All cases

Taxi Driver Fined for Displaying Bible Verse

February 20, 2024, Germany

A taxi driver from the German town of Essen was fined for displaying a small Bible verse sticker on the rear window of his car. The city authorities claim that the Bible verse constitutes "religious advertising", which is illegal on taxis which are regarded as part of the public transport.

Statue of the Virgin Mary Vandalized

February 20, 2024, Spain

A statue of the Virgin del Carme in a local chapel of Reus has been vandalised. Vandals broke the statue’s hands, removed its crown, and left it on a balcony after forcing entry into the chapel.

Drunken man attacked the attendants of the Church of St. Sergius

February 19, 2024, Russia

A drunk man entered the church of St Sergius of Radonezh in Sertolovo and demanded money from the congregation to continue the "banquet". The women politely refused, which infuriated him. He then flew into a rage, almost ripping the door to the church off its hinges. Previously he had attacked the abbot with a knife.

Arson to St. Lambertus Church in Kalterherberg

February 18, 2024, Germany

Unknown perpetrators set fire to the parish church of St. Lambertus in Kalterherberg on Sunday. In the rear area of ​​the interior of the church, prayer books, a shelf with parish letters and sheets from the Book of the Dead were set on fire in front of the wall with the memorial plaques. Opposite, at the Marian altar, the burning memorial lights were thrown down and artificial flowers were also lit.

St Stephen and All Martyrs entrance vandalised

February 18, 2024, United Kingdom

The stone pinnacles from a church gate were stolen on the weekend of the church's 180th anniversary.

Vandalism to Major Cloister of St. Francis

February 17, 2024, Italy

During the night of February 17, the Major Cloister of St. Francis was smeared with spray cans in several places. The monastery has already been targeted several times by vandals.

Vandalism to St. Martinus Church

February 17, 2024, Germany

Unknown perpetrators spray painted the St. Martinus Church door with "666", "shame" and a swastika symbols in white paint. Police are currently investigating.

Vandalism at Gutenstetten Church

February 17, 2024, Germany

On 17 February, an unknown person entered the local church of Gutenstetten and broke off the figure of Jesus from the cross, thereby damaging the corpus. Some of the church's furnishings were also altered. The church's baptismal font was changed but not damaged.

Attempted Break In leaves 2,000 euros of damage

February 16, 2024, Germany

A unknown perpetrator tried to break a window of the Catholic Mariä Himmelfahrt parish church to presumably get into the building. Awakened by the noise, the priest who lived in the house discovered the attempted break-in and spoke to the unknown person, whereupon he immediately fled on foot towards the train station.

"Religion of Lies" Sprayed on Loosdorf Church

February 15, 2024, Austria

Unknown perpetrators daubed the walls of the Loosdorf parish church with the words “Religion of Lies”. On another wall vandals had sprayed the words “Sol invictus”, meaning "undefeated sun god".

Four Crosses Defaced with Islamic Graffiti

February 15, 2024, France

In Dordogne, four large public crucifixes in separate towns were defaced with references to Islam sometime between December 24, 2023 and February 15, 2024. Two of the crosses were located on the side of the road in Saint-Pantaly-d'Excideuil, the two others in Cherveix-Cubas. One cross, built in the 1800s in a village of 146 people, had the word “Islam” and a crescent moon sprayed on it. Another inscription read “Allah”. Yet another cross was spray-painted with, “Today is the land of infidels, tomorrow the land of Islam.”

Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli dei Greci Defaced

February 14, 2024, Italy

This property listed among the "places of the heart" of the FAI (Italian Environment Fund) is once again targeted by vandals. Writings were made with spray cans appeared on the entrance staircase, as well as meaningless and shameful phrases on the entrance wall and on the door.

Thieves stole baptismal font

February 14, 2024, Norway

Someone has stolen a massive silver baptismal font and various silver cups from St Olav's Church in Modum Bad.

Stations of the cross vandalised

February 13, 2024, Austria

The stations of the cross, that are usually installed in the forest between the old to the new cemetery of St Stephan's church in Amstetten, Austria, have been vandalised. Some of the wooden crosses were torn out of the ground and destroyed.

Vandalism at a Roadside Shrine in Włocławek

February 12, 2024, Poland

The roadside shrine in Włocławek has been vandalised for the third time within two weeks. A statue of Mary has been taken out of the shrine and destroyed. The broken pieces were left on the floor.

Fire set repeatedly in front of St. Bartholomäus church

February 12, 2024, Germany

Fire was set repeatedly in the outdoor area of St. Bartholomäus church in Götzingen. Further, the unknown perpetrators stole, among other things, prayer flyers and sacrificial candles from inside the prayer house and set them on fire on the stairs to the sacristy.

Rioters caused damage in church of St. Ägidius

February 11, 2024, Germany

Unknown people rioted in the St. Ägidius Church in Grafing. Several prayer books were thrown to the ground, the microphones at the altar were tampered with and an elaborately decorated Easter candle was broken. The material damage is estimated at around 300 euros. The police are currently investigating.

St. Ägidius Church Vandalised

February 11, 2024, Germany

During the night between February 10 and 11, unknown perpetrators vandalized the church of St. Ägidius in Grafing. Several prayer books were thrown to the floor, the microphones on the altar were tampered with and an elaborately decorated Easter candle was broken. The material damage is estimated at around 300 euros.

Vandalism at St. Ulrich Church

February 11, 2024, Austria

The parish church of St. Ulrich in Lavanttal was hit by vandals, bells and other objects were hidden around the altar. There is also material damage to report as the microphone system on the altar was destroyed. The incident has already been reported to the police.

Far-left vandals threatening priest in Barcelona

February 10, 2024, Spain

On February 10, strangers left a message on the walls of the parish church of the Roman Catholic priest Father Pablo Pich Aguilera which could be translated into Spanish like this: “We are watching you, Pablo. We will abort.” The text is signed by Arran, a youth group of the Catalan separatist left.