Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Christian café in Germany closes after 26 attacks by left-wing extremists
LifeSiteNews ^ | Jul 10th 2026 | Andreas Wailzer

Posted on 07/11/2026 2:37:03 PM PDT by Ennis85

A Christian café in Germany had to close down due to continuous attacks by left-wing extremists.

The Protestant Zeal Church had to permanently close its café “Stay” after 26 attacks by leftist terrorists over the course of about three years.

While the city of Leipzig had previously not admitted that these attacks were an infringement on religious liberty, in an interview with Junge Freiheit in June, a spokesperson of the city said: “The numerous attacks in the past are shameful and intolerable. What makes matters worse is that these attacks constitute violations of the religious freedom guaranteed by the German Constitution [Grundgesetz].”

Pastor René Wagner, who leads the Zeal Church together with his wife, opened the café in 2023 in the Reudnitz district of Leipzig. According to Wagner, there have since been two incidents of broken windows—including an attack involving “78 hammer blows”—as well as numerous paint attacks and two attacks involving butyric acid.

In the first attack, in early 2025, the perpetrators injected the acid through the keyholes. In the second, on Christmas Eve 2025, they drilled a hole in a window and poured “at least 1.5 liters of butyric acid” into the café. The police have not been able to identify a perpetrator for any of the 26 attacks.

The consequences of the two butyric acid attacks alone cost the congregation 35,000 euros, Wagner said. Following the butyric acid attacks, the café remained closed for a total of three months. “We simply ran out of money. We can still pay our employees this June, but after that it would no longer have been possible. As a church, we’re left with 150,000 euros in debt from the café,” Wagner explained.

In anonymous letters posted on the far-left platform Indymedia, the attackers accused Zeal Church of homophobia because the church does not perform weddings or blessings for same-sex couples.

Wagner denied the accusation of homophobia and said that “we stand by our theology and ethics which supports marriage between a man and a woman and the traditional family.”

Wagner pointed out that similar incidents targeting Christians are rarely noticed by the public. In May, there was already the third paint attack in four years on the “House for Life” of the Kaleb Pro-Life Association in Chemnitz. Also in May, shots were fired at a Catholic church in Hanau during a Sunday Mass.

“One reason for this is that Christians are not perceived as a minority by the general public—even though professing Christians, that is, those who regularly attend church services, are an absolute minority in Germany. Politicians must recognize this and protect us as a minority,” Wagner demanded.

The executive director of OIDAC Europe, a monitoring organization for discrimination against Christians, expressed her horror in a statement given to Tichys Einblicke. “It is appalling that a Christian institution in Germany has to close due to repeated extremist-motivated violence,” Anja Tang said.

Despite the closure, the congregation intends to remain true to its mission, Wagner said: “We will not retaliate with violence, we will not throw stones back, and we will not march in demonstrations where we hurl insults at our opponents.”

The Zeal Church intends to continue reporting every single attack to the authorities. Wagner cited the right to freedom of religion enshrined in the German Constitution. “We Christians must exercise this right and protest loudly wherever it is violated,” he said.


TOPICS: Germany; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: cafe; homosexuality; leftistscum; religiousliberty; samesexmarriage
Message from Jim Robinson:

Dear FRiends,

We need your continuing support to keep FR funded. Your donations are our sole source of funding. No sugar daddies, no advertisers, no paid memberships, no commercial sales, no gimmicks, no tax subsidies. No spam, no pop-ups, no ad trackers.

If you enjoy using FR and agree it's a worthwhile endeavor, please consider making a contribution today:

Click here: to donate by Credit Card

Or here: to donate by PayPal

Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794

Thank you very much and God bless you,

Jim


1 posted on 07/11/2026 2:37:03 PM PDT by Ennis85
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Ennis85

Left wing extremists? Huh? Aren’t they the tolerant ones?


