Germany
Congo-born priest resigns from German parish after racist threats
By Rosie Scammell — March 8, 2016
(RNS) Olivier Ndjimbi-Tshiende was harassed after he criticized a local politician who talked about an “invasion” of Eritrean refugees.
German churches tone down refugee welcome as problems mount
By Tom Heneghan — February 12, 2016
PARIS (RNS) The shifting emphasis from religion to realpolitik marked the end of an unusual period during which many Germans took a firm moral stand to help the desperate refugees.
Reprint of Hitler’s ‘Mein Kampf’ unleashes row in Germany
By Reuters — December 23, 2015
In January the 2,000-page, two-volume work will go on sale after about three years of labor by scholars at Munich's Institute for Contemporary History.
American Christians could take a lesson from Angela Merkel (COMMENTARY)
By Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons — December 10, 2015
(RNS) Chancellor Angela Merkel has some advice for defensive and fearful Germans who are concerned about Muslim immigration: Go back to church. That’s good advice for American Christians as well.
Germany’s Merkel urges refugees to reject anti-Semitism
By Reuters — December 4, 2015
BERLIN: The chancellor, speaking at the Jewish Museum in Berlin, said fighting discrimination is a German value that refugees should adopt.
After uproar, German town warms to refugees who took over church
By Reuters — November 26, 2015
When news of the plan to house 50 refugees in the church and suspend Sunday services spread through the town, angry residents pressed church and city officials to reconsider. But nearly a month on, the uproar has died down and residents are beginning to warm to the refugees.
German Protestant church’s scandalous idea rocks evangelical community
By Tom Heneghan — October 30, 2015
(RNS) An initiative to quit converting Muslim refugees by the mainline Rhineland church prompted a sharp response from Germany’s small evangelical movement.
Europe’s refugee crisis stirs consciences, but responses vary
By Tom Heneghan — September 9, 2015
PARIS (RNS) The leading voices in Europe welcoming the asylum seekers are Pope Francis, who urged all Catholic parishes to take in at least one refugee family, and Chancellor Angela Merkel, the daughter of a Lutheran pastor.
Diocese wants to hold ‘bling’ bishop accountable for excesses
By Tom Heneghan — July 24, 2015
PARIS (RNS) His German Catholic diocese wants to make him responsible for almost $5 million in losses incurred during the luxury makeover of his residence and office.
‘Bookkeeper of Auschwitz,’ who admitted ‘moral guilt,’ convicted in German trial
By Reuters — July 15, 2015
The 94-year-old man was convicted as accessory to the murder of 300,000 people and sentenced to four years in prison, in what could be one of the last big Holocaust trials.
Inside a dying German church, a new synagogue rises
By Sumi Somaskanda — April 17, 2015
COTTBUS, Germany (RNS) With the city’s backing and unanimous support among evangelical leaders, state officials offered to buy the church for the Jewish community and turn it into a synagogue -- the first in the State of Brandenburg since 1938.
Despite rising anti-Semitism, Jews thrive in central Europe
By Katarina Wecker — March 24, 2015
BERLING — A trend obscured by rising anti-Semitism and terror attacks in France and Denmark that have alienated Jews: In central and Eastern Europe, Jewish life is thriving.
Muslim teachers can wear headscarves in German schools, court says
By Reuters — March 13, 2015
BERLIN (Reuters) The court ruled that religious symbols could only be banned when they posed "not just an abstract but a concrete risk of disruption in schools."
German court rules for gay Muslim man threatened with death by his family
By Reuters — March 13, 2015
BERLIN (Reuters) Nasser El-Ahmad said his Muslim father vowed to slit his throat and his uncle threatened to burn him after dousing him with gas because they could not allow him to be gay.
German Jews advised to shun skullcaps in Muslim areas
By Reuters — February 26, 2015
BERLIN (REUTERS) Josef Schuster of the Central Council of Jews said Jews should not hide out of fear but that in some areas it was better not to be recognized.
