Bishops Decry European Hostility Towards Christianity

First, Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver:

Denver's Chaput Flogs Europe, Saying It Is Forsaking Christianity
By Jean Torkelson, Rocky Mountain News
June 10, 2005

Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput waved a red flag before an -international audience Thursday in Spain, accusing Europe of growing religious intolerance and abusing Christianity.

"Europe has given the whole world the seeds of democracy," he told government ministers from 55 nations, according to a text of his speech. "Today's growing anti-religious and often anti-Christian spirit undermines that witness."

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In his address, Chaput traced Europe's Christian roots and decried abandonment of that heritage by the continent's prevailing culture.

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Chaput cited legal restrictions of religious expression and open contempt of religious symbols.

"Programs like How To Cook a Crucifix (a show aired on Spanish TV last December), and sacramental confessions recorded without the confessor's knowledge are deeply contemptuous of Catholic believers," Chaput said.

"This is unworthy of Europe's moral dignity and religious heritage. Furthermore, it stands in stark contrast to OSCE commitments to promote religious freedom."

Chaput said "an equally dangerous trend" was state-encouraged ridicule and intolerance of public expressions of faith, often derided as fundamentalism.

And then, Archbishop Antonio Canizarez of Toledo, Spain:

Vatican Envoy Denounces Anti-Christian Bias in Europe

Cordoba, Jun. 14 (CWNews.com) - The Holy See has called for an end to discrimination against Christians, and all other religious believers, in Europe.

At a meeting of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Cordoba, Spain, the Vatican delegation headed by Archbishop Antonio Canizarez of Toledo observed that "intolerance and discrimination against Christians and members of other religions are troubling phenomena." The Holy See's representatives said that such discrination should be rooted out "with the same determination with which we combat anti-Semitism and discrimination against Muslims."