Brussels, 18 November 2025

On the Tuesday 18 November 2025, FAFCE was invited to the presentation of the annual report of OIDAC, the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians, at the European Parliament in Brussels.
OIDAC Director Anja Tang-Hoffman presented the disturbing evidences of an increasing violence against Christians citizens and buildings inside the European Union.
OIDAC Europe independently documented 516 anti-Christian hate crimes in 2024. But when theft and break-ins at religious sites are included, the figure rises to a total 1,503 incidents. Alarmingly, 94 arson attacks were recorded—almost double the previous year’s total.
These acts of violence are tragically become frequent when hearing the news in the Middle-East or in Communist countries, but registered acts of violence against Christians are nowadays also present in the European Union.

Mrs. Tang-Hoffman also highlighted the OSCE Guidelines on Security needs of Christian communities, a practical tools for government authorities and civil society to prevent and respond to hate crimes. It is the first time that the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) publish a document on hate crimes targeting Christians, as it remains a concern across the OSCE region, affecting not only individual victims but also the sense of safety and belonging of entire communities.

COMECE Deputy secretary-general Alessandro Calcagno, invited a guest speaker, underlined that while the EU has named special coordinator for the fight against antisemitism and islamophobia, as there are specificities of antisemitism and islamophobia, but now there is a need for a special coordinator on anti-Christian intolerance. “Ignoring this phenomenon is not an option anymore” he said, also to mention the omission of Christians in the Agora-EU program.

He underlined that anti-Christian stereotypes lead to anti-Christian prejudice. The situation of communities might be worsened by local legislation restricting freedom of speech or immixing into internal Churches regulations (such as buffer zones, seal of confession or spiritual care of self-identified transgenders).

MEP Bert-Jan Ruissen (ECR) concluded the event by stating  that “We need a special coordinator on anti-Christian hatred; we need more data; we need a special envoy on FoRB and we need funding to tackle intolerance.”