Belgium is embroiled in a religious freedom controversy after the new head of the country's Roman Catholic Church demanded that faith-run hospitals and nursing homes have the right to refuse euthanasia to patients.
A 2002 law decriminalized euthanasia for terminally ill adults and it has the support of a large majority of public opinion and politicians. But opposition in this historically Catholic country has grown as lawmakers extended the practice to including terminally ill children and people with severe psychological problems.
WHEATON, Ill. – Protests and prayer marked the first day of the spring semester at Wheaton College after an acrimonious holiday break during which the evangelical school pushed ahead with termination proceedings against a tenured professor who said Muslims and Christians worship the same God.
Despite wind chills dipping below zero, several dozen students gathered on the steps of the evangelical school's Edman Memorial Chapel Monday (Jan. 11) with signs reading, "Academic Rigor = Academic Freedom." Others chanted "Reinstate Doc Hawk" over the ringing of the chapel bells.
