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Central Europe
Austria's bishops: 'Temporary' vaccine mandate permissible as last resort
The Catholic bishops in Austria have issued a joint statement supporting compulsory vaccination against the coronavirus. The churchmen said this should be limited in time and a “last resort” to combat the coronavirus pandemic on Tuesday. Among others, kathpress and Catholic News Agency write about it. In the statement “Protect.…
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Northern Europe
Norwegian government talks to religious people about vaccination
The Norwegian Institute of Public Health holds talks with particular religious groups to raise the vaccination rate among these people. This is what chief physician Preben Aavitsland of the Folkehelseinstituttet (FHI) says to the Norwegian newspaper Vårt Land, after being asked about the connection between unvaccinated and coronary heart disease.…
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European Union
Secular threat against Christians is getting stronger in Europe
Intolerance against Christians in Europe is rising. It is primarily the secular threat that is growing. That is documented in a new report published on Tuesday. The Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe (OIDAC) discusses in a 71-page overview the freedom of expression, parental rights and freedom…
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Central Europe
“German Christian-Democrats must put family at the centre”
The Christian-Democrats in Germany, who lost the German parliamentary elections earlier this year, “must put the issue of the family back at the centre of its political action.” So says Norbert Geis, a member of the German federal parliament for 26 years. To party is going in the opposition on…
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Central Europe
Germany publishes Christmas stamp, while Pope condemns EU
While the European Commission advised not to use the word Christmas, the German government designed an explicit Christian post stamp. Fear not. These are the words of the angel Gabriel to the virgin Mary. Through the post stamp from the German Ministry of Finance, these words come to several million…
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Western Europe
French Senate debates conversion therapy
A proposed law, discussed in the French Senate on Tuesday, aims to ban practices to change a person's sexual orientation or claimed gender identity. French newspaper [La Croix](https://www.la-croix.com/France/therapies-conversion-question-Senat-2021-12-07-1201188893) writes about it. On 5 October, the bill was adopted unanimously in the National Assembly's first reading. The text provides a specific…
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Southern Europe
Adoptive parents for Italian child left behind in Ukraine
Serenella might soon have a mom and a dad. The (biological) Italian parents of the girl born in Ukraine to a surrogate mother, have told the judges that they do not oppose adoption. An adoptive couple has already been found, reports the Italian newspaper Avvenire. In August 2020, the couple…
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Western Europe
One in three Dutch do not believe in God; secularisation continues
More than half (55 per cent) of Dutch people aged 15 or over are not religious. The Dutch newspaper [Nederlands Dagblad](https://www.nd.nl/geloof/geloof/1072797/ontkerkelijking-in-nederland-zet-geleidelijk-door-1-op-3-geloof) writes about it based on the [youngest data](https://longreads.cbs.nl/nederland-in-cijfers-2021/welk-geloof-hangen-we-aan/) from Statistics Netherlands. Religious involvement has declined steadily in recent years. In 2017, for the first time, more than half of…
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Eastern Europe
Patriarch Kirill strongly opposes political participation of Church
Patriarch Kirill is strongly against the participation of the Russian Orthodox Church in Russian politics. This writes the Russian news portal Patriarcha.. The primate of the Russian Orthodox Church said so in a meeting with Pyotr Tolstoy, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma of Russia. Tolstoy, the great-great-grandson of the…
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Eastern Europe
Russian church helps in fight against alcohol addiction
The Russian Orthodox Church actively participates in a round table about the fight against alcohol addiction. The church wants to help to overcome the “feeling of helplessness.” Apart from the church, other participants were several government departments, like the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of…
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