Report: Attacks on Catholics increasingly common and tolerated in Europe and Latin America

Puebla, Mexico, Apr 2, 2025 / 17:46 pm (CNA).

Attacks against Christians, especially Catholics, are on the rise in both Europe and Latin America, according to various reports from specialized organizations.

During 2023, the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe documented 2,444 anti-Christian hate crimes in 35 European countries. This figure includes 232 personal attacks ranging from harassment and threats to physical violence. Nearly half the attacks occurred in France.

The disturbing trend was also noted in the 2023 Report on Religious Freedom published by the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need.

The executive summary of the latter research report warns of “a considerable increase in incidents perpetrated by individuals or groups advocating for certain ideological views that are intolerant of the religious beliefs of others.”

“The attacks have largely focused on members of religious communities (i.e., Catholics and evangelicals) and have generally been committed by members of pro-abortion and pro-feminist groups, as well as by groups that promote gender ideology,” the summary adds.

“In Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Haiti, and Mexico, incidents (in several cases, crimes) have been reported, including attacks on religious persons, acts of vandalism, desecration, or offenses against religious sentiments,” the document states.

Polonia Castellanos, president of Christian Lawyers, a foundation founded in Spain that has opened a chapter in Mexico, said: “When Catholics and Christians in general are attacked and humiliated, nothing happens, but if it were done to another group, the consequences would be immediate.”

“I think the reason is partly our fault,” she lamented, because Catholics “have allowed ourselves to be humiliated and insulted without doing anything, and that’s why we’ve reached these extremes that are beginning to be dangerous.”

She is not alone in her views. Along with her, other Catholic leaders from Latin America and Europe interviewed by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, warn of growing complacency in the face of attacks against Christians in countries that were once staunch defenders of the faith.

A recent, global example of an offense against Christians was the parody of the Last Supper presented during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Other cases in Latin America include the canceled art exhibition “The Coming of the Lord” in Mexico, which featured sexualized religious symbols, and the play “María Maricón” in Peru, which, according to the official synopsis, “explores the conflict between religion and gender through the deconstruction of various Catholic virgins and saints.”

‘Unreported or normalized’ attacks

For Uriel Esqueda, campaign manager for the Mexican platform Actívate (Get Active), “the attacks against Christians and people who practice a religion are growing larger and more noticeable every day. I think it’s a form of persecution, and the attacks are unfortunately unreported or normalized to a certain extent. So it’s a very serious situation.”

“Unfortunately, both religious leaders and individuals are not accustomed to the culture of speaking out regarding the violations of their human right to religious freedom, and I think that’s part of the problem,” he noted, warning that currently “there is greater intolerance against Catholic groups compared with other types of religious groups.”

For example, although the Mexico Constitution “recognizes and protects the human right to religious freedom,” as well as international treaties, “unfortunately, no one knows how to report [violations] or how to enforce this human right,” he lamented.

Esqueda said Actívate will launch a campaign so that “Christianophobia can be reported and that authorities know what to do about these types of issues, and that people who carry out or practice Christianophobia can receive some type of sanction.”

Attempts to eliminate the presence of Catholicism in Mexico

Marcial Padilla, director of ConParticipación (Awareness and Participation), a Mexican organization dedicated to promoting human dignity, lamented that “historically, there has been a desire on the part of political and ideological groups to reeducate society to eliminate the presence of Catholicism, whether in education, customs, art, or any trace of laws inspired by the principles of the Christian faith.”

He explained that secularism is “expressed as tolerance of mockery of the faith but intolerance toward expressions of faith. Put another way: In the name of freedom of expression, the Catholic faith can be ridiculed, but in the name of the secular nature of the state, it cannot be freely expressed or celebrated in community.”

In Mexico, national symbols are protected, but religious symbols are not

“In Mexico, you can desecrate religious images or churches, but not the flag or national symbols, because that is clearly penalized,” noted Father Hugo Valdemar, a Mexican priest who headed the communications office of the Archdiocese of Mexico City for 15 years when it was led by Cardinal Norberto Rivera.

