Persecution of Christians in the European Union

Priority question for written answer P-002116/2020
to the Commission
Rule 138
Bogdan Rzońca (ECR)

Christians are persecuted for their faith in various ways: killing, physical violence, restrictions on personal freedom [1] and social marginalisation  [2] . Christian values are ridiculed and stigmatised and religious symbols profaned [3] . Every year dozens of Christian cultural objects are destroyed or ransacked [4] .

• 1.In what way does the Commission highlight the achievements of European culture based on Christian pillars?
• 2.Is the Commission monitoring aggression perpetrated against Christians in the European Union?
• 3.What action does the Commission intend to take to improve the situation of Christians, who are starting to feel socially marginalised?

• [1] Open Doors, The World Watch List 2020 – www.opendoorsuk.org.
• [2] Pope Francis, General Audience, 11.12.2019.
• [3] Actions aimed at publicly insulting objects of religious worship during the 5th Tri-City Equality March in Gdańsk, 25.5.2019.
• [4] OSCE, Hate Crime Reporting 2018; Observatory On Intolerance And Discrimination Against Christians. The causes of these phenomena lie in Europe’s political crisis, which is linked to an unwillingness to recognise its Christian roots. Mainstream European policy is shifting towards a moral relativism that distorts values originating in natural law while at the same time forming the basis of positive law, such as human rights and human dignity. Abolishing the canon of the Judeo-Christian order of moral values may lay the foundations for concepts that undermine the essence of democracy, such as human rights (e.g. the right to life) based on natural law.