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Central Europe
Austria makes vaccination compulsory
Austria will introduce a general compulsory vaccination on February 1st, 2022. In addition, the whole of Austria will go into lockdown from Monday to reverse the sharp increase in the number of corona infections. Austria is the first Western democracy to resort to mandatory vaccination, writes Politico. Only supermarkets, drugstores,…
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Southern Europe
Less money given to churches during pandemic
Due to corona, the income of the Spanish Catholic Church through collections has decreased by a third. This is reported by the Spanish Catholic News Agency. Bishop Joseba Segura, Bishop of Bilbao and head of the Secretariat for the Sustaining of the Spanish Church, assured that there had been an…
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Central Europe
Believers in Poland are getting less interested in PiS
The ruling PiS party in Poland is losing popularity among young people. Especially the voters in their 30s are walking away from the national-conservative group. That is what media in the country report based on opinion polls. Compared to October, there is a clear outflow from Kaczynski's party among younger…
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Northern Europe
No lightning cross on church without license, says Norwegian town council
The controversial cross on a church tower in the Norwegian city of Skien does not have the required license to be illuminating day and night. However, it is not the light that makes neighbours complain. It is the shape. “I find the huge luminous cross on the new church building…
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Northern Europe
Sweden introduces mandatory vaccination for church, like Denmark
Swedish churches utter harsh criticism towards their government for new corona measures. Sweden will introduce required vaccination certificates for gatherings of more than 100 people at indoor events. This includes church visits. From December 1st onward, only the fully inoculated will be able to visit gatherings of more than 100…
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Western Europe
French dictionary under scrutiny for including gender-neutral word
One of France’s major dictionaries, Petit Robert, is under scrutiny after adding a gender-neutral pronoun in its online dictionary.The discussion is all about a three-letter word: ‘iel'. Translated, it is a combination of the pronouns he and she. According to the dictionary, ‘iel' is a personal pronoun subject of the…
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Eastern Europe
Moldovan head of church wants the state to pay gas bills
The head of the Moldovan Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Vladimir, calls on the Moldovan government to help support local churches by paying their gas bills. According to Vladimir, the price of 11.08 lei (0.55 euros) for a cubic meter of gas is a problem for the communities that could hardly cope…
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European Union
Sharp rise in hate crimes against Christians in 2020
The number of hate crimes against Christians in Europe increased sharply in 2020. This emerges from the annual report of the Human Rights Office of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). The new report was presented on the occasion of the international “Day of Tolerance” on November…
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European Union
2G is getting the norm in Europe, but unvaccinated in Austria can go to church
More and more countries and regions are going over to 2G. That means that unvaccinated people can be excluded. It’s not clear what consequences this can have for churches. Austria has a lockdown for unvaccinated people, but the law let them go to church. Evangelical Focus reports that the new…
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Western Europe
Dutch crown princess turns 18: “The Bible teaches life lessons”
“You don't have to take the Bible so literally. It's just like poetry from which you can learn life lessons.” The Dutch crown princess says so in the book “Amalia”, published on Tuesday about her. “You don't have to take the Bible so literally. It's just like poetry from which…
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