Violence against Christians rises sharply across Europe

Alexander Folz, Catholic News Agency

Tuesday, November 18, 2025

Church arson attacks across Europe nearly doubled in 2024, part of a broader surge in anti-Christian hate crimes that included 274 personal assaults against Christians and the killing of a 76-year-old Spanish monk, according to a new report released yesterday by the Vienna-based Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe (OIDAC Europe). Executive Director Anja Tang emphasized that the figures represent “very concrete acts of church vandalism, arson, and physical assaults that deeply affect local communities,” warning that official statistics still underestimate the scale of the problem.