—The Constitutional Tribunal of Poland voted 9 to 3 on May 28 to declare the nation’s liberalized abortion law unlawful. “From the moment it arises, human life becomes a value which is protected under the constitution,” said tribunal president Andrzej Zoll. Last year, Poland’s Parliament authorized abortion until the twelfth week of pregnancy for women who claimed financial or emotional problems. A two-thirds majority in Parliament can override the court’s decision within six months.
—The Georgian Orthodox Church, meeting in an emergency synod, decided May 20 to withdraw as a member of the Geneva-based World Council of Churches, marking the first time that an Orthodox body has quit the 330-member organization in its 49-year existence. Orthodox in the former Soviet Republic have been concerned about Western Protestant acceptance of ordained women priests and homosexuals.
—J. Daniel Harrison, InterVarsity vice president and director of the Urbana Student Missions Convention for ten years, became international director of Middle East Media in Nicosia, Cyprus, last month.
—For the first time, a minority of German citizens profess a belief in God. A survey in the magazine Der Spiegel found that the number of believers has dropped to 45 percent from 50 percent in the past four years. During the same span, the number of atheists has risen to 28 percent from 20 percent. Only one out of four Germans said they believe in Jesus Christ.
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