“Scavenger hunt – around the world with christ”

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Scavenger Hunt – Around the World with Christ © Ralf Gemmecke (KIKA)

The KiKA series "Scavenger Hunt – Around the World with Christ" receives the "Golden Compass" Christian Media Award. The jury praised the creativity of the production and the exemplary way of explanation, the Christian Media Association KEP announced.

The prize will be awarded this Wednesday in Berlin. In the production, the two presenters Bernhard "Ben" Blumel and Amy Mul went on the trail of the Christian faith all over the world: Their journeys took them to Nigeria, to Rome to meet the Pope, to Brazil, to the Luther city of Wittenberg and to other places. The four-part series was first broadcast in Advent 2016. In addition to the two presenters, KiKA editorial director Nonfiktion Matthias Huff and director Christian Heynen receive a Golden Compass. Anna Maria Leistner, Volker Schmidt-Sondermann and Melanie Weib also honored.

"There's no such thing as a little faith: how God is turning my life around"

The deputy editor-in-chief of "BILD Digital," Daniel Bocking, receives an award for his book "Ein bisschen Glauben gibt es nicht: Wie Gott mein Leben umkrempelt" ("There's no such thing as a little faith: How God is turning my life around"). In an honest, appreciative and respectful manner, the journalist, who is a man of all trades, professes his Christian faith, said the jury. The book was preceded by an online article in which Bocking comments on religiously based violence from an explicitly Christian and personal perspective in the face of IS terror. In addition, Kilian Trotier is honored for an article in the weekly newspaper "Die Zeit" entitled "Der Herausforderer". In this "also very personal essay," the author describes how he could not live without Jesus, the jury explained.

Another prize goes to radio journalist Jessica Brautzsch for her cross-media series "Glaubenssache – von der Atheistin zur Christin" (A matter of faith – from atheist to Christian) on MDR Sputnik. In it, she tells how she finds her way to the Christian faith at the age of 28, from her first church visit to her baptism a year later. The jury stated that no question was too delicate for it to answer.

"Valerie and the priest"

Valerie Schonian receives the KEP Young Journalists Award. Schonian had accompanied the priest Franziskus von Boeselager in the blog "Valerie and the Priest" on behalf of the German Bishops' Conference. She asks him questions about the church, faith, why he is a priest, how he feels about sex, abortion and other ies.

The "Golden Compass" is endowed with 2.500 euros, the KEP Young Journalists Award with 1.500 and 500 euros (special prize). Previous winners of the award include presenter Gunther Jauch, golfer Bernhard Langer, CDU politician Volker Kauder and actor Samuel Koch. The award in the form of a compass has existed since 1990. According to the founders, it is awarded to journalists who promote the Christian faith, based on suggestions from viewers and readers. The media association was founded as the "Conference of Evangelical Publicists" (KEP).

Catholic Church in Australia to merge all agencies responsible for protection against sexual abuse into a single institution. A creation of parallel institutions had "not been planned".

Tasks to keep vulnerable adults safe must be fully carried out while avoiding duplication of effort, Archbishop Mark Coleridge, president of the Australian Bishops' Conference, said Monday via the bishops' conference website.

The merger also explicitly concerns the tasks and independence of Catholic Professional Standards Limited (CPSL), which was founded in 2016, according to the statement. The latter, he said, is tasked with protecting children and other vulnerable people from sexual abuse, monitoring the implementation of standards in dioceses and religious orders, and publishing regular audit reports.

Coleridge: No "downplaying" of the Church's determination to protect children

Coleridge explicitly rejected accusations by abuse victims that the church was abolishing the CPSL. It would be a "grave mistake" to see the decision to merge the previous organizations as "belittling" the church's resolve to protect children, the archbishop said.

The various national agencies in addition to the CPSL include the Australian Catholic Centre for Professional Standards, the Implementation Advisory Group and Australian Catholic Redress Limited to advise and coordinate compensation payments by dioceses to victims of sexual abuse. The founding of these institutions stemmed from recommendations of the state abuse commission. The creation of parallel institutions was "not planned". The entities were created without thinking primarily about coordination, Archbishop Coleridge acknowledged.

