Monaco Bars Swiss Evangelist Over Public Cross
Swiss evangelist Stephan Maag, known for walking across Europe with a 40 kg cross to speak about his faith, was detained by police in Monaco, placed in a cell and expelled from the state. Authorities told him that public religious expression was “only allowed inside buildings, but not on public property,” but offered no written explanation and said the orders came “from above.”
Maag has travelled through 28 European countries without major incidents, speaking about God, praying with people, and sharing his faith. In Monaco, police stopped him and a companion, brought them to a station, searched them, and held them in a cell with other detainees. Officers said public religious expression was “only allowed inside buildings, but not on public property,” and that his cross was too large. When asked for a written explanation, police replied that “there was no explanation, that Monaco was a special place, that we had to accept that, pack up and leave.” Maag noted that “nothing like this has ever happened to us in Europe.”
As Maag attempted to appeal to his rights to religious freedom and expression, the officers “became nervous,” went outside, then explained the restrictions applied only to public property, not inside buildings, and added that the cross was too large, suggesting a smaller one would be acceptable. They were ultimately told the directive came “‘from above’ and that they had to dismantle the cross and leave Monaco.” When asked for a written justification, police said “there was no explanation, that Monaco was a special place.”
Sources: evangelicalfocus.com, jesus.ch
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