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European Union
Reformed MEP pleads for better protection of persecuted Christians
Even though the EU guidelines for freedom of religion have existed for ten years, they have been barely applied, MEP Bert-Jan Ruissen says. The Dutch Reformed politician pleads for more action from the European Union. His party, the Dutch SGP, believes that it is a good thing to have the…
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Eastern Europe
Russia reacts furiously to the imprisonment of Ukrainian cleric
The abbot of the well-known cave monastery in Kyiv must exchange his house arrest for detention in prison. The court has decided so. Russia reacts furiously. According to Ukrainian authorities, Metropolitan Pavel of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church under the Moscow Patriarchate has justified or denied the actions of the Russian…
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Central Europe
Hungarian bookstore must pay 32,000 euros for selling LGBT book
A Hungarian book chain received a fine of 12 million forints. The reason for this hefty sum is the sale of a children's book which contains LGBT scenes about two boys who are in love. The Consumer Protection Office of the Budapest Government investigated the distribution of the controversial books…
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Central Europe
Schools in Saxony are forbidden to use gender language
The Ministry of Education in the German state of Saxony said no to gender language. The Minister wants to follow the official spelling rules in Germany. The Ministry itself, but also every school in Saxony is now obliged to ban gender language, Die Tagespost writes. In addition, external partners of…
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Eastern Europe
Ukraine on its way to approve medical use of cannabis; churches worry
The Ukrainian Parliament approved the draft law to legalise the medical use of cannabis during its first reading. Churches are not happy with this development. Cannabis can be used to treat diseases such as cancer and post-traumatic stress disorder. However, currently, the use of the drug is illegal in all…
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Southern Europe
Evangelical churches keep growing in Portugal
Since the beginning of this century, the number of Evangelical churches in Portugal has almost doubled. About 44 per cent of the congregations did not exist before 2001. In the regions of Lisbon and Setúbal, church planting is especially successful, Evangelical Focus writes. Approximately 20 per cent of the Evangelical…
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Western Europe
Companies pay for fertility treatment of Dutch employees
At least seven international companies reimburse the costs of fertility treatments of their employees. This includes freezing egg cells, buying donor sperm or the costs of hiring a surrogate mother. The Dutch broadcaster Nieuwsuur found out that McKinsey, Hubspot, LinkedIn, Uber, Salesforce, SurveyMonkey and Google offer this possibility as part…
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Northern Europe
Swedish activist surprises his audience during 'Bible burning'
The activist who gained permission to burn a Bible and a Torah in front of the Israeli embassy pulled out last minute on Saturday. He already stood next to the embassy with the books in his hands and pulled out a lighter. But when everyone expected him to set the…
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Eastern Europe
UOC parish holds church service in tent after its building was seized
The parish of the Peter and Paul Church, belonging to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) in Khoriv in the Rivne region, met in a tent on Sunday. They did not have access to their church because it was taken from them. Believers of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), which…
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Northern Europe
Severing ties with biological family harms adoptee, says Danish lawyer
In the case where a child is put up for adoption without the consent of the parent, the biological family loses all legal connections and rights to their child. This goes against the advice of research and the Human Rights Court, lawyer Martin Olsgaard says. Not all children live in…
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