“The question is: Why are national symbols out of bounds but religious symbols can be mocked and ridiculed without any criminal consequences?” Padilla questioned.

In the country, he lamented, “a Jacobin [anti-religious] mentality persists against the Catholic Church.”

There are remnants of the past that culturally have not been overcome, he said, referring to the tensions between the state and the Catholic Church in Mexico that date back to the mid-19th century and reached their peak in the 1920s, during the fierce government persecution of Catholics that sparked the Cristero War.

For Valdemar, it’s important for Catholics to “firmly defend their faith and their values, but without falling into provocations that make us appear fanatic or intolerant. And also with great prudence, because often these expressions of hatred for the faith would go unnoticed if they weren’t provoked in order to gain publicity.”

“Sometimes, some supposed works of art are so mediocre that no one would notice them if it weren’t for the scandal that publicizes them,” he noted.

Social media is important to ensure attacks are not silenced

For Father Juan Manuel Góngora of the Diocese of Almería in Spain, who has more than 82,600 followers on X, “we are living in adverse times, and an example of this is the growing number of Eucharistic desecrations in various parishes and anti-Christian violence.”

“The social engineering we have been suffering for decades has gradually increased [tolerance of offenses]. And since the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party came to power in 2018 and [prime minister] Pedro Sánchez took office, a series of laws that are completely harmful to the Catholic faith and anthropology are being implemented, such as the application of laws on historical memory, abortion, and euthanasia.”

Furthermore, Góngora criticized “the attempt by the government and its parliamentary partners to eliminate the crime against religious sentiments, protected by Article 16 of the Spanish Constitution and included in the penal code (Articles 522-526).”

The Spanish priest emphasized that these laws “are generally serving to ensure that these attacks and power strategies are not silenced and hidden. Meanwhile, the vast majority of the media, fueled by institutional advertising and along with a constellation of associations affiliated with the progressive left, are necessary collaborators in implanting narratives and stories along secularist and anti-Christian lines.”

Europe is ‘forgetting its identity’

Castellanos said she believes the current situation of religious freedom in Spain and the rest of Europe is “very worrying and dangerous; attacks against Christians are increasing not only in number but also in intensity.”

“Europe, which was built on Christian roots, is forgetting its identity and persecuting Christians and imposing anti-Christian ideologies,” she said.

Referring to the proposal to eliminate crimes against religious sentiments, the president of Christian Lawyers warned that this would “exponentially multiply crimes against Christians.”

“What’s even more alarming is that many crimes are committed by public officials. So what we see is that not only is the crime not prosecuted (because we already know that in Spain the law is not equal for everyone), but we are paying with our taxes for people or individuals who dedicate themselves to insulting us, when they should be the first to respect all citizens,” she said.

Castellanos specified that legislation should “guarantee respect. The freedom of expression of some does not involve insults or humiliation; they are two very different things.”

“Despite everything, we must be aware of our victory (although action will be necessary). Spain is the land of Mary, and I am sure that all the struggle in defense of life (from conception to its natural end), the family, and religious freedom will bear fruit very soon,” she stated.

The results depend on Catholics

Alberto González Cáceres, president of the St. Thomas More Center for Legal Studies in Peru, lamented that the defense of religious freedom seems “not relevant to the vast majority of the population, because religion has become an almost secondary cultural manifestation, except when people are living in dire straits, as in the case of Nicaragua, or when there are calamities. I say this with great sadness.”

“Now, for people who truly practice their faith, it’s overwhelming to realize that there is strong media censorship against all forms of religious practice, just as there is social stigmatization against anything orthodox,” he noted.

In this context, Catholics, he said, can respond in “two concrete ways”: “The first is by praying a lot, and the second is by educating themselves in the catechism and Catholic doctrine.”

Regarding the authorities’ actions regarding religious offenses, González said he believes that “absolutely nothing can be expected. The results will depend on actions taken by Catholics themselves.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.