Christianity the last bastion against ‘totalitarianism’
An Austrian think tank and non-governmental organisation is warning that freedom of religious expression is ‘at risk’ in Europe from secularist intolerance on the left. Public expressions of religious belief by Christians are growing in Western Europe, the cradle of Christendom. Gudrun Kugler, a lawyer and director of the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe says that ‘Europe Christianity is hated because it is the last obstacle to a new vision of secularity which is so politically correct that it verges on totalitarianism. Christians are increasingly marginalized and are appearing more often in courts over matters related to faith. So I think that we are heading for a bloodless persecution.’ Dr Massimo Introvigne, of the Organisation of Security and Cooperation in Europe, said this week that European Christians are not being ‘oversensitive.’ Discrimination against Christians in Europe, he said, ‘is more subtle’ than in countries where they are outright persecuted, but it is real. Pray: for all Christians as they battle secularism and anti-Christian persecution across Europe. (Ac.4:29)
Christianity the last bastion against ‘totalitarianism’
An Austrian think tank and non-governmental organisation is warning that freedom of religious expression is ‘at risk’ in Europe from secularist intolerance on the left. Public expressions of religious belief by Christians are growing in Western Europe, the cradle of Christendom. Gudrun Kugler, a lawyer and director of the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe says that ‘Europe Christianity is hated because it is the last obstacle to a new vision of secularity which is so politically correct that it verges on totalitarianism. Christians are increasingly marginalized and are appearing more often in courts over matters related to faith. So I think that we are heading for a bloodless persecution.’ Dr Massimo Introvigne, of the Organisation of Security and Cooperation in Europe, said this week that European Christians are not being ‘oversensitive.’ Discrimination against Christians in Europe, he said, ‘is more subtle’ than in countries where they are outright persecuted, but it is real. Pray: for all Christians as they battle secularism and anti-Christian persecution across Europe. (Ac.4:29)
Hungary: Churches reach out to Roma
Hungary's new centre-right government has allied itself with the churches in a drive to create jobs and pull Roma (Gypsy) communities out of poverty. The BBC's Nick Thorpe reports that social work by the churches is already helping to improve the lives of Roma in eastern Hungary. The Hungarian government is due to sign a deal with the main churches to allow them to apply for state funding for educational, social and labour programmes. So for the first time, the churches can get involved in job creation. Hungary's 800,000 Roma - many of them destitute - are a priority. The government wants to get a million Hungarians back to work in the next 10 years - 200,000 to 300,000 of them Roma. Hungary's State Secretary for Social Inclusion, Zoltan Balog, is himself a Protestant pastor. ‘It will be the job of the churches to go to the communities with their own proposals,’ he says. Pray: for these initiatives by the Government and Church to help the Roma that God would bless them.
Hungary: Churches reach out to Roma
Hungary's new centre-right government has allied itself with the churches in a drive to create jobs and pull Roma (Gypsy) communities out of poverty. The BBC's Nick Thorpe reports that social work by the churches is already helping to improve the lives of Roma in eastern Hungary. The Hungarian government is due to sign a deal with the main churches to allow them to apply for state funding for educational, social and labour programmes. So for the first time, the churches can get involved in job creation. Hungary's 800,000 Roma - many of them destitute - are a priority. The government wants to get a million Hungarians back to work in the next 10 years - 200,000 to 300,000 of them Roma. Hungary's State Secretary for Social Inclusion, Zoltan Balog, is himself a Protestant pastor. ‘It will be the job of the churches to go to the communities with their own proposals,’ he says. Pray: for these initiatives by the Government and Church to help the Roma that God would bless them.
