France
French police operations underway after beheading of teacher
By Associated Press — October 19, 2020
PARIS (AP) — Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered on Sunday across France in support of freedom of speech and in memory of the slain 47-year-old teacher.
France’s ‘hip’ female rabbi draws Muslims, Christians and Jews in a time of crisis
By Julia Lieblich and Luc Vachez — June 29, 2020
(RNS) — One of only four female rabbis in France, Delphine Horvilleur calls herself a storyteller, and one who believes that ‘God has a good sense of humor.’
Why the restored Notre Dame cathedral must remain a church
By Michel Aupetit — April 29, 2020
(RNS) — Some are asking if Paris’ restored cathedral should serve as a cultural center. The archbishop of Paris argues that its mission as a church is critical to the city and mankind.
Muslim headscarf debate divides France, in climate of hate
By Elaine Ganley — October 30, 2019
The veil has become a symbol in what one imam calls a campaign of intolerance from "the entrepreneurs of hate and violence" who want to "pit French against French."
Émigré Russian Orthodox inch toward a return to Moscow Patriarchate
By Tom Heneghan — September 10, 2019
PARIS (RNS) — A decision seemed to be made, but as with most émigré politics and disputes among Eastern Orthodox churches, it got complicated.
French cannabis debate ignores race, religion and mass incarceration of Muslims
By David A. Guba Jr. — August 12, 2019
(The Conversation) — Evidence suggests that cannabis prohibition over the past 50 years has disproportionately punished France’s Muslim minority.
Send back the Statue of Liberty
By Thomas Reese — July 23, 2019
(RNS) — She entered our country in 1886 without a visa, has never applied for citizenship and does not speak one word of English. Worst of all, she advocates for open borders. It's time to send her back.
Pew study finds continued support in Western Europe for paying church taxes
By Tom Heneghan — April 30, 2019
PARIS (RNS) — Despite a noted lack of attendance on Sundays, Western Europeans don't mind paying to keep established churches open, according to a new survey by the Pew Research Center.
You’re giving how much money to Notre Dame?!?!
By Jeffrey Salkin — April 19, 2019
Nothing wrong, and everything right, with people giving to Notre Dame. But, please: perspective.
How Jews can mourn for Notre Dame
By Jeffrey Salkin — April 16, 2019
(RNS) — 'If you are looking for a spark, sift through the ashes.' That is the meaning of faith in our world. Especially now.
Notre Dame, long a symbol of Catholicism in Europe, becomes a picture of its collapse
By Thomas Reese — April 15, 2019
(RNS) — In recent decades, Notre Dame was more a tourist destination than a place of pilgrimage or a seat of Catholic potency.
Shattered statues and satanic symbols mark rise in attacks on French church
By Tom Heneghan — April 2, 2019
PARIS (RNS) — Church fires and decapitated statues are among a rising number of anti-Christian acts of vandalism in France. Such incidents were up 21 percent in 2018.
Anti-Semitism is on the rise in France
By Jax Jacobsen — March 7, 2019
PARIS (RNS) — In the past two months, swastikas have been scrawled on posters of Holocaust survivor and French national hero Simone Veil, who is interred in the Pantheon. A grove of trees planted to honor the memory of Ilan Halimi, a 23-year-old French Jew who was kidnapped, tortured and killed, was vandalized.
French court convicts cardinal of not reporting child abuse
By Nicolas Vaux-Montagny — March 7, 2019
LYON, France (AP) — French Cardinal Philippe Barbarin said Thursday he will offer his resignation to Pope Francis, after a court found Barbarin guilty of failing to report allegations of sexual abuse of minors by a priest.
Bombshell book alleges a Vatican gay subculture, hypocrisy
By Nicole Winfield — February 15, 2019
PARIS (AP) — Equal parts investigative journalism and salacious gossip, Martel paints a picture of an institution almost at war with itself.
