All cases
Repeated Arson Attack on St. Benedikt church in Eisenharz
July 13, 2024, GermanyOn July 13, fire was set to the church of St. Benedikt in the Allgäu community of Argenbühl-Eisenharz (close to Isny, Ravensburg district). This is already the second arson attack on the church this year. When the fire brigade arrived three pews were burning brightly, but the fire brigade was able to extinguish the fire quickly. However, according to initial estimates by the Catholic parish, severe damage was caused. The church is completely covered in soot.
Young Christians attacked on Lake Constance while preaching
July 12, 2024, GermanyOn Wednesday afternoon, July 12, a group of young Christians aged between 16 and 23 were attacked on Lake Constance while they were reading bible verses over a megaphone on a rental boat.
Man drives a truck into Austrian free church
July 8, 2024, AustriaOn Monday evening, July 8, a man drove a truck into the Pentecostal Elim Church in Brunn am Gebirge, Austria. According to the police, this was a deliberate attack. The man confessed that he had acted out of anger, the perpetrator, however, is not known to the church.
Vandalism in the First Parish Unitarian Church
July 4, 2024, United KingdomOn 4 July, a 43-year-old man vandalised a church in Kingston, causing damage estimated at hundreds of thousands of dollars. Police subsequently arrested the man without bail.
"Death to Jews and Christians" graffiti in Croissy-sur-Seine
July 3, 2024, FranceOn July 3 at around 11 am, the police discovered anti-police, anti-Semitic and anti-Christian tags in Croissy-sur-Seine (Yvelines, west of Paris). The writings were found on the wall of the Canotiers' underground car park. According to the news, the following slogans are written in metre-high letters: "ACAB", "FLIC = TUEUR", "FREE PALESTINE", and "À MORT LES JUIFS ET LES CHRÉTIENS", inciting to killing police, Jews and Christians.
Profanation of a statue of Mary in Żary
June 30, 2024, PolandOn the night of June 29 to June 30, an unknown perpetrator damaged both hands of a statue of the Mary, which is located on Zielona Góra Street in Żary. The police are investigating the incident.
Tear gas attack during evangelical church service
June 30, 2024, FranceOn Sunday, June 30, a disturbing event shook took place during a church service in Dijon. During the Seventh-Day Adventist Sunday service, which assembled about a hundred faithful at around 11:00 a.m., an unidentified individual entered the building and sprayed the assembly with tear gas. This unexpected attack caused panic and dismay among the participants, nine of whom were injured.
Secular Belgian court fines Catholic prelates for denying a woman access to deacon training
June 27, 2024, BelgiumBelgian prelates Archbishop Luc Terlinden of Mechelen-Brussels and former archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels Cardinal Jozef De Kesel were convicted by a Belgian court after they denied a woman entry into a diaconate formation program and ordered to pay compensation.
Arson at Methodist church in Doncaster
June 26, 2024, United KingdomAs reported on 26th June, 100 year old Rossington Methodist church in Doncaster has been destroyed due to fire. It is believed to be an arson attack. The church was added to the Local Heritage List last year. It has been closed for worship since 2019.
Statue of Virgin Mary vandalised in Łańcut
June 24, 2024, PolandOn 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, RussiaOn 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, GermanyFrom 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, SpainOn 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, GermanyOn 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, GermanyBetween 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, SwedenAs 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, ItalyAs 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, FranceAs 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, SpainFigures 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.
Krakow church defaced with hateful graffiti
June 19, 2024, PolandAs reported on June 19, the Church of St. Wojciech in Krakow was vandalised with vulgar graffiti, expressing hatred towards the Catholic church, the Vatican, and accusing the clergy of pedophilia. They also destroyed the facade of the church, where Saint Wojciech once used to preach.