2025 in Mayence: Holy water font contaminated with faeces. Confessionals destroyed. Easter candles were smeared in Kraichgau. Unknown persons smashed the high altar in Öhringen. A Bible was set on fire in Groß-Gerau. Crosses were desecrated in Eslohe. In Neuss-Erfttal, the police are investigating arson. In Salzgitter-Bad, perpetrators destroyed a statue of the Virgin Mary. Several churches were vandalised in the Odenwald.
Churches have an ‘open day’ every day. Anyone can enter the room of silence. No one checks. This Christian tradition is an expression of trust. Even those who despise Christianity take advantage of it. Figures of saints were stolen from churches as long as 50 years ago. They were later found in second-hand bookshops. But today it is no longer about theft. It is about destruction and deliberate desecration.
Crosses are smashed, statues are knocked off their pedestals and smashed on the floor. Baptismal fonts are damaged. Altars are desecrated. The misguided perpetrators believe that they are serving their religion when they desecrate the Christian house of God. Magdeburg Cathedral was locked when the author tried to enter it in 2019.
A member of the congregation reported that someone had been defecating behind the altar.
According to the OIDAC report, over 2,000 anti-church acts were recorded across Europe in 2023, ranging from vandalism and desecration to threats. In Bavaria alone, the number of church desecrations rose from 219 (2019) to 294 (2022). In Baden-Württemberg, 896 offences against church facilities were reported in 2023. This corresponds to an increase of six per cent. The number of violent offences rose by 56 per cent. In North Rhine-Westphalia: 354 cases in 2019, 440 in 2023. In Berlin, attacks on Christian places of worship have totalled over 1,400 since 2006.
And these are just the official figures. The official statistics only list politically motivated offences. However, many desecrations are classed as ‘vandalism’ and fall under the heading of general crime. Observers speak of unreported offences. On X, users reported over 90 targeted attacks in spring 2025 alone. However, the Ministry of the Interior is playing down.
In some cases, perpetrators shout ‘Allahu Akbar’. The slogans are clear. Islamist groups such as the so-called IS have been calling for the destruction of Christian sites for years. Young men, ideologically incited, act on this appeal. They despise the Christian cross and make it their target. It is a sad country where churches remain open and unprotected.
The parishes are not asking for much, just that their places of worship are safe and that perpetrators are punished. That people take a close look and protect what generations have built up. But there is a lack of cameras. There is a lack of police patrols and a lack of honesty. Instead: Trivialisation. Silence.
Germany must protect its churches before it is too late. A cross is not a piece of wood. An altar is not a piece of furniture. A church is not a public space like any other. It is a sanctuary, a place of refuge and a place of prayer. Anyone who attacks it is attacking us all.
A country that no longer defends its churches has ceased to love itself. The perpetrators feel they are right and continue to destroy.
https://pi-news.net/2025/04/kirchenschaendungen-erschuettern-deutschland/