Europe
The Infant Jesus of Prague is a tourist symbol that attracts parishioners and the curious. The Catholic icon, located in the Church of Our Lady of Victorious, seems to defy statistics that rank the Czech capital as the most atheistic city in the world. The clay statue attracts believers and non-believers from across the world at Christmastime and during other times of the year.
While the global median score on the Government Restrictions Index (based on several factors) held steady in 2022 at 3.0 out of 10, the number of countries with “high” or “very high” levels of government religious restrictions rose to 59, which accounts for 30% of the 198 countries and territories Pew Research Center studied.
(ANALYSIS) Technology, AI and social media have been developed for the common good, to make our lives easier, one way or another. However, they can also be abused — and this is precisely what we have seen across contemporary cases of genocide.
Ukrainian Christians are resilient in the lingering war with Russia and yet optimistic of “a just peace,” Southern Baptist leader Dan Darling said on the heels of a weeklong tour of Ukraine and Poland.
A new unique project in the Central Asian nation of Uzbekistan seeks to both revive and repurpose an architectural gem that survived the Soviet Union and decades of harsh weather. The Center for Contemporary Art residencies will be a unique cultural space in the heart of Tashkent. The site was built as a madrassa during the 1880s but, during the Soviet era, was used as a carpentry space.
Five years after a devastating fire, Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris will reopen this weekend, showing off its rebuilt ceilings and new stonework. The cathedral’s interior reconstruction, erasing somber memories of its 2019 fire, is a major step forward despite scaffolding and cranes still working on the damaged exterior.
Much of France is focused on the trial of eight people stemming from the 2020 beheading of French schoolteacher Samuel Paty by Abdoullah Anzorov, an 18-year-old Muslim immigrant from Chechnya. Anzorov is not on trial since he was shot dead by police after his butchery. The focus now is on those who encouraged and enabled him. This raises difficult questions about legal limits on speech, especially where religion is concerned.
High Church parishes saw ethnic minorities as “not good enough” or unworthy. Charismatic evangelical churches were hostile towards Black leaders. And traditional rural conservative churches viewed anyone not white with suspicion, classing them as “foreign.” Only the progressive urban church was a truly welcoming and diverse space.
Russian authorities have arrested a pastor for preaching that Christians should not fight in the invasion against Ukraine “on the basis of Holy Scripture,” according to a recent report from a Norwegian human rights organization.
Despite fears of persecution, the asylum claims of Iranian Christians have consistently been refused by Georgian authorities, a new report says. The claim, in a 24-page joint report by Article18, CSW, Open Doors and Middle East Concern, is based on interviews with the asylum-seekers and their lawyers. The report found that one-fifth of asylum-seekers in Georgia are Iranian, but few have gained entry.
(ANALYSIS) As a Catholic philosopher and avid student of Thomas Aquinas, I am always fielding questions about whether this medieval saint is “still worth” reading today, nearly 800 years after his birth. Aquinas is a giant of Western philosophy and theology. As a Catholic philosopher and avid student of Aquinas, I am always fielding questions about whether this saint is “still worth” reading today.
(ANALYSIS) On Feb. 24, 2022, Russia attacked Ukraine and unleashed a full-scale invasion. This invasion, which in itself is a crime of aggression, was followed by a litany of international crimes, including crimes against humanity and war crimes. Furthermore, some of the acts may meet the legal definition of genocide. One thousand days later, the conflict rages, with an escalation being visible over recent weeks.
(ANALYSIS) The creative economy is about translating the inspiration of culture and ideas into high-value businesses and enterprises. For billions of people around the world their faith is a big source of inspiration and creativity. Artificial intelligence will be a major disruptor of our economy. It will also allow many people to join the ranks of the creative economy like never before. In essence, faith has a role to play in the unfurling of the next chapter in humanity’s economic story.
(ANALYSIS) The Archbishop of Canterbury, whose position has a 1,427-year history, is a major figure in world Christianity as head of the Church of England and, because of that, in modern times is also the spiritual leader of the international Anglican Communion. This branch of Christianity encompasses some 85 million members in churches across the world.
(ANALYSIS) Angel Studios can’t seem to catch a break from controversy. Its first big hit, the film “Sound of Freedom,” was heavily criticized by sex-trafficking survivors for its deceptive portrayal of the issue. They’ve also faced allegations of unsavory business practices and for partnering with a conservative media company for distribution.
