Europe

A petition launched last month in opposition to the British government's plans to redefine marriage has been signed by 300,000 people.

The Coalition for Marriage (C4M), the group behind the marriage petition, has described the government's plan as "undemocratic" and said that the consultation launched this month was a "sham."

The British government has faced strong criticism over its plans from Church leaders and pro-family groups. more >>

Mohamed Merah, the gunman who terrorized France and killed seven innocent victims, is dead. Reports state that after a standoff with police, and promising to turn himself in, Merah jumped from a window amid gunfire.

It was a tense standoff between French officials and Merah, who was accused of killing seven French civilians, including three children. Merah had promised to turn himself in to authorities yesterday, after they surrounded his home and arrested his girlfriend and brother in connection with Islamic terrorist groups.

However, things changed drastically when Merah decided to jump from a window in the home; police had no choice but to fire upon Merah. more >>

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, who announced last week that he will be stepping down from his position at the end of December, is facing up to both public support and criticism of many of the decisions he made as head of the worldwide Anglican Communion during his 10-year reign.

For years, Williams has tried to keep the global communion together and prevent the estimated 80 million-member body from splitting.

While the Episcopal Church – the U.S. body of Anglicanism – has seen thousands of members leave over the ordination of openly homosexual bishops and departure from traditional Anglicanism, those breakaway parishioners and parishes have remained aligned with the Anglican Communion. A number of disaffected bishops in the Church of England have, meanwhile, left and joined the Catholic Church. more >>

Philosopher and atheist Alain de Botton, who recently clashed with Richard Dawkins over plans to build a 151-foot atheist temple in London, has spoken out in an interview about his plans to create a public eating space mirrored after the Roman Catholic Mass.

The best-selling Swiss author argues in his new book, Religion for Atheists, that places of contemplation and community, such as temples, are one of the many positive aspects about religion that secular people need to adapt in their daily lives. De Botton is known for rejecting the militant attitude of other famed atheists, such as Dawkins and the late Christopher Hitchens, and recognizes many ways in which religion practices serve and benefit society.

De Botton is helping fund the temple project, which he says will symbolize more than 300 million years of life on Earth and be a place for "love, friendship, calm and perspective." Dawkins, however, argued: "I think there are better things to spend this kind of money on. If you are going to spend money on atheism you could improve secular education and build non-religious schools which teach rational, skeptical critical thinking." more >>

An early-morning shooting has left four dead and five seriously wounded outside a Jewish school in Toulouse, France.

The attack by a lone gunman on a moped left the community of Toulouse, as well as the school of Ozar Hatorah, in shock. "This is a national tragedy. Everything will be done to find who is responsible and to make him pay for his crimes," promised French President Nicholas Sarkozy, who visited the school.

"The man initially used a 9 mm pistol after riding up to the school on his moped. When [the gun] jammed, he used a .45 caliber weapon and chased pupils inside the school. Those who died included a religious studies teacher and his two sons. The man was shooting at everything that appeared in his way. He then escaped on his moped," prosecutor Michael Valet told reporters. more >>

The spiritual head of the Anglican Communion, the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Rowan Williams, announced on Friday that he will be stepping down from his position at the end of December, and take on the role as Master of Magdalene College, a senior role at Cambridge University.

"It has been an immense privilege to serve as Archbishop of Canterbury over the past decade, and moving on has not been an easy decision," Williams said in a statement. He did not give a concrete reason for his decision to retire, noting only that "after 10 years it is proper to pray and reflect and review your options."

The archbishop, who is 61, has been a bishop for 20 years and in his current position for almost 10 years. Although the normal retirement age for Church of England bishops is 70, Reuters reported that he made the decision to step down in what is widely viewed as a turbulent time for the Anglican Communion, amid divisions and debates over homosexuality and women priests. more >>