At Samara, a city of 1,160,000 inhabitants in the Volga region, Christians and Muslims run the risk of having their communities indexed by the local administration. The religious organizations must provide the local Department of Justice with the names, age and addresses of the members of the various churches registered on the territory. “We know […]

The schism within the Bulgarian Orthodox Church is worsening. The judicial authorities have seized 250 churches and church buildings, the property of the alternative Orthodox Synod, and forcibly evicted from them the priests who put up any resistance. This situation is the consequence of the schism that arose within the Bulgarian Orthodox Church in 1992, […]

What role can religion have in the European mass media? The question will be debated in the conference accompanying this year’s Europe 2004 Prize. To be held in Berlin from 15 to 17 October, it will focus just on this theme. “We must tackle an exceptional question today – says Susan Hoffmann, organizer of the […]

“The sense of eternity is lacking in many sectors of Irish society”, said Archbishop Michael Neary of Tuam, during the traditional celebration on Croagh Patrick on 25 July. Monsignor Neary was speaking to over a thousand pilgrims who had gathered on the summit of the mountain where, according to tradition, St. Patrick, patron of Ireland, […]

The situation created by the scandal in the seminary of Sankt Pölten prompted the ten Austrian diocesan bishops (including the military ordinary) to gather for an informal meeting at Mariazell on 22 July. During the meeting, the bishops expressed their “full support” for the apostolic Visitator, Msgr. Klaus Küng, appointed by the Vatican to ascertain […]

“Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the collaboration of men and women in the Church and in the world”: that is the title of a document that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith will publish on Saturday, 31 July. The new document was announced by the Holy See’s Press Room […]

Beware of 50 and 20 euro banknotes: counterfeiters are targeting them. A recent report of the European Central Bank, presented in Frankfurt (where the bank is based) and in Brussels, warns professionals in the banking and financial sector, and also shopkeepers and families of the threat. In the first quarter of 2004, a total of […]

EU programmes in support of the sectors of education, culture, audio-visuals and, more generally, in favour of youth, are being stepped up. In particular, the recent programme for youth called “Youth in Action” has obtained a funding of 915 million euros. European Commission sources in Brussels explain that “it’s a simpler programme than its predecessor […]

The European Union, too, has given its backing to the promotion of International Youth Day, established by the United Nations, that is celebrated annually on 12 August. The EU institutions are publicizing the events accompanying the Day; so too is the Council of Europe (headquarters in Strasbourg, over 40 member countries). The theme of International […]

The new suicide attack in Iraq, which caused 70 victims and 55 injured on 28 July, provides the front-page story in the Herald Tribune (29/7). “ Violence has exploded in Iraq”, write Jhalid al-Ansary and Ian Fischer, who point out that the car-bomb attack of the previous day “ was one of the attacks that […]