The parish team of the Saint-Martin Churhc in Bayel noticed the disappearance of several crosses placed on the small altar, the baptismal font and on the harmonium. A crystal cross was completely damaged and placed on the floor behind the altar. Ten devotional candles and five small red nightlights have been stolen. Father Sébastien Alabi Kossi, who is in charge of the Barsuraubois parishes (Bar-sur-Aube, Ville-sur-Terre and Ville-sous-la-Ferté), has decided to file a complaint to the police.
In only one month, two theft incidents had occurred in the Trinity Church of Contrada Ranna. The thieves have forced a back door to take away six brass candelabra. This was the second attempt to steal what they could not have stolen in the first theft.
On February 7th, shortly before 5 a.m., heavy smoke came from the Kirche am Chilenrain in Oetwil am See. According to the Zurich cantonal police, the fire caused property damage of several hundred thousand francs. A 41-year-old was arrested on suspicion of setting the fire.
On February 7, graffiti reading GOD GAY in rainbow colors was discovered on on the wall of the Saint-Barthélemy cemetery which adjoins the church of the same name ( Bon-Pasteur parish) in Nice.
On January 24th, the ACC Liverpool Group announced that it would no longer hold the previously-scheduled Graham Tour Event due to objections from LGBT activists over Graham's past statements about homosexuality. Graham responded by saying “I’m not coming to the UK to speak against anybody, I’m coming to speak for everybody. The Gospel is inclusive. I'm not coming out of hate, I'm coming out of love.” As of February 11th, the other venues that cancelled events were: International Convention Centre Wales in Newport, Glasgow SEC, Sheffield Arena, Arena Birmingham, and Stadium Milton Keynes.
On 6 February in the parish church of San Giovanni Bosco in Rieti was vandalised by unknowns. The two historical marble stacked Holy-Water stoups were intended to be destroyed. One of them was left in parts on the ground, and the marks on the floor show that the vandals tried to move the other without success. The reason for the damage remains unknown. It is not the first time, that this parish has experienced vandalism.
On 5 February, it has been reported that the cemetery of Yvorne was desecrated. Some headstone were overturned in the left part of the cemetery, where the oldest graves were. The police was informed.
On Tuesday, February 4, a fire destroyed a caravan installed on the Road to Pont er Groah in Sainte-Anne-d'Auray. Located at the top of the steps, the Théâtre de Verdure hosts the show "1625, the mystery of Saint Anne", a story of a Saint. The caravan was also used as a control room and a reception area for the sound and light teams. An investigation by the police has been opened to determine the origin of the fire.
On the night between 3 and 4 February, the wall of the church Petrus Canisius in Innsbruck was smeared with graffiti by an unknown person, showing a symbol of the "Church of Satan". The police is asking the public for useful information to identify the perpetrator.
On Monday February 3rd, the church of Saint-François de Paule in Toulouse, was defaced with anarchist and anti-clerical tags. The vandals smeared the façade of the church with graffiti that contained slogans such as "The only church that illuminates is the one that burns" and "ACAB." The police opened an investigation.
The now retired German pharmacist, Andreas Kersten, faced court proceedings for refusing to stock or sell the morning after pill. His beliefs and conscience were the reason to not sell a drug that can prevent the implantation of an embryo in the uterus, which would cause the death of an unborn child. He was reported to the Berlin Pharmacists’ Chamber, which took the matter to the Professional Court at the Administrative Court of Berlin. The German court ruled on this issue and upheld the right to act in accordance with his conscience and therefore withdraw from selling the products. The Pharmacists' Chamber appealed against the decision. There are no further developments. (03.02.2020)
In Bari, vandals defaced the church of San Domenico with Grafitti, found on the 3 February. Among the graffities, the priests found vulgar phrases and symbols and blasphemies.
At least a dozen young people gathered around the back of the church of San Pietro in Trento late on February 1st, yelling and threatening to use spray paint against the church. After much commotion, the inscription "We will burn the churches" was painted on the wall of the church, along with other graffiti on a nearby building. Police will examine images from the security camera that was installed last year to identify the perpetrators.
The relic of British Cardinal John Henry Newman (1801-1890), canonised only last October, was stolen from his chapel in Birmingham. “Sadly, the only piece of bone thought to have been St John Henry’s was stolen from its casket in the Newman Shrine,” read a notice in the Oratory’s February newsletter. The Fathers have appealed for anyone who had seen any suspicious activity to come forward.
On the 30th of January 2020, La Libre reported that more than 275 churches and chapels in Belgium have been vandalized, according to the latest figures in 2017. There have been assumptions that the acts of vandalism can be higher compared to the neighbourhood country, France.
On December 21, a nativity scene in Saive was set on fire. On December 28, Watermael's Christmas crib was ablaze on the Eugène Keym square. This incident has been identified by the police as a ‘criminal act’.
A 40-year-old man first profaned a 136-year-old chapel in the forest of Beskid Maly and then vandalized a Third Millennium Cross on the hill of Trzy Lipki. He was arrested on the following day.
On January 31th, after there was a fire in the church the day before, a vacationer from Nord Rhein-Westfalen noticed again a fire in the Nikolaikirche in Plön, which damaged the bookcase and parts of the building. Both times two children at the age 10 to 11 years were seen fleeing from the church at the time of the outbreaks. The damage amounts to 5000 euros and it is suspected that the children started the two fires with placing candles at the bookcase, but the police is still investigating and looking for witnesses.
On the night of 29th to 30th January, an unknown person graffitied the entrance door of the church with white paint. The graffiti consisted of unclear letters and numbers. The caused damage is estimated at about several hundred euro and the police started the investigation.
Just two days after the desecration and theft from the chapel of the Clinical Hospital of Valencia, a group of thieves attacked the parish of Carrión de los Céspedes in Seville, stealing several religious objects and the gold crowns of the two figures of the Virgin of the Rosary and the Child Jesus that were prepared for a procession on February 1st for the 400th anniversary of the Brotherhood of the Rosary of Carrión.