All cases
14-Year-Old Confesses to Setting Fire to Church
August 6, 2016, ItalyDuring the day of August 6, 2016, a 14-year-old intentionally set a fire in the church of San Filippo Neri in Savigliano using candles. The fire spread to the wooden paneling and was finally contained by the use of two fire extinguishers.
Christians Forced to Flee Refugee Housing in Schloss Holte-Stukenbrock
August 4, 2016, GermanyFourteen young Christian Iranians fled their accommodations after being threatened with death for months by a group of Muslims living in the tent city.
Anti-Christian Posters Glued to Public Light Posts in Argenteuil
August 3, 2016, FranceThe posters read: "The only church that illuminates is one that burns" along with an illustration of a church on fire.
Anarchist Protesters Disrupt Divine Liturgy
July 31, 2016, GreeceA group of about 25 people burst into the church of Saint Gregory Palamas in Thessaloniki, disrupting the Divine Liturgy (Eucharistic service of the Byzantine Rite) throwing leaflets protesting against the expulsion of refugees and migrants. The protesters clashed with those present in the church. Riot police made more than twenty arrests.
Church Clock Vandalized
July 31, 2016, FranceAn unknown perpetrator climbed the clock tower of the church of Saint-Jean-Baptiste in Saulcy-sur-Meurthe and twisted the metal hands of the clock, rendering it inoperable.
Satirical Publication Deeply Insults Catholic Church
July 30, 2016, BelgiumIn the wake of the murder of a French priest, the Belgian publication NordPress posted the following (in French): "Pope Francis announced today at the World Youth Day that all priests who die a martyr, like the 84-year-old abbot killed by extremists in his church, will receive 72 altar boys in paradise. A new dogmatic measure for the Catholic Church which aims to compete with the 72 virgins offered to Muslim martyrs."
Italy Expels Two Men for Causing Disturbances in Catholic Churches
July 28, 2016, ItalyItaly expelled two Moroccan men who caused disturbances in Catholic churches as part of a wider effort to reduce terrorism threats. The two expelled were a 25-year-old man who smashed a 300-year-old wooden crucifix to the ground inside a Venice church in early July and a 69-year-old man who stormed into a church in 2015 in Trentino and shouted abusive statements about Catholicism.
Cross Vandalized in Rosnay
July 28, 2016, FranceThe cross and the base of a monument were broken with a sledgehammer and chisel. The opening of the monument was scheduled for three days later. Police investigated.
Priest Murdered in French Church Attack
July 26, 2016, FranceFather Jacques Hamel, 84, died after his throat was slit during an attack on the church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray by two armed men.
Church in Jupilles Vandalized
July 26, 2016, FranceUnknown perpetrators broke into the church of Saint-Pierre of Jupilles and ripped the central electronic control panel of the bells from the wall. The box was found on the altar. The Mayor said "It is the symbol of the sacred is affected. There is a will to harm."
Anti-Catholic Graffiti at Church in Besançon
July 26, 2016, FranceThe newly-constructed chapel of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X was vandalized with anti-Catholic, anarchist slogans.
Parliamentary Inquiry Finds UK Doctors Risk Losing Jobs For Refusing To Perform Abortion
July 21, 2016, United KingdomBritish pro-life doctors and nurses face hostility, loss of advancement, and pressure to perform or refer for abortions despite legislation guaranteeing their right to conscientiously object, according to a parliamentary inquiry.
Statue of Virgin Mary and Jesus Decapitated at 1700 meters in Corsica
July 21, 2016, FranceThe mountaintop statue of the Virgin Mary of la fontaine du lac de Ninu holding the infant Jesus was vandalized, with the heads and arms cut off both figures.
Funding for Christian Charity Cut for Encouraging Homosexual Celibacy
July 19, 2016, Netherlands"Hart van Homo's" (Heart for Gays), a Christian charity that encourages celibacy for gay Christians, lost governmental funding after the ruling party argued that it sent the wrong message.
Desecration at Church in Les Herbiers
July 18, 2016, FranceFour young men broke into the church of Saint-Pierre and overturned benches, broke vases, and emptied a fire extinguisher. They urinated and defecated in the holy water on the altar and on the altar itself.
Street Preacher Arrested for Hate Crime for Quoting Bible to Gay Teenager
July 17, 2016, United KingdomGordon Larmour, a Christian evangelist, was charged with behaving in a "threatening or abusive manner aggravated by prejudice relating to sexual orientation" and "assault", after he referred to the Book of Genesis and stated that God created Adam and Eve to produce children in response to a 19-year-old's question about God's views on homosexuality. He spent one night in prison. Six months later, a court in Kilmarnock, Scotland acquitted him of all charges.
Two Churches Targeted during Attempted Coup
July 15, 2016, TurkeyTwo churches in cities in eastern Turkey infamous as the sites of historic killings of Christians were vandalized during the attempted coup on 15 July, 2016.
Church in Toulouse Profaned and Vandalized
July 14, 2016, FranceThe church of Saint-Pierre des Chartreux was vandalized: The tabernacle door was torn off and part of the book collection of the prayers of the faithful was burned. Other objects were overturned. A police report was filed.
Order of Nuns Fined for Firing Lesbian Teacher
July 14, 2016, ItalyAn order of nuns was ordered to pay 25,000 Euros to a teacher for discontinuing her employment based on the incompatibility of her sexual orientation with the Catholic school’s ethos.
Arson in Cemetery and Church in Nice a Day Before Bastille Day Attack
July 13, 2016, FranceA fire was set in the cemetery of Caucade in Nice West, where three tombs were blackened. One hour later, a fire was discovered in the church of Saint-Marc and a door was damaged.