Posts in Europe
Connecting with God in the digital age

(COMMENTARY) As Christians enter the season of Lent, the church's mission is as paramount as ever – to spread the Gospel and inform parishioners, through news stories and commentary, about the politics and culture around us. The mainstream press is not the least interested in such a mission – so it has largely become the role of the religious-based press – and the communication tools of the 21st century – to fill the void.

Read More
Failure to communicate - Cardinal Marx and gay blessings

(Commentary) Our review of the U.S. press coverage of claims that Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich, the president of the Deutsche Bischofskonferenz (DBK), had given his permission to clergy to bless same-sex unions has sparked rigorous debate on social media. George Conger responds with his perspective on what is causing the discord.

Read More
The State of Journalism in the Czech Republic

There is hardly a more telling moment to epitomise the state of journalism in the Czech Republic than a short TV clip from a recent meeting of two presidents: Miloš Zeman, Czech head of state and his Russian counterpart - Vladimir Putin. “And here are more journalists?” asked Mr. Zeman in Russian at the press conference. "There are too many journalists. They should be liquidated.“

Read More
ANALYSIS: Once again, Charlie Hebdo Takes Aim at Violent Islamists, This Time in Spain

A handful of American mainstream news outlets have picked up the story, but unlike their European counterparts, they chose not to reprint the cartoon.

Read More
ANALYSIS: Daily Telegraph Backs Old Guard in Row Over Church of England's 'Alpha' Evangelicals

(OPINION) The Daily Telegraph has leapt into a dispute between two factions of a London church. Yet the journalistic shortcomings of this article turn it into a club for traditionalists to beat modernizers.

Read More
Looking For Alternative Forms Of Faith In The Streets Of Postmodern Czech Republic

(OPINION) A recent Pew Forum survey shows that the influence and practice of faith is slipping in lands long identified with Catholicism, those closest to the European West. Eastern Orthodoxy is rising, especially in lands in which faith and national identity blend. But the most stunning changes are happening in the Czech Republic.

Read More
The Demon Of Click Bait: Daily Telegraph Sensationalizes UK's 'Boom' In Christian Exorcisms

What comes first, advertising or content? This question loomed large in my mind as I read an article on exorcisms that the Daily Telegraph chose to sensationalize rather than report faithfully.

Read More