Religion and children

Something of a war has broken out in the Church of Greece after an Athens priest enlisted the help of two girls from his congregation to fill in for the altar boys in the Pentecostal liturgy.

Morning prayer and church attendance by pupils in kindergarten and primary school do not violate the Greek Constitution and therefore it is legal to keep them in place, the Council of State said on Friday.

A debate in Croatia on the role of the powerful Catholic Church has reopened as Catholic priests hold prayers for the new school year in a number of public schools.

However, the country's Science and Education Ministry says any decisions to invite clergy to bless the new school year in schools lie in the hands of school directors, the news site Index reported on Monday.

A fiery debate has been sparked in Turkey over the alleged use of the ancient city of Ephesus in the Aegean province of İzmir for wedding and circumcision ceremonies and other events, with the Culture and Tourism Ministry stressing that only cultural and touristic ceremonies are allowed at the site.

A very attractive way to keep the children close to the church found a priest from Peloponnese. He decided to give a prize to the kids who will attend the Sunday School. “If the children attend Sunday School without absence, at the end they will be included in a ballot for a tablet”, the priest from Taraboura region in Patra said leaving everyone speechless.

Once upon a time, there was a country where fundamental norms of democratic governance were pushed aside to satisfy the ambitions of an absolute ruler. The supreme leader, who, like an opinionated mother-in-law, had an idea about everything and knew far better than anyone else about what to buy, what to sell and even how many kids a couple should have, was also very talented at making mountains

A Florida woman who fled to avoid the circumcision of her son remained behind bars Friday while her attorney sought a restraining order against the boy?s father to keep the surgery from proceeding.
                   

Three Turkish little brothers, who carry their father’s admiration for the all-time football star Diego Armando Maradona in their first names, were circumcised in the northwestern province of Balıkesir Aug. 6.

Father Tekin Şentürk and mother Sevcan Şentürk told Anatolia Agency they were happy to hold the circumcision ceremony at their house.