Live in Lower Saxony, are male, single and between 20 and 39 years old? Then you have luck, celebrate in all probability carefree Christmas and save also still money thereby. Because newest studies prove: Residents in the north of the republic suffer less frequently from "Christmas melancholy". Sounds strange? But is so.

Single men under 40 also attach little importance to more or less expensive holiday decorations such as Advent wreaths, elaborate light installations or Christmas trees. At least if you believe the statistics that come down on the Germans every year before the holidays.

Some findings are so blatantly banal that it's almost comical again. According to a survey by "Apotheken Umschau," a majority of Germans appreciate home-baked goods during Advent. Who would have thought it? While there are no differences between the sexes when it comes to the consumption of butter cookies and cinnamon stars, the production of these delicacies is mostly a female affair, even in our day: According to the study, only one in ten men gets lost in the Christmas bakery.

The purchase of gifts is also mostly on the account of women. This is the result of a recently published Forsa survey. In three out of four partnerships, the ladies provided the gifts, it was said. At least the female interviewees themselves see that in such a way, the opinion researchers limited their finding immediately. Sometimes it's just a matter of numbers. Finally, in the same survey, 43 percent of men also said they were actively involved in the gift selection process.

Those who rush to the city to buy a gift in the crowded pedestrian zones may be on the wrong track. Most people, 56 percent to be exact, are happy to receive homemade gifts, and gift certificates are also very popular with many. It is therefore almost tragic that completely different things end up on German gift tables. Around 53 percent of Germans prefer to give relatives and friends something practical, such as socks or household helpers.

Sausages with potato salt
By the time Christmas comes around, consumers in this country have spent an average of about 244 euros on gifts and look forward to a simple meal on Silent Night. For most of those surveyed, a simple classic dish is on the plate on Christmas Eve, for example sausages with potato salad. A firmly calculated item for the food industry. The consumption of mulled wine and Christmas stollen, on the other hand, still seems to have room for improvement due to the mild weather so far: In September and October, retailers sold 1.2 million stollen and 8.500 hectoliters of mulled wine less than in the same period last year, Focus magazine reported.

Despite this statistical outlier, most German consumers can be relied upon to make a decision. A – real – Christmas tree is very pleasing to a majority, preferably with electric candles, for safety's sake: At the Weihnachtsbaume the lights burn. The only thing missing is an up-to-date list of the most popular Christmas songs. Actually, a nice task for RTL all-purpose weapon Oliver Geiben, who also provides TV viewers with the greatest hits of the 80s and 90s for the rest of the year.

Church services get fuller – at Christmas
Was there anything else? Oh yes – Christians commemorate the birth of Jesus at Christmas. This may sometimes get lost in all the consumer hustle and bustle. But there is also a survey on this topic. For 24 percent, the religious aspect plays a particularly important role. Almost every second German wants to go to church at Christmas. According to an Emnid survey published on Sunday by the news magazine "Focus," 46 percent of Germans plan to do so. That's 6 percent more than last year. Among the over-65s, the proportion of Christmas churchgoers is above average at more than 52 percent.

In contrast, men and women between the ages of 30 and 39 will be the least represented at Christmas services. 62 percent of this age group said they did not want to go to church. According to the survey, 63 percent of Germans believe in God. 59 percent also believe that Jesus is the Son of God. And 48 percent that there is life after death.

Broken down by party preference, belief in God is strongest among Union supporters at 74 percent, but a majority of Greens (61), SPD, (58) and FDP (54) are also believers. Among supporters of the "Die Linke" party, 39 percent believe in God. According to the survey, only one in six Germans regularly reads the Bible. Five percent said they frequently take the Bible in hand. Twelve percent said they read in it now and then. A third of Germans do so rather rarely and half never.

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