On the initiative of PiS MEP Jadwiga Wiśniewska, in collaboration with a group of Members of the European Parliament from France, Italy, Poland, Croatia, and the Netherlands, a petition has been launched to establish a European Coordinator for Combating Anti-Christian Hatred. The goal of the initiative is to strengthen the protection of religious freedom and to respond more effectively to the growing scale of acts of hostility toward Christians in Europe.
The petition’s initiators point out that the problem of Christian persecution is global in nature: “Christians are the most persecuted religious community in the world today—more than 380 million people face repression solely because of their faith. It is estimated that one in seven Christians lives in a country where persecution is a daily reality.”
As the authors of the initiative emphasize, this phenomenon is also becoming increasingly evident in Europe, considered the cradle of Christianity. In this context, they point out that “in recent years, thousands of acts of hatred against Christians have been recorded in European countries—ranging from vandalism and desecration of places of worship to cases of physical violence,” adding that many such incidents go unreported, which may mean that the actual scale of the phenomenon is much greater.
Despite the European Union’s appointment of coordinators to combat antisemitism and Islamophobia, there is no analogous mechanism dedicated to protecting Christians. According to the petition’s initiators, this constitutes a manifestation of unequal treatment of religious communities.
Jadwiga Wiśniewska also addressed the need to establish this new position, emphasizing that “the appointment of a Coordinator for Combating Hatred Against Christians is an essential step toward effectively monitoring the scale of the phenomenon, supporting victims, and genuinely protecting religious freedom in the European Union.”
The organizers of the initiative are also calling for public engagement, stating: “Let’s not remain passive. Christians in Europe cannot be a silent majority.”
Initiative website: www.stop-chrystianofobii.eu
Petition: https://www.stop-christianophobie.eu/pl
