European lawmakers, bishops, and civic groups urge the EU to appoint a religious freedom envoy as anti-Christian violence intensifies across Europe.
Newsroom (26/01/2026 Gaudium Press ) As the specter of religious persecution darkens much of the world, European lawmakers, church leaders, and civil society organizations are pressing the European Union to strengthen its defense of faith communities. With violence against Christians rising at home and abroad, calls are growing for the appointment of a Special Envoy for the Promotion of Freedom of Religion or Belief and a new coordinator specifically tasked with addressing anti-Christian hatred.
The appeal follows the release of the 2026 Open Doors World Watch List, a sobering assessment revealing that one in seven Christians globally—some 388 million people—faced high levels of persecution between 2024 and 2025. The report detailed an escalation in brutal tactics, ranging from abductions to mass killings.
Adding to the urgency, the International Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians reported in November 2025 that 2,211 anti-Christian hate crimes occurred across Europe the previous year. These ranged from arson attacks on churches to assaults on clergy and vandalism in cemeteries. The killing of 45-year-old Iraqi Assyrian-Chaldean Christian Ashur Sarnaya in Lyon, France—captured in a live-streamed video last September—became a flashpoint, prompting widespread shock and renewed scrutiny of Europe’s response to religiously motivated violence.
A demand for institutional renewal
Members of the European Parliament, along with advocacy groups and Church organizations, argue that the EU’s response remains fragmented. The position of Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief (FORB) has remained vacant for months, leaving what they describe as a “critical institutional gap” at a time of rising threats.
Bert-Jan Ruissen, co-chair of the European Parliament’s Intergroup on Freedom of Religion or Belief and a representative of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group, stressed that stronger structures are essential. “One Special Envoy is not enough. A dedicated unit is needed to support the post and equip EU representatives globally on FORB,” he told EWTN News.
Civil society networks echo this urgency. The European Platform Against Religious Intolerance and Discrimination (EPRID) and its partners argue that the envoy should be repositioned under the European External Action Service (EEAS) to enhance coordination and authority. “A move to the EEAS would address some of these inter-institutional complexities,” said Jonathan de Leyser, senior EU advocate for Christian Solidarity Worldwide and an EPRID member.
Ruissen has further urged EU member states to systematically record anti-Christian incidents, emphasizing parity: coordinators already exist for antisemitism and Islamophobia, he noted, and it is time for Christians to receive comparable protection and policy oversight.
Bishops warn of security erosion
The Church’s leadership has also begun to speak out with renewed insistence. Alessandro Calcagno, assistant general secretary and fundamental rights adviser for the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE), emphasized that protecting church buildings and public worship sites is not only about security or symbolism. “Protecting places of worship is crucial not only for security or symbolism but to safeguard the exercise of religious freedom,” he told EWTN News.
Calcagno urged that EU initiatives expand their scope beyond counterterrorism to include targeted responses to vandalism, harassment, and arson. He also appealed for financial parity in EU funding programs, noting that while resources are available for combating antisemitism and Islamophobia, few funds directly support initiatives addressing anti-Christian hatred.
Campaigns and moral pressure
Advocates hope heightened parliamentary attention will translate into structural change. Ruissen, a leading voice on the issue in Brussels, said he will continue pressing the EU to close policy gaps and strengthen the framework for protecting religious freedom worldwide.
Symbolic campaigns like #RedWeek 2025—which saw the European Parliament illuminated in red in honor of persecuted Christians—have rallied public and political awareness, yet campaigners warn that symbolism must now yield to institutional action. The demands now reaching Brussels reflect not only growing fear but also an appeal for the EU to embody its foundational promise: freedom of thought, conscience, and belief for all.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from CNA
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