CNE’s podcast: Unclear future of protection against sexualisation in Lithuania; Booming digital church collections in Germany; and was Christianity perhaps earlier in Europe than thought?
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European Union
NewsRound Europe is CNE’s news podcast. It has a bulletin with some remarkable news topics from the European continent. And at the end, we have a Question & Answer with a colleague about an article.
Lithuania has to decide about child protection
The government of Lithuania has to decide about the future of a law that bans the promotion of same-sex relationships. The Constitutional Court has ruled that his law is unconstitutional, as was reported this week by LRT.
The law was introduced to protect minors against negative effects of sexual information, since Lithuania prefers to promote the values of traditional family life. But the court disagreed with that, saying the law violated the constitutional right to freedom of expression and the right to access information.
The court emphasised that laws restricting information for minors must respect other constitutional values, like equality, pluralism, and tolerance. It stated that minors should have access to information that helps them develop into mature individuals who understand and respect human rights and dignity. The court also noted that this type of restriction could hinder a child's personal growth.
The government itself had asked for a review by the Constitutional Court after a ruling from the European Court of Human Rights last year. That European court (in Strasbourg) found that Lithuania had violated the rights of an author, by banning a children’s book that included same-sex relationships.
After that ruling, the Lithuanian government proposed changing the law, but the parliament rejected the idea. Now, there is a verdict from the national Constitutional Court itself.
Lithuania does neither recognise gay marriage nor same-sex civil unions. Marriage is defined in the country’s constitution as a relationship of a man and a woman.
Church leaders in Russia remain concerned about house church ban
Church leaders in Russia still express concern over a bill that could ban religious services outside official church buildings, as the German news service IDEA reports. CNE wrote about this earlier already.
The proposed law aims to prohibit services in residential buildings, especially in the lower floors of apartment complexes, which are often rented by small congregations. The proposal cites concerns over noise, conflicts with residents, fire safety, and public security.
Church leaders, including the head of the Russian Evangelical Alliance (REA), Vitaly Vlasenko, fear this law could restrict religious freedom, particularly for Protestant communities. Critics argue that it could also impact Orthodox house churches and private ceremonies for the sick. In 2019, a similar proposal to ban services in private homes was ruled unconstitutional by the Russian Constitutional Court.
Vlasenko noted that while Protestants can practice freely within certain limits, political issues, especially concerning the war in Ukraine, are less often discussed in churches. Many Christians avoid confrontation, focusing on social work instead of public activism.
Digital church collections are booming in Germany
Churches in Germany are increasingly adopting digital payment methods for donations, alongside traditional collection plates. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports that.
In Leer, in East Friesland, a church introduced card payments for offerings over a year ago, resulting in a 10-20 per cent increase in contributions. Other churches, like the Christuskirche in Mannheim, are testing similar systems. Donors can give via card readers or dedicated donation stations, which offer receipts.
These systems can be financially beneficial for churches, despite costs for equipment and transaction fees. For example, the Mannheim church pays a British provider a 1.69 per cent fee per transaction, while in Leer, the local Sparkasse provided a card reader with annual costs up to 700 euros. While digital donations are growing, churches still offer cash donation options.
The Cologne Cathedral also implemented digital donation boxes in 2021, with donations steadily increasing. However, cash donations remain dominant, making up 90 per cent of contributions. In contrast, electronic payments are more common in other European countries, like Norway.
Spanish court is against surrogacy from US
The Spanish Supreme Court has ruled against recognising surrogacy contracts, calling the practice an exploitation of women and a violation of human dignity. In this case, a couple in Spain wanted to register their children, born via surrogacy in Texas.
The Spanish court rejected the request, saying recognising the fatherhood of the intended parents violated public order. The Catholic weekly Die Tagespost reported this.
The court argued that surrogacy undermines the moral integrity of both the pregnant woman and the child, treating them like commodities and depriving them of their human dignity. It also stated that the child is denied the right to know their biological origin, while the surrogate mother may face health risks from hormone treatments.
Although surrogacy is legal and profitable in the U.S., with intended parents paying large sums, the Spanish court ruled that consent obtained through payment or compensation is fraudulent under Spanish law. The court also emphasised that the well-being of the child cannot be defined solely by the desires of the intended parents.
This decision follows previous rulings rejecting similar attempts to recognise surrogacy contracts. Despite surrogacy being banned in Spain, some Spanish couples seek surrogacy in countries where it is legal, such as the U.S., Mexico, or Ukraine, to try to resolve legal issues in Spain.
Christianity might have been earlier in Europe than thought
And then (finally) a sensational archaeological discovery in Germany: Christianity might be much older in Europe than previously thought. Archaeologists found a silver amulet from around the year 250 in a grave in Frankfurt am Main in Germany. In the amulet there is a text with references to Biblical texts, especially the Christ Hymn from Philippians 2.
Many sources in and outside of Germany have reported this.
The text was written on a tiny scroll inside the amulet that could only be read by computer technique. The amulet was in the grave of a man who died between 230 and 270 AD. The man likely wore the amulet on a cord around his neck and was found just below his chin. The amulet was already discovered in 2018 but it took some time to analyse the several elements of it.
The 1800-year-old amulet makes it probable that the Christian faith had moved from the Mediterranean world to the north already. Until now it was thought that Jesus Christ was mostly unknown north of the Alps until the reign of Emperor Constantine in the fourth century. So, this discovery has the potential to rewrite the history of Christianity in Europe.
