EU sees faith bias problem, but not sure of solution
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Europe’s growing religious diversity is creating social and legal tensions that cry out for reform, but even a European Union seeking solutions may not have the political will to implement them.
That was the impression given this week when researchers for a three-year EU-funded study of discrimination and other problems faced by minority faiths in member countries presented some of their proposals to European Commission officials.
Anglican Communion must not drift apart, Archbishop Williams says in farewell letter
(Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, addresses the theology think tank Theos in London October 1, 2012. REUTERS/Paul Hackett )
The outgoing leader of the world’s 80 million Anglicans has said their national churches must live with some religious diversity but not become like “distant relatives who sometimes send Christmas cards to each other”.
Dutch blasphemy law to fall and Irish one may follow
(Protesters from Hizb ut-Tahrir demonstrate against insults to Islam at the American Embassy in London September 16, 2012. A wave of furious anti-Western protests against a film mocking the Prophet Mohammad abated over the weekend, but U.S. policy in the Muslim world remained overshadowed by 13 minutes of amateurish video on the Internet. REUTERS/Neil Hall)
Laws criminalising blasphemy are set to be struck down soon in the Netherlands and may disappear in Ireland, but rising tensions in economically battered Greece seem to be reviving pressure to prosecute offences against God.
Anglicans must not drift apart, departing leader says
PARIS (Reuters)- The outgoing leader of the world’s 80 million Anglicans has said their national churches must live with some religious diversity but not become like “distant relatives who sometimes send Christmas cards to each other”.
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams told the primates of the worldwide Anglican Communion that their loose association of 38 member churches “has endured much suffering and confusion and still lives with this in many ways.”
German film producers plan Pope Benedict biopic
(A CTV (Central Television Vatican) cameraman stands near Pope Benedict XVI during a weekly general audience in the Vatican in this August 27, 2008 file photo. REUTERS/Chris Helgren)
Two German producers have bought the film rights to an upcoming biography of Pope Benedict by the Bavarian author of three best-selling interview books with the pontiff.
Large European majorities for legalising assisted suicide: survey
(Euthanasia campaigner Dr. Philip Nitschke poses for the photographer with his ‘suicide kit’ after a Reuters Interview in London May 7, 2009. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth)
Large majorities of west Europeans favor the legalization of assisted suicide, now allowed only in four countries on the continent, according to a new survey.
Large Europe majorities for assisted suicide – survey
PARIS, Nov 30 (Reuters) – Large majorities of west Europeans
favour the legalisation of assisted suicide, now allowed only in
four countries on the continent, according to a new survey.
In almost all the 12 countries polled, three-quarters or
more of those responding to questions posed by the Swiss Medical
Lawyers Association (SMLA) said people should be able to decide
when and how they die.
U.N. chief says Mideast, African crises show need for interfaith amity
(U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (R) delivers his speech as (from L) KAICIID Secretary General Faisal Abdulrahmen bin Muaammar, Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, World Muslim League President Abdullah Al Turki, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal, Austrian Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger, Spanish Foreign Minister Manuel Garcia-Margallo y Marfil and Cardinal Jean-Luis Tauran listen during the opening ceremony of the “King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Center for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue” (KAICIID) in Vienna November 26, 2012. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger)
The violent crises in Syria, Gaza and Mali show how important it is for different religions to work together to promote understanding rather than sow hatred, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said on Monday.
U.N. chief says crises show need for interfaith amity
VIENNA (Reuters)- The violent crises in Syria, Gaza and Mali show how important it is for different religions to work together to promote understanding rather than sow hatred, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said on Monday.
Addressing the opening of a new Saudi-backed interfaith centre in Vienna, he said the Syrian conflict was “taking on troubling sectarian dimensions” and “unrest (continues) between Israelis and Palestinians.”
New Vienna international interfaith dialogue center opens with Saudi help
(Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal talks to journalists upon his arrival in front of the ‘King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Center for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue’ (KAICIID) in Vienna November 26, 2012. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger )
A Saudi-backed center to promote interfaith dialogue worldwide began work in Vienna on Monday by bringing hundreds of religious activists together to discuss how to promote understanding among different beliefs.
-
About Tom
-
More from Tom
Follow Tom
