
November 15, 2025, United KingdomSwastika and Russian “Z” symbols were graffitied on Our Lady of Lourdes church in Swansea, prompting police investigation and condemnation from civic and religious leaders.
Nazi swastika graffiti defaces Swansea Church
November 15, 2025, United KingdomA Nazi swastika, along with the words “Keep out” and a “Z” symbol linked to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, was daubed on the walls of Our Lady of Lourdes church in Townhill, Swansea.
Catholic Youth Representative Reports Religious Discrimination by Scottish Council
November 13, 2025, United KingdomOn 13 November 2025, former Scottish Youth Parliament member Matthew Quinn told a CIDAC hearing that Inverclyde Council staff had singled him out because he was Catholic, questioned him about his personal views on abortion and same-sex marriage, and later called him a “religious extremist”. The Council subsequently announced that an externally commissioned investigation had upheld none of his complaints, but refused to publish the £52,750 report or the reasoning behind that conclusion.