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Eastern Europe
Orthodox Churches seek dialogue despite differing Patriarchates
The clergy of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church met recently during an informal gathering. The meeting was organised by the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy, the State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DSESS) and the “Sofia Kyivska” National Reserve, Df.news writes. It…
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Central Europe
German theologian wins lawsuit against YouTube
A German theologian, Lother Gassman from Pforzheim, won a lawsuit against YouTube and Google. He had started the legal battle because of the repeated removal of his videos. The internet platform did not give any reason for removing the videos, Idea writes. Instead, it pointed to its general guidelines without…
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Eastern Europe
Russian chief rabbi steps down
The Russian chief Rabbi, Pinchas Goldschmidt, announced his withdrawal. The Rabbi took this decision after he fled to Israel because of the Russo-Ukrainian war. He has been in office for almost 30 years. Goldschmidt was not fired, Times of Israel reports. Instead, his contract expired. Even though the Moscow Jewish…
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Central Europe
Slovenian court: gay people can marry and also adopt children
Slovenia's top court ruled that bans on same-sex couples marrying and same-sex couples adopting children are unconstitutional. On Friday, the constitutional court of Slovenia ruled, with a majority of six to three votes, that previous regulations represented “inadmissible discrimination against same-sex couples”. This reports the news website US News. Legislators…
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Central Europe
Genevan authorities refuse permission public baptism
Two Protestant churches in Switzerland are not allowed to hold baptism services on the public beaches of Lake Geneva. The local authorities refused the request of the congregations, which will now go into appeal. Two Protestant churches in the canton of Geneva submitted a request for permission to celebrate baptism…
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Southern Europe
Pope wants to appoint women in leadership positions
Pope Francis promises to appoint two women for the vacancies in the commission that selects bishops. He said so during an interview with Reuters. It is the first time that women will get a say in the selection of bishops. In the interview, Pope Francis did not mention any names,…
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Eastern Europe
Thousands of demonstrators at anti-Pride protest Georgia
During Pride Week, thousands of Georgian people took to the streets of Tbilisi to protest against LGBT values. The activists, many of them part of the radical organisation Alt-Info marched through the streets, staged a rally in front of the Georgian Parliament building and burned rainbow flags. That is reported…
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European Union
EP calls for making abortion a fundamental right
The European Parliament wants the right to abortion enshrined in the European Union’s Charter of Fundamental Rights. The call is prompted by developments in the United States, where women can no longer terminate a pregnancy everywhere following a Supreme Court ruling. According to MEPs, something similar is threatening to happen…
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Northern Europe
Norway considers introducing a third gender
Norway is currently investigating whether introducing a third legal gender besides male and female is possible. The Norwegian Directorate for Children, Youth and Family Affairs (Bufdir) is now looking into the issue. One of the first assignments Anette Trettebergstuen, the Minister for Gender Equality (Labour Party), handed out was to…
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Central Europe
German federal ministers want to make abortion available at home
Abortion should become much more accessible in Germany. That is if the state ministers have their way. With only a video consultation beforehand, women should be able to retrieve abortion pills by mail. There are, however, some legal questions. The German federal states want to make it possible for women…
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