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Central Europe
Cologne Archbishop offers resignation over abuse scandals
Archbishop Rainer Woelki from Cologne has offered Pope Francis his resignation. Woelki had just returned from a period of “spiritual reflection” about the abuse scandal that has haunted him for years. The Archdiocese of Cologne announced that the Pope would decide about his position in due time. First, the Pope…
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Eastern Europe
No smartphone under 20, Russian priest says
In Russia, the patriarchal commission on family affairs proposes not to give smartphones to children before 20 years old. “I suggest that all parents who care about the fate of their children postpone the use of any smartphones for up to 20 years until the child is finally formed as…
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Eastern Europe
Orthodox Church in Ukraine again very critical of Moscow
The Russian part of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) has expressed itself very critically about the military operation. Last week, it was only Metropolitan Onuphry who did this. The whole Synod asked, “to stop the bloodshed” on Monday. They directly addressed “His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia”…
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Eastern Europe
Kirill is trapped in “Kremlin propaganda”, Orthodox web portal says
The editor of the web portal Orthodox Times has described Moscow’s Patriarch Kirill as part of the propaganda machine. Efi Efthimiou wrote that in a comment on Monday. And a diocese in Ukraine “no longer wants to hear the name of Kirill” any longer. Orthodox Times is an English platform…
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Central Europe
Name of God remains in most Swiss cantonal constitutions
A Swiss Parliament Committee has rejected the removal of the name of God from the Constitution. However, the cantons of Neuchâtel and Geneva agreed to the proposal. “In the name of God Almighty! The Swiss people and the Swiss cantons, conscious of their responsibility for Creation, (…) hereby adopt the…
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Southern Europe
Turmoil in small Italian town after church bells being silenced
Eight MPs from Slovenia have gone to the European Commission after the church bells in the Italian border village of Dolina were banned from ringing. The bells rang so often that some residents had asked for them to be moderated. Nobody in Dolina, a town with a minority Slovene community…
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Eastern Europe
Concerns about church heritage because of Russian attack on Ukraine
What will happen to the churches and monasteries on Unesco’s World Heritage List if Russia takes the Ukrainian capital Kyiv? Norwegian expert Rebekka Borsch fears that Russia will not leave the buildings untouched. In recent years, we have seen an intensification in the damage of cultural monuments, Rebekka Borsch, head…
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Northern Europe
“Ethical appeal” replaces prayer in Norwegian Armed Forces
To create a more unifying and open-minded ritual, the Norwegian Armed Forces abolish the prayer ritual during the roll calls of the Norwegian Armed Forces. The Armed Forces Joint Services (FST) recommended last week that an “ethical appeal” should replace the ritual, Vartland reports. The purpose of replacing the prayer…
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Central Europe
Polish Catholics open doors for Ukrainian refugees
While Ukrainians flee the war and flock towards the Polish border, the Polish Catholic Church calls on Christians to open their doors for their “Ukrainian brothers and sisters”. Stanislaw Gadecki, Archbishop of Poznan, requested Christians to help war refugees from Ukraine on Sunday. According to the Polish Bishops' Conference chairman,…
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Western Europe
French hatred against religion grows in 2021
Research shows that hatred against religious people has increased in France over 2021. Evangelical Focus reports on the basis of research from La République En Marche en MoDem that there were more than 1650 cases of anti-religious violence in France. Almost half of them were directed at Christians, although Muslims…
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