CNE's Podcast: Anabaptists celebrate 500 years; Church closeures in Sweden; Push for unrestricted abortions in Austria; Same-sex partnerships in Ukraine; Churches burned and clergy killed in Ukraine
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NewsRound Europe is CNE’s news podcast. It has a bulletin with some remarkable news topics from the European continent. At the end, we have a question-and-answer session with a colleague about an article.
Anabaptists celebrate 500 years as a Christian movement
The Anabaptists are celebrating five hundred years within the Christian church, Evangeliques reports. The Anabaptist movement also gave birth to the Mennonite community, which has a total of over 2 million people around the world.
The celebration entitled World Anabaptist Celebration Sunday began on January nineteenth with the central theme: "The Courage to Love". The Mennonite World Conference has also distributed a document with ideas on commemorating the special occasion. The earliest known baptisms in the Anabaptist church occurred on January twenty-first, 1525.
One of the primary beliefs of the Anabaptists has always been the rejection of infant baptism. Many believe that baptism should be done by immersion and reserved for those who have come to adulthood or an age of understanding.
Swedish island to close seven churches due to climate change
How would you feel if your church needed to shut its doors because of climate change? That's what some pastoral leaders say in Sweden, particularly regarding some churches on the island of Gotland.
According to Dagen, the pastorate association on the island, Romakloster, decided that seven of its churches will need to close between October of this year and May 2026. The reason? The churches are heated using oil, which goes against the pastorate's initiative to have all its churches become fossil-free by 2027.
Currently, the Church of Sweden says that they do not have the funds to pay for heating systems that are more environmentally friendly.
Sweden's right-wing party, Alternativ för Sverige or Alternative for Sweden, responded harshly to the pastorate's decision. "It's so sick that you shudder," they say online. And there's more. The party also added that "It is becoming increasingly clear that the climate and the "green shift" are the church's new gods," in their Facebook post, which was reported by Dagen.
Coalition meeting in Austria pushes for unrestricted abortions
Leaked reports from the pro-life website, Lifesite News showed that Austria's Social Democrats and its Liberal party demanded unrestricted abortions and "buffer zones" around the country's abortion centres. Lifesite News managed to get a hold of the minutes from the failed talks between the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP), the Social Democrats (SPÖ), and the Liberal Party.
Austria currently faces a crisis regarding its government, as various parties from the right and left have been unable to agree on specific policies. One of those was the left-leaning SPO's vision to allow free access to abortions. No restrictions on gestational ages were given, which could open doors to allow abortions until birth. In the document, Lifesite reported that the proposals marked in red appeared to be those that the conservative OVP party vetoed.
Abortion is currently legal in Austria for up to 12 weeks.
The Liberal Party or NEO also called for buffer zones, which are designated areas around abortion centres to protect clients and discourage anti-abortion activists. The UK and Wales implemented buffer zones around abortion centres last year.
Ukraine seeks Estonia's help in legalising civil partnerships for same-sex couples
According to Estonia's ERR, Ukraine is looking to Estonia for inspiration when it comes to same-sex partnerships.
Currently, both marriage and civil partnerships for same-sex couples are prohibited under Ukrainian law. However, Estonia has been the first post-Soviet country to allow civil unions for same-sex couples, which Ukraine sees as a more realistic step to allowing more rights for those who identify as LGBTQ.
Same-sex marriages in Ukraine would require significant amendments to their constitution. When the country is under martial law, any changes are considered illegal.
A draft bill for same-sex unions has been submitted, but the proposal remains in parliament. Estonia's gender equality minister, Christian Veske, has been in talks with Ukrainian officials regarding better equality measures and said he was "positively surprised" about Ukraine's reaction.
ERR reports that an increasing number of Ukrainians are becoming more open to allowing more rights for individuals who identify as LGBTQ. A recent poll by the Kyiv Institute of Sociology shows that more than 70 per cent of Ukrainians believe that the LGBTQ community should have equal rights.
Russian insurgents demolish 600 churches and kill 67 priests in Ukraine
And we've come to some sobering news from Ukraine regarding the war. Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or MFA, reports that Russian insurgents have destroyed at least sixty-seven clergy and more than 600 churches.
The UNN report also detailed that the insurgents mainly targeted Jehovah's Witness communities and churches that were not associated with the Russian Patriarchate.
Ukraine's foreign ministry spokesman says this has led to a rapid decline in religious freedom, especially in territories that are not under the Ukrainian government's jurisdiction.
The MFA hopes the international community will become more aware of the human rights crisis. They have proposed more sanctions against Russia to bring all those accountable to justice.
In addition to taking down churches, Russian occupants in the area have also outlawed specific humanitarian aid organisations such as Knights of Columbus and the Catholic-based Caritas Foundation, according to UNN.
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