Call to the European Church to stand with refugees

Call to the European Church to stand with refugees
As Europe struggles to manage the migrant crisis, some church leaders in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq are saying that some refugees are ‘fed up with Islam’ because Gulf countries aren’t offering them help. These leaders’ message to the European Church is ‘be prepared’ to welcome the many Muslims who are . . . Read More

Religious freedom in the Arabian Peninsula?

Religious freedom in the Arabian Peninsula?
Medina in Saudi Arabia is the heartland of the Islamic faith, attracting millions of pilgrims every year.Wajahat Mahmood / Flickr / CC   A recent article in Christianity Today reports that Christianity is booming in the “heart of Islam”, with the “millions” of Christians there not really facing persecution – . . . Read More

Yemen church set on fire

Masked militants yesterday (16. Sep) set ablaze one of the few remaining churches in Aden, Yemen’s southern port city. The fire, which witnesses told the BBC burned the entire contents of the St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church in the city’s Crater neighbourhood, came the day after vandals had broken in . . . Read More

EU ‘must do more’ to stop religious freedom abuses

Left to right: MEP Dennis de Jong, USCIRF’s Katrina Lantos Swett, EEAS’s Silvio Gonzato, and MEP Peter van Dalen at the report’s launch in Brussels on 3 June.Courtesy European Parliament Intergroup   The new European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Federica Mogherini, said in October 2014 that upholding the . . . Read More

2014: A year of particular concern

2014: A year of particular concern
If ever there were a year that made plain the importance of religious freedom, 2014 was it, according to the just-released annual report by an American government advisory group. “By any measure, the horrors of the past year speak volumes about how and why religious freedom and the protection of the . . . Read More

‘Freedom of Religion’: comprehensive report launch

A report showing that religious freedom is compromised in nearly 60 percent of countries worldwide is expected to send a signal to governments and religious leaders that this is an issue that can no longer be ignored. The international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need’s Religious Freedom in . . . Read More

Freedom of religion an issue ‘whose time has come’

Freedom of religion an issue ‘whose time has come’
Freedom of religion and belief is an issue “whose time has come”, the vice chairwoman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom said yesterday. During the presentation of two reports on religious freedom at the European Parliament in Brussels on Feb. 12, commission Vice Chairwoman Katrina Lantos Swett said . . . Read More