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Eastern Europe
Sixth commandment of Biblical law illegal in Russia
The words “Thou shalt not kill” discredit the Russian army's special operation in Ukraine. That is what a court in Moscow ruled. The Tverskoy District Court said so in a verdict of a Russian activist who sat on the Red Square in Moscow, holding a poster that read “6. Thou…
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Central Europe
Broadcaster edits answer to make it more 'inclusive'
A German public broadcasting company has come under fire for editing the words of an interview with a forest ranger. According to Bild, the incident occurred while interviewing one of Germany's youngest forest rangers on Instagram. During Mainz's “Das Ding” interview, 21-year old Fabian Förster says on Twitter: “As a…
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Eastern Europe
Pastor Belarus in prison for “church without walls” on parking place
The pastor of the New Life Church in Minsk was detained for holding illegal church services in a parking lot outside the church building of his congregation. Furthermore, he was fined more than 1,200 euros. Currently, the pastor is home again. Pastor Vyachevslav Goncharenko was invited to the police department…
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Eastern Europe
Pacifist Christians might be unable to evade Putin's mobilisation
On Wednesday, the Russian President announced a partial mobilisation. The call to arms is unrelenting. Conscientious objection is no reason for being relieved from duty. Russian Evangelicals, who are often pacifists, fear persecution. According to Vladimir Putin, mobilisation is necessary to counter threats from the West in Ukraine that endanger…
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Southern Europe
Referring to Bible embarrasses church in Italian election campaign
For a long time, it has not been usual for Italian politicians to use Biblical rhetoric in their campaign speeches. However, two parties seem to break this habit in the current run-up to the election on coming Sunday. Meanwhile, the Church is trying to stay out of the political field.…
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Western Europe
French morning-after pills available for free
The morning-after pill will become freely available in France. The French minister of Health, François Braun, says that starting next year, pharmacies will hand out the drugs for free and without prescription to every woman who requests it. According to Braun, the contraceptive should be easily accessible for women, as…
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Western Europe
Dutch Christian Democrat ethicist rejects growing embryos for research
The recently published scientific report of the Dutch Christian Democratic Party (CDA) about growing embryos contradicts the party's stance on embryos in the Program of Principles from 1993. That is the opinion of medical-ethicist Prof. Theo Boer, which he published in the Dutch daily Nederlands Dagblad, as reported by the…
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Central Europe
German court: Cantor could not be fired for surrogacy
Earlier this year, a Cathedral cantor was fired by the Landeskirche Braunschweig in Germany because he and his married partner wanted to commission a surrogate mother to fulfil their wish for children. Now, a court decided that his dismissal was invalid. Braunschweig regional church must re-employ its cathedral cantor, Gerd-Peter…
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Western Europe
Belgian bishops plan to bless same-sex relationships
Flemish bishops are open to blessing same-sex couples. They have already published a liturgy that can be used in wedding services. With this ecclesiastical change, the Belgian bishops seem to contradict the regulations of the Vatican. According to the bishops, same-sex couples often ask for a moment of prayer to…
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Northern Europe
Disappointed Christian Democrat voted for small Christian party in Sweden
The Swedish Christian Values Party has been too small to be represented in the Parliament. Yet, the party is making an advance. During the last elections on September 11th, they gained 2,781 more votes than in the previous elections – then the number of votes remained at 3,200. In total,…
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