Patriarch Kirill continues to speak against Christianophobia

(RIA Novosti) - The head of the Russian Orthodox Church on Thursday called on the world to expose cases of bias and discrimination against Christians in Europe.

"We should realize today that Christianophobia is taking place in many countries," Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, who is winding up his three-day visit to Armenia, said in the Yerevan State University.

A website hosted by the NGO Europe for Christ http://www.christianophobia.eu, explains the notion "Christianophobia" as "intolerance and discrimination against Christians." "The term means... irrational animosity towards or hatred of Christians, or Christianity in general," the website says.

Some people think that as Europe strives for implementation of human rights and freedoms, it sometimes selectively understands the notions of rights and tolerance, providing in reality more opportunities to some groups in society to the detriment of others.

In February 2009, the Daily Telegraph cited a survey showing two-thirds of the Church of England General Synod believe Christians are discriminated against in the workplace. As an example, the paper cited the suspension of a community nurse after she offered to pray for a patient's recovery.

Kirill said many states now wrongly interpret the notion "human rights" and promote the viewpoint that if "religion can't ensure the rights of all minorities," then it should be withdrawn from public life. The patriarch cited last year's ban on crucifixes in Italy.

In November 2009, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that crucifixes in Italian schools insult the feelings of children belonging to other faiths and atheists, and said the authorities should remove the Christian symbols. Italy's government said it will appeal the ruling.

The Russian Church leader said that it is very dangerous to oust religion from public life. "I think all Christian churches should unite to expose this phenomenon and prevent Christian values from being ousted from the life of modern Europe and the entire world," he said.

Earlier Patriarch Kirill strongly criticized the rise of homosexual partnerships and euthanasia.

"Homosexuality is a topic that has stopped worrying Europeans. A lawful marriage is equal to a homosexual one - that is how they understand freedom of choice there," Kirill said in September 2009.

"An English baroness, a philosopher, proposes that old people commit suicide so as not to burden their near and dear with worries. Each person is creating his own reference frame," the patriarch said then, praising European values but warning that Europe should not "break away from its religious roots."

Baroness Mary Warnock said in an interview with the Church of Scotland's magazine Life and Work in 2008: "If you're demented, you're wasting people's lives - your family's lives - and you're wasting the resources of the National Health Service."