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European Union
United Nations moves towards establishing abortion as human right
The United Nations General Assembly is finishing negotiations on a resolution that would force all UN agencies to declare abortion a human right. By the end of the month, the resolution should be adopted. The resolution contains clauses that have been rejected for decades but are now considered for adoption,…
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Southern Europe
Spanish euthanasia law allowed 180 people to commit suicide
The Spanish euthanasia law has been in force for one year. During that time, 180 Spaniards used it to “die with dignity”, as the Spanish Health Ministry concluded after the release of euthanasia statistics. In June, it was a year ago that the Spanish government introduced euthanasia legislation, even though…
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Southern Europe
Serbia cancels pride event amid Kosovo tensions
Serbia has cancelled the EuroPride in its capital, Belgrade. President Aleksandar Vucic announced at a press conference that the pan-European LGBT event cannot take place because of fears of disturbances. The economic situation and tensions with neighbouring Kosovo also play a role, Vucic said. EuroPride was to be held in…
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Southern Europe
Pope puts his mark on future of Church with 20 new cardinals
Pope Francis has appointed twenty new cardinals from all over the world. In total, the college now numbers 226. This college will be discussing the Vatican constitution beginning on Monday. But there is also an unofficial agenda. Cardinals are the second highest-ranking officials in the Roman Catholic Church after the…
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Northern Europe
Drop in divorces in Sweden
The number of divorces in Sweden has come down during the pandemic years. One explanation is that people stick together in uncertain times. In the first half of 2022, 15,911 couples applied for divorce. In the first half of 2020, this was 18.903. This is a drop of 15.8 per…
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Central Europe
Sunday is for prayer, not for shopping, says Polish government
The Polish government is organising a roundtable with trade industry representatives about the Sunday closure. That is reported by Businessinsider. Especially Marlena Malag, the Minister of Family, stresses that the Sunday, as the most important day of the week, is for family and prayer, and not for spending in the…
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Central Europe
More babies die in Poland
More and more newborns, infants and unborn children die in Poland. Medical experts say that the near-total ban on abortion, introduced last year, is behind the development. Covid and the deteriorating general health of Polish women is also a factor. The infant mortality rate in Poland increased in 2021, reversing…
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Central Europe
German church from time of peaceful revolution in Görlitz badly damaged
Unknown perpetrators have severely damaged the Protestant Frauenkirche in the centre of Görlitz, a city on the border between Germany and Poland. The 15th-century church was the starting point for peace prayers in the city during the peaceful revolution in autumn 1989. During the night of 21 to 22 August,…
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Central Europe
Younger people in Poland getting less religious
Among the younger generation in Poland, fewer and fewer are religiously active. The new results of long-running research show that by CBOS, a state research agency. It is reported by Notes from Poland that the percentage of “non-practitioners” has grown from 9 per cent in 1992 to 19 per cent…
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Eastern Europe
Kirill will not meet the Pope in Kazakhstan
The Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill will not meet the Roman Catholic Pope Francis in Kazakhstan in September. That means that yet another prospect of a meeting of the two church leaders is off the table. This is reported by the Russian press agency RIA Novosti. Earlier, it was the expectation…
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