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Western Europe
Dutch ban on assisted suicide does not violate human rights
The Dutch government may keep enforcing its ban on assisted suicide, a court in The Hague ruled. The court case started because the so-called Cooperation Last Will disagreed with the ban. The Cooperation believed that the Dutch State violated International Human Rights because it is hard to achieve a self-determined…
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Eastern Europe
Debate about banning Ukrainian church goes on
The debate about a possible ban on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) has put the church issue at the centre of the attention. There is still doubt whether forbidding the church is legal. The police searched new churches and monasteries in the diocese of Romensky (east of Kyiv) on Wednesday.…
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Eastern Europe
Evangelical pastor kidnapped in Ukraine
Russian military kidnapped the pastor of the Evangelical Church and youth centre “Bethel” in Berdyansk, in the occupied region of Zaporozhye. They broke into his house on Monday. Pastor Sergey Karpenko had sent his wife and four children to an area under Ukrainian control. He remained behind in Berdyansk to…
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European Union
EP wants stricter supervision on subsidies for Palestine
In a resolution adopted on Wednesday, the European Parliament called for stricter supervision on the contents of school books in Palestine. It also wants the “occupation of Palestinian territories” to end. The Parliament adopted an amendment that calls for Palestinian schoolbooks to abide by United Nations standards. In case of…
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Central Europe
German Christmas stamp proclaims the Gospel
Germany has a special Christmas stamp with a Bible text this year. The stamp reads “I bring you good tidings of great joy”, after the Bible text from Luke 2, and shows an image of the painting “Annunciation to the shepherds” from the Italian artist Ansano di Pietro di Mencio…
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European Union
Nativity scene for the first time in European Parliament in Brussels
This year, the European Parliament has a nativity scene for the first time. Up and including last year, the Parliament did not want to build up one, as it considered it offensive for non-believers. Spanish MEP, Isabel Benjumea had campaigned three years to get a Christmas scene into the Parliament…
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Central Europe
Swiss National Council in favour of ban on conversion therapy
The Swiss Nationalrat, the National Council, wants to forbid conversion therapy or other healing measures meant to “cure” someone of homosexuality. To that end, the Grand Chamber supported a motion from the legal commission on Monday, Ref.ch writes. Of the 191 representatives present, 143 voted in favour, 37 against, and…
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Christian Life
Chased by constant stream of notifications
We must be constantly available in modern society. Our smartphone enables others to reach us at all times. Sometimes, that is handy. However, it also has another side: more and more people experience stress. It can even lead to a digital burn-out. How can we avoid this?The German Clara Hahn…
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Northern Europe
Scandinavian schools want to make Christmas celebration more secular
Schools in Northern Europe feel the need to remove the religious connotation from their Christmas celebrations. In Finland, there has been a lot of discussion about the content of the Christmas celebrations at schools, Yle reports. Celebrations at school are also covered by the Equality Act. A few years ago,…
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Central Europe
Thieves steal 400-kilo church bell in Germany
A 400-kilo church bell was stolen from a closed church in the German city of Gelsenkirchen. The police are still looking for the perpetrators. Over a metre high and more than 75 centimetres wide. It was not a small bell that thieves took from the closed church in the Scholven…
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