Russian Orthodox Church opposes becoming state religion
July 19, 2011
A spokesman for the Moscow Patriarchate has announced that the patriarchate would oppose efforts to name Russian Orthodoxy the state religion.
"We do not want [the Church] to become part of the state apparatus, state machinery, to assume secular functions," said Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, who leads the Synodal Department for Church and Society Relations.
The spokesman's remarks followed a recent poll showing that 30% of Russians are in favor of Orthodoxy becoming the state religion.
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Irish columnist snaps back at anti-Church hysteriaJuly 19, 2011
Since the publication of the Cloyne report, politicians and pundits in Ireland have lashed out against the Catholic Church, calling for tough new laws. Columnist Kevin Myers of the Irish Independent has had enough:
Let's be clear. There has never been a safer time or place for children than modern Ireland. A Catholic priest is as likely to sexually abuse a child today as he is to organise bullfights in a confessional. Introducing major legislation to prevent fresh child abuse is like revisiting the Repeal of the Corn Laws.
Addressing the threat of a new law that would require priests to report child abuse even when they learned about it in the confessional, Myers puts his finger on the emerging bias against the Church:
But will those who argue that the confidentiality of the confessional is not sacrosanct extend this same logic to include journalists, lawyers, doctors and psychiatrists?
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