(ANALYSIS) In 2023, 2,444 anti-Christian hate crimes were documented in 35 European countries. This included 232 personal attacks, such as harassment, threats and physical violence. At least 2,000 Christian places of worship were damaged. Attacks took place throughout the continent, including Germany, the United Kingdom and especially France.
(ANALYSIS) For over 40 years, six people from Medjugorje, a small town in Bosnia-Herzegovina, have claimed to see and speak with the Virgin Mary. For almost as long, hordes of pilgrims have traveled to visit sites of the virgin’s alleged appearance and to observe the seers’ daily trances. The Vatican has never approved the pilgrimage or issued official judgment of the visionaries — until now.
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, head of the Church of England, stepped down after an investigation found he had failed to notify civil authorities about serial physical and sexual abuse when he became aware of it. “It is very clear that I must take personal and institutional responsibility for the long and retraumatizing period between 2013 and 2024,” Welby said.
A one-time bike ride sponsored by Anglican churches in 1982 has proven so successful it has turned into annual event and copied across Great Britain. The original rides have grown from just cyclists. Thousands of walkers, runners, canoeists, horse riders and even vintage car enthusiasts seeking to visit as many churches as possible within a day took part in last month’s event.
Freedom of religion or belief, a right that speaks to something so deep-seated in each of us that it practically defines what it is to be human, is under attack in many parts of the world. Repressive laws, exclusion, deportation, imprisonment and out-and-out genocide threaten the liberty of far too many religious communities in far too many places.
Members of the small Jewish community in Amsterdam confronted the city’s deputy mayor Friday morning, demanding answers for its failure to prevent violent attacks on Israeli soccer fans the night before that international Jewish organizations and leaders condemned as a pogrom. Videos showed men running through the streets beating Israelis and shooting fireworks at them.
Science and faith intersect at this special place. While some may find it strange that the Vatican has an observatory, the Catholic Church has been involved with science since the Jesuit order was founded in 1540. Saint Ignatius, for example, would spend hours on his balcony gazing at the night sky.
Fethullah Gulen was an Islamic cleric who had built a powerful global movement — but eventually found himself exiled in the U.S. and caught up in accusations that he had orchestrated a military coup against Turkish leader Tayyip Erdogan.
(ANALYSIS) That was the eye-catching headline for a 2019 article. Last month, the watchdog website Ministry Watch pursued its long-running concern that’s also raised in a September article by University of Notre Dame law professor Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer, a tax expert.
(ANALYSIS) Funerals — often thought of as solemn events filled with grief and mourning — are starting to take on a different tone. In Britain, anyway. In fact, more people view funerals as opportunities to celebrate life, rather than occasions for somber reflection. It’s a shift that’s redefining how the Brits, renowned for their stiff upper lips, are saying goodbye to loved ones.
In Europe, it’s called “Camp Amerikraine,” a cherished annual meeting for Christians in Ukraine launched two decades ago with help from Christians in America. A continent and an invasion away, a retreat some call “Camp Amerikraine in America” now brings together displaced Ukrainian believers in the U.S. for fellowship and solace from the trauma of war.
Ahead of the beginning of the Jubilee of Hope in 2025, the Dicastery for Evangelization is hosting various events, including concerts and exhibitions. In a press conference, Archbishop Rino Fisichella, Pro-prefect of the Dicastery, outlined the itinerary for some of the upcoming events. Another major event ahead of the Jubilee is the exhibition of various rare icons from the Vatican Museums.
Addressing the Synod Assembly on Saturday evening, Pope Francis highlighted how the Final Document, written over the course of the 2nd Session of the Synod on Synodality that began on Oct. 2 following a process of listening and dialogue, is the fruit of over three years of listening to the People of God.
To Latvia’s north, the former Soviet nation of Estonia also shares an eastern border with Russia — and Churches of Christ there share the concerns of their brothers and sisters to the south. “For Estonians, it has never been a question of ‘if’ but ‘when’ about a war or a threat to their freedom.”
Eating fruits and vegetables, exercise and going to church. What do all these things have in common? They are all good for your health. That’s according to a recent report by the U.K.-based National Churches Trust. In fact, the report said that church attendance — and the many services these houses of worship provide — saves the National Health Service approximately $1.1 billion each year.