Briefs: The World

Roman Catholics and Protestants in Belgium are protesting a bill that would legalize euthanasia even for conditions that are not terminal, such as mental illness. Some are calling for increased palliative care instead of euthanasia. According to a poll published in the newspaper La Libre Belgique, about 72 percent of Belgians support euthanasia. The bill, currently in the Belgian Senate, could be adopted by the end of the year. The Evangelical Alliance of Flanders opposes the measure.

The Roman Catholic Church recently announced that it will no longer accept the baptisms of Mormons who convert to Catholicism. Citing serious deficiencies in Mormon theology, especially regarding the Trinity, the church says future converts will be rebaptized. The Presbyterian Church (USA) and the United Methodist Church also have declined to accept Mormon baptisms. The Roman Catholic Church accepts Protestant baptisms. Craig Blomberg, a professor at Denver Seminary and coauthor of How Wide the Divide? (InterVarsity, 1997), says that Mormons do not accept the baptisms of converts from Christian churches. “To my knowledge none of the mainline Protestant denominations nor the evangelical denominations have ever issued a statement accepting the lds [Latter-day Saints] church as fully Christian or accepting their baptisms as valid,” Blomberg told Christianity Today.

Baptist, Pentecostal, and other Protestant churches in Serbia say a proposed law on religion would discriminate against them (CT, Aug. 6, p. 28). Serbia’s Ministry of Religion recognizes only the Serbian Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, Lutheran and Reformed churches, and Islamic and Jewish communities as “historical and traditional.” The law, which may be voted on by November, would allow these religious bodies to provide religious education in schools.