2 posted on 07/11/2026 2:38:25 PM PDT by rktman (Patriotism not 'hateriotism' !. Enlisted USN 1967 proudly. 🇺🇸)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Ennis85

The National Socialist Party is back.


3 posted on 07/11/2026 2:40:05 PM PDT by AppyPappy (They don't call you a Nazi because they think you are one. They do it to justify violence. )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Ennis85

The Christians must be Zs, because their attackers are not Zs.

If they should take our house, goods, honor, child, or spouse,
Should life be wrenched away, they cannot win the day:
The Kingdom’s ours forever!


4 posted on 07/11/2026 2:47:02 PM PDT by chajin ("There is no other name under heaven given among people by which we must be saved." Acts 4:12)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Ennis85

A spokesperson of the city said: “The numerous attacks in the past are shameful and intolerable.”

——-

“And we won’t be doing anything to stop these attacks,” the spokesman added.

(Just kidding. Maybe.)


5 posted on 07/11/2026 2:48:02 PM PDT by Leaning Right
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Ennis85

I understand that Graham Platner is available to assist with this situation.

Perhaps the German Left can start up a GoFundMe page to fund Platner’s travel and rabble rousing expenses.


6 posted on 07/11/2026 2:49:46 PM PDT by Ronaldus Magnus III (Do, or do not, there is no try. )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: pepsionice

Did this make the local news?


7 posted on 07/11/2026 2:50:30 PM PDT by PROCON (Sic Semper Tyrannis)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Ennis85

Mad Moe made it so. (Pig Pee Upon Him).


8 posted on 07/11/2026 2:51:48 PM PDT by Nateman (Democrats did not strive for fraud friendly voting merely to continue honest elections.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Ennis85

Germans are predominantly pagan.


9 posted on 07/11/2026 2:52:44 PM PDT by Jeff Chandler (The issue is never the issue. The issue is always the revolution.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: rktman

My question is slightly different: are there any current leftists who are NOT extremists at least at heart? /no sarc


10 posted on 07/11/2026 2:56:47 PM PDT by piytar (NEVER FORGET Ashli Babbitt, Rosanne Boyland, Corey Comperatore, Iryna Zarutska LL, and Charlie Kirk!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Ennis85

It’s shameful how many people out there are so willing to be satan’s hands and feet in this world.


11 posted on 07/11/2026 3:04:46 PM PDT by TXBlair (Temp tagline: Je suis Charlie. 9.10.25 May the good Lord receive and embrace you, Mr. Kirk.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Ennis85

Say what you want about Russia, but they would never tolerate crap like this to happen.


12 posted on 07/11/2026 3:16:02 PM PDT by Ennis85
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Ennis85

Any arrests of these terrorists?


13 posted on 07/11/2026 3:27:44 PM PDT by TalBlack (Their god is government. Prepare for a religious war.https://freerepublic.com/perl/post?id=4322961%2)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Ennis85

Hire an Imam and an Islamic butcher, start cutting heads off and reopen as Fatima Haus the premier Halal restaurant.


14 posted on 07/11/2026 3:37:25 PM PDT by MrBambaLaMamba (עומד לצד ישראל. The only good commie is one that's dead - Country Joe McDonald. )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Ennis85

We are probably already at war with these people. Sadly. I never thought I’d see this, but we are going to have to defend freedom and our beliefs. They used our open society against us, and we are now having to defend against the cancers they’ve implanted in our societies.


15 posted on 07/11/2026 5:56:27 PM PDT by neverevergiveup
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: TalBlack
Any arrests of these terrorists?

Apparently the shop owners never fought back, or they would have been jailed and or killed long ago. They don't arrest terrorist over there as a rule.

16 posted on 07/12/2026 2:34:58 AM PDT by BlackbirdSST (FTL)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: rktman

Again, no mention of “far left” extremists unlike journos always preaching about “far right”.


17 posted on 07/12/2026 3:19:55 AM PDT by newfreep ("There is no race problem...just a problem race")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson