All cases
Mass Disrupted by Flares
April 8, 2017, SpainA Mass was interrupted in the Cathedral of Bilbao and parishioners had to leave the church as a group of squatters hurled flares inside the Cathedral. Police were called but no one was detained.
Catalan Club Received Complaints for Offensive Show
April 7, 2017, SpainA club in Barcelona received several complaints after its Good Friday show included an actor dressed as Jesus dancing with a cross. Adults who attended the show were offended and started a petition to ensure that the show was not repeated. They called the show “a mockery to the religion of Christianity to its believers and what it really means to celebrate Easter” (“una burla hacia la religión cristiana, hacia sus creyentes ya lo que realmente significa la celebración de Semana Santa”).
Church Vandalized in Blois
April 7, 2017, FranceThe Church of Saint-Saturnin de Vineuil was vandalized sometime between March 8th and March 30th. The Diocese lodged a complaint with the police for "degradation of the property of others on account of religion by means dangerous for people."
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.
Verviers Church Targeted with Graffiti
April 3, 2017, BelgiumThe Sainte-Julienne church in Verviers (province of Liège) was sprayed with black paint on the walls and the side door of the building with messages such as: "Welcome to Hell" and "Apocalypsy".
Multiple Attacks against Christian Statues in the Münsterland Region
April 3, 2017, GermanySix statues were vandalized from March 22 - 29, 2017, bringing the total number of incidents to 62 since the end of October 2016.
Statue of Our Lady of Lourdes Decapitated in Spain
April 3, 2017, SpainThe statue of Our Lady of Lourdes in a cave of the Paraje de las Tobas, a natural area of the Sierra de Huelva, was decapitated and its hands were broken off. The head was found, but the civil guard continued to search for the hands as well as the perpetrators.
The Armenian Evangelical Church in Alfortville Targeted Twice in One Week
April 2, 2017, FranceOn April 2, 2017, the Pastor and his wife were awakened by flames that lit up the window of their room above the church. A rubbish bin filled with gasoline had been set on fire in front of the building's door. Firefighters were called and immediately intervened. The fire was brought under control and only the facade and the cross were blackened by the flames. A week earlier, the building had been stoned, destroying the double glazing of the front door. The Pastor noted that stoning incident immediately followed the visit of an Iraqi pastor who came to talk about the situation of the Eastern Christians. Police are investigating.
Site of the Black Madonna Ransacked on Réunion; Cross of the Jubilee Destroyed
April 2, 2017, FranceOn April 2, 2017, a groundskeeper discovered the statue of the Black Madonna Rivière-des-Pluies (la Vierge Noire à la Rivière-des-Pluies) had been thrown to the ground and completely destroyed at a religious site where many faithful go to pray. The Cross of the Jubilee, placed in front of the church, was also vandalized. The priest of the parish expressed shock and disappointment that “people will desecrate holy places” and said that the site would be temporarily closed while the gendarmerie investigated. Parishioners expressed shock, sadness, and anger at the destruction.
Christian Convert Murdered in Front of her Children
April 1, 2017, GermanyA female Afghan Christian convert was stabbed to death by an Afghan asylum seeker in front of her children in front of a supermarket in Prien am Chiemsee. The 29-year old Muslim attacker yelled at Farina S. before stabbing her. He continued to stab her until an off-duty policeman and several witnesses dragged him aside. The woman, who moved to Bavaria six years earlier, died of her wounds. The victim’s family is convinced that the motive for the attack was the 38-year old woman’s religion. The police report: "For us, only facts count. But there is evidence of a religious motive for this act that we are pursuing."
Christian Youth Organizations Will No Longer Work Alongside Public Youth Agencies
March 30, 2017, SwitzerlandTen Swiss Christian youth federations working with 10,000 young people every year will no longer have the support of the public authorities. The decision of the federal government (“Bundesrat”) comes after decades of successful collaboration.