Stepping out from anonymity

Increasing episodes of intolerance and discrimination against Christians are being recorded throughout Europe. At the same time, increased media coverage voiced otherwise anonymous cases of individual suffering that are gaining increasing attention at international level. These are the outcomes of the 2011 Report on Intolerance and Discrimination of Christians in Europe, published on 19 March on the website of the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe (OIDCE www.intoleranceagainstchristians.eu). The Report “is the only existing comprehensive report about the situation of Christians in Europe”.Statistics. The Observatory is an NGO registered in Austria. It is a member of the platform for fundamental rights of the EU agency for Fundamental Rights and works in close cooperation with the OSCE. The main tool of work is the website that monitors and catalogues instances in which Christians and Christianity are marginalized or discriminated against throughout Europe. The Observatory focuses on Europe (European Union, EU accession countries, and wider Europe). It gathers incidents of discrimination against Christians from media sources and individuals. In turn, it briefs international governmental organizations, notably the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). Statistics, albeit hard to put together, highlight the breadth of the problem: 74% of UK respondents said that there is more negative discrimination against Christians than people of other faiths. 84% of the strongly increasing vandalism in France is directed against Christian places of worship. In Scotland, 95% of religiously motivated violence targets Christians. The Observatory divides the episodes of intolerance and discrimination against Christians in several categories: Freedom of Religion, Freedom of Expression, Freedom of Con- science, Discriminatory Equality Policies, Exclusion of Christians from Social and Public Life, Repression of Religious Symbols, Insult, Defamation and Negative Stereotyping, Hate Incidents, Vandalism and Desecrations, and Hate Crimes against Individuals. The cases. The report mentions cases such as the court case filed against Pope Benedict XVI at the International Criminal Court in The Hague for crimes against humanity, owing to the Holy Father’s stands relating to sexual morals, or the campaign of the University of Granada to remove the Faculty of Theology from the Atheneum, viewed as a violation of Spain’s constitutional principles of laicity and neutrality. In Germany there are many cases of confessional associations with limited freedom to perform anti-abortion activity. In England, in Jersey, postmen refused to deliver audio recordings of St Mark’s Gospel. Cases of intimidation were registered also towards professionals performing conscientious objection on themes such as abortion and euthanasia, like windows shattered in Pharmacies where the morning-after-pill was not sold for conscience reasons. There are also cases of the exclusion of Christians from social and public life (like the attempt of eliminating chantries and other places of worship from Atheneums in Spain) and cases of defamation (like the Italian cartoon that ascribed to the Pope defamatory words against Catholic priests). Ultimately, the report mentions many cases of acts “of vandalism and desecration of Churches and religious objects” in Austria, Germany, Spain and most of all, France. The Report underlines what happened during the World Youth Day in Madrid when several participants were beaten up by a group of anti-Pope demonstrators. The comments. “We were pleased to note that many who have focused exclusively on third countries that demonstrated outright persecution, are beginning to notice that the marginalization and restriction of rights and freedoms of Christians in Europe are also of concern and deserves our attention”, wrote the director of the Observatory Gudrun Kugler. “Our work aims to encourage victims of intolerance and discrimination to tell their stories, and to raise awareness among all people of good will that the phenomenon ought to be taken seriously and is in need of common responses”. On the same wavelength Msgr. András Veres, bishop of Szombathely (Hungary) and mandated by CCEE (Council of the European Bishops’ Conferences) to follow the activities of the OIDCE. The Report, he said, “wishes to be an invitation for all Christians who have experienced a form of discrimination and / or intolerance because of their religious adherence to step out from anonymity and be courageous: believing in God must not be perceived as a fault or sign of weakness”. “Living and witnessing to one’s own religious creed in respect for the freedom and sensitivity of others can only be beneficial for everyone, believers or non-believers, Christians or non-Christians. The bishops of Europe are behind those who do not see their rights respected and recall that freedom of religion is a valuable good which must be protected so as to continue to be a pillar of peace in our continent”.