Ethics · Society · Theology · Mission · Sociology of Religions
As every year, the Director of the International Institute for Religious Freedom and International President of the International Society for Human Rights presented the two German Yearbooks on Religious Freedom (Jahrbuch Religionsfreiheit 2017) and the Yearbook on the Persecution and Discrimination of Christians (Jahrbuch Verfolgung und Diskriminierung von Christen 2017) to Pope Francis personally.
According to the opinion of the evangelical theologian and mission scholar Christof Sauer, the new Apostolic Letter of Pope St. Francis with the title “There is no greater love (maiorem hac dilectionem) – on the offer of life” is to be welcomed, as far as it concerns the definition of a martyr.
Changes in the Catholic Church are encouraging Evangelicals to cooperate with it. The Swiss Evangelical Alliance (SEA) has been working in Bern on a sensational working paper.
After the last general audience with Pope Francis prior to the summer break, the Pakistani human rights lawyer Aneeqa Anthony has presented a painted brick as a symbol for the numerous Christians enslaved in brick factories in Pakistan. The President of the International Council of the International Society for Human Rights (ISHR), Thomas Schirrmacher, and the leader of the ISHR's Department for Religious Freedom, Michaela Koller, arranged the meeting and accompanied the lawyer.