How the Irish, and Many Others, Lost Their Religious Freedom to COVID Restrictions
June 7th, 2021 by Vox Cervi 1
A visitor prays during mass at a Roman Catholic church in Knock, Ireland, in 2010. (Cathal McNaughton/Reuters) Around the world, religious institutions bore the brunt of coronavirus rules. We can’t let this happen again. In Ireland, you can face six months behind bars for forging a drug prescription. Or for stealing€20,000 from your employer for luxury holidays. Or, until recently, for attending church. Even in a year that has turned societal norms on its head, it’s surely a surprise that the Emerald …Read More
European Parliament due to vote on ‘extreme’ abortion report
June 7th, 2021 by Vox Cervi 1
The European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, on Nov. 25, 2014. Credit: Alan Holdren/CNA. By CNA Staff Strasbourg, France, Jun 2, 2021 / 04:45 am The European Parliament is due to vote on an “extreme” report calling on all European Union member states to allow access to abortion. The report, presented by Croatian politician Predrag Fred Matić, also seeks the recognition of a “right to abortion” and the redefinition of conscientious objection as a “denial of …Read More
Austria’s Catholic Bishops: Provide ‘Assistance to Live,’ Not Assistance to Suicide
June 7th, 2021 by Vox Cervi 1
In their message, the Austrian bishops said: “We know from countless encounters with the dying that the last phase of life, in particular, can be a blessing. In many cases, important encounters and moments of reconciliation are still possible.” Assisted suicide is currently punishable by up to five years in prison. (photo: Patrick Thomas / Shutterstock) CNA StaffWorldJune 2, 2021 VIENNA, Austria — Austria’s Catholic bishops urged the authorities on Tuesday to offer people “assistance …Read More
Finland’s prosecution of Christian MP over biblical views is ‘act of oppression,’ legal scholars warn
June 7th, 2021 by Vox Cervi 1
Finnish Member of Parliament, Päivi Räsänen. | ADF International Law professors and scholars are calling on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom to pressure the State Department to sanction Finland’s prosecutor general for prosecuting a Christian politician who shared her biblical beliefs on sexuality and marriage. In an open letter published by Real Clear Politics last Friday, professors from Ivy League institutions like Harvard University, Yale University and Princeton University spoke out in defense …Read More
Islamic radicals kill 15 Christians in attack on baptism celebration in Burkina Faso
May 30th, 2021 by Vox Cervi 1
A woman and children stand at a fence with mural reading ‘Merry Christmas 2018/2019 – happy celebrations’ in the village of Yagma, north of Ouagadougou, on September 17, 2019. Burkina Faso, a poor country in West Africa, has been caught in a spiral of violence attributed to jihadist armed groups that has led to the closure of schools in the north and east of the country. Jihadist attacks have internally displaced more than 300,000 people …Read More
MPs are finally engaging with the gender identity debate
May 30th, 2021 by Vox Cervi 1
WRITTEN BY James Kirkup Tonia Antoniazzi (photo: Parliament TV) I used to write a lot about sex and gender here. I don’t do so quite as much these days for a few reasons, one of which is that the issues involved are now better recognised and better handled by people whose job it is to deal with the complexities of policies and conflicts of rights and arguments. An example of that came at the weekend …Read More
Irish people of faith call for government commitment to religious freedom
May 17th, 2021 by Vox Cervi 1
DUBLIN (7 May 2021) – People of faith are signing an open letter, addressed to the Irish Prime Minister, Micheál Martin TD, demanding a commitment never to ban church worship in Ireland again. Church doors will open once again on Monday, after public worship was forbidden for almost a full year, with criminal penalties imposed on those who left their homes to attend services and masses. Despite commercial public venues such as dry cleaners and …Read More
As evidence of genocide mounts, now is the time to pray for China
May 17th, 2021 by Vox Cervi 1
by Benedict Rogers China today faces the worst human rights crisis since the Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989, and the most severe crackdown on religious freedom since the Cultural Revolution. While the Chinese Communist Party regime has always been repressive, today it stands accused of genocide, forced organ harvesting, repeated breaches of international treaties, an all-out assault on all forms of dissent, civil society activism or independent media and a war on faith. Last month, …Read More
USCIRF confirms “intensified religious persecution during the pandemic”
May 17th, 2021 by Vox Cervi 1
The US Commission on International Religious Freedom annual report denounces that “the pandemic fostered misinformation targeting religious minorities”. Persecution of religious minorities has intensified with the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the latest USCIRF annual report. / Photo: Open Doors. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has released a new edition of its annual report on religious persecution worldwide, focusing on the effect of the public health measures put in place to prevent …Read More
Legislators urge Biden to address global religious persecution
May 17th, 2021 by Vox Cervi 1
mdgn/Shutterstock Washington D.C., May 6, 2021 / 19:00 pm America/Denver (CNA). A bipartisan group of members of Congress asked President Biden this week to prioritize responding to global religious persecution. “Religious freedom, one of the most basic human rights for all people, has historically been an area of sincere bipartisan support and agreement in American foreign policy,” stated a May 4 letter by members of both the House and Senate to President Biden. The May …Read More