German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Christianity is “the most persecuted religion worldwide”.
She was echoing the findings of several reports drawn from time to time about religious persecution.
Merkel also said the problems of Christian minorities in several parts of the world should be of concern to German foreign policy.
The German Green Party objected to the Chancellor’s statement, saying there were other religious groups that were facing more difficulties than Christians.
Czech Church to get land back eventually
The Church in the Czech Republic is set to get back properties which were confiscated by the Communist government. This will happen over the next 30 years.
The property has an estimate value of $7 billion (€5.5bn) and includes six per cent of the nation’s fields and forests.
This deal was sealed after a resolution was approved by the Czech Parliament. It includes an agreement that the Czech government will gradually stop paying the salaries of the clergy. Cardinal Dominik Duka of Prague said he was glad the “painstakingly negotiated compromise on religious restitution” was approved.
Pope’s new book due for Christmas release
Rizzoli, the Italian publishing house responsible for the publication of the third volume of the Pope’s trilogy, Jesus of Nazareth, hopes to sell 300,000 copies by Christmas.
The title of the book is The Childhood of Jesus. In his book, Pope Benedict shares his personal reflections on the Gospel narratives about Christ’s infancy.
The first volume, which was published in 2007, had studied Christ’s life from his Baptism through to the Transfiguration, and the second book, published in 2011, analysed the events of Holy Week through to the Resurrection.
Strong families key to crime prevention
Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, the Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States, said strong families are society’s best defence against crime. He was addressing the 81st general assembly of Interpol.
“The most effective antibody to any form of criminality is a country’s citizens,” the prelate told delegates, adding that “the most important place in which human beings are formed is the family”.
It is at home that children learn the meaning of justice and the common good, the archbishop said, noting that these concepts are essential to a public rejection of crime.
France set to legalise same-sex marriage
Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois, Archbishop of Paris, strongly criticised French President François Hollande after he introduced legislation that would give legal recognition to same-sex marriage.
The cardinal criticised the government for “focusing public attention on an issue that is secondary” at a time when the struggles of the economy demand immediate attention. He said proponents of the legislation seem determined to push it through without real public debate.
In the electoral campaign Hollande had promised to present such legislation. It includes the right to adopt children.
(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)