-
Western Europe
Jehovah's Witnesses will not have to go to Flemish court
Jehovah’s Witnesses in Belgium do not have to go to court for sexual abuse of minors. The Brussels council chamber has decided this. According to the council chamber, the “unilateral statements” are not supported by enough evidence, the Flemish broadcaster VRT reported last week. The cult observatory Iacsso, an independent…
Read More » -
Eastern Europe
Covid-19: Latvian government reminds churches of safety rules
The Latvian Ministry of Justice reached out to religious organisations to remind them of the importance of safety precautions in connection with Covid-19. This was reported by the Baltic News Network. According to the Ministry of Justice, religious organisations should cooperate with State Police and other law enforcement institutions to…
Read More » -
Eastern Europe
Virus hits again in Russia: mosques close; churches and synagogues remain open
To prevent the coronavirus from spreading, the Russian capital of Moscow has announced a week of so-called “non-working days” from October 28th to November 7th. During these days, churches and synagogues chose to remain open. Mosques, however, decided to close their doors. According to Damir Mukhetdinov, the first deputy chairman…
Read More » -
Southern Europe
Pope: Don't send migrants back to inhumane camps
Pope Francis on Sunday called on countries not to return migrants to countries where it is not safe. He mentioned Libya, where many migrants face violence and inhumane conditions in concentration camp-like facilities [Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/dont-send-migrants-back-unsafe-countries-pope-says-citing-libya-2021-10-24/) reports. “We must end the practice of returning migrants to countries where it is not safe,”…
Read More » -
Central Europe
Austria threatens a lockdown for unvaccinated
As coronavirus cases continue to rise in Austria, the country's Chancellor announced that the government could impose tight restrictions on people who are still unvaccinated. “The pandemic is not yet in the rear-view mirror,” Alexander Schallenberg said after a meeting with state-level leaders to discuss their response to rapidly increasing…
Read More » -
Northern Europe
Swedish church apologises for renting church to dictatorial regime
The Pentacostal Philadelphia Church in the Swedish capital Stockholm has apologised for renting its church to a Swedish-Eritrean network that supports the Eritrean regime. A regime that persecutes Pentecostals.On Tuesday, October 19th, the Philadelphia Church's stage was draped in Eritrea's red-green-blue colours, wrote Swedish daily Dagen. Around a hundred visitors…
Read More » -
Central Europe
Will Islamic prayers soon sound over Cologne?
Will Cologne still be Cologne? Over a week ago, the city council announced that mosques could request to sound a call to prayer once a week. With its cathedral, Cologne is more than the city of the Roman Catholic Rhineland. As mayor, Konrad Adenauer refused to hang Nazi flags on…
Read More » -
Central Europe
German churches don't get applause after corona
Churches and religious institutions did not make a good impression on Germans during the corona pandemic. This is the result of a representative survey by the insurance company HDI (Hanover). The German news portal IDEA reports about this. 3,700 citizens were asked by the opinion research institute YouGov to rate…
Read More » -
Western Europe
Dutch police arrest two people in connection with killing on demand
The Dutch police have arrested two people in a criminal investigation relating to assisted suicide. The two are members of the so-called Last Will Society (Coöperatie Laatste Wil), which is pleading for death on demand. The arrested people are a 72-year-old woman and a 78-year-old man. This summer, a 28-year-old…
Read More » -
Central Europe
EP debate on Polish abortion shows political battle around women's rights
A European Parliament debate about abortion in Poland Wednesday evening resulted in the same clashing views as usually: the child’s right against the woman’s right. Robert Biedron, MEP for The Left, is quoted by The First News saying that Poland has legalised “government-led torture”, he said. “Poland has in reality…
Read More »