Kerala 2-Child Draft Bill Criticized By Religious Organizations

The Malankara Orthodox Syrian and Malankara Syriac Orthodox Churches are joining other religious organizations in Kerala in criticizing a draft bill on women's rights in the Indian state that would limit couples to having two children in an effort to curb the growth of the state's population. More here.

Metropolitan Hilarion Meets with Representatives of Church and State in Hungary

During a visit to Budapest for an interreligious conference Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev) of Volokolamsk of the Russian Orthodox Church met with the primate of the Roman Catholic Church in Hungary and the Hungarian prime minister to discuss the possibilities for cooperation between the Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches in Hungary and the European Union in the defense of 'family values.' More (in Russian) here.

Children Returned to Serbian-American Family After 8-Month Separation

A Serbian-American family from California has regained custody of its children 8 months after they were taken following the discovery of nude pictures of one of their children on a family computer. The parents were quickly cleared of child pornography charges, but child welfare services refused to return the children, who were also refused access to their parish priest unless the latter spoke to them in English instead of Serbian. The custody battle sparked outrage in Serbia, with the Serbian government funding the parents' legal battle to get their children back. More here.

Moldovan Association Campaigns Against Anti-Discrimination Law

The Association "For Family" in Moldova is campaigning with the support of the Moldovan Orthodox Church against legislation being considered by the government to protect the rights of the country's homosexual minority because it believes that making it a crime to beat up and/or imprison gays and lesbians will destroy the foundations of the family in Moldova in ways that spousal abuse, alcoholism, the abandonment of children, and the moral vacuum that developed during the Soviet era could not. More here.