Thrissur, India (ENI). As attacks on Christian targets in several parts of India assume epidemic proportions, church leaders have complained of efforts to "whitewash" anti-Christian violence as simply a problem of "law and order". India's Christians are shocked and anxious not only over violence directed against them and against church buildings, but also by the frequent support given by politicians to perpetrators of the violence. [959 words, ENI-00-0207]

Canada's Anglican leader issues letter on court cases to his congregations

Vancouver (ENI). In a letter read to all congregations of the Anglican Church of Canada on 28 May, the church's Primate, Archbishop Michael Peers, has outlined the financial crisis which may engulf the church because of hundreds of pending court cases. [1430 words, ENI-00-0208]

Women churchgoers 'face growing difficulty in finding partner'

London (ENI). Many committed Christian women are being forced to stay single because of the lack of eligible men within their churches, research has shown. The prospects of finding a partner get poorer with age as women increasingly outnumber men in church congregations. There are more than twice as many women as men overall in British churches, according to Lorraine Kingsley, who wrote an article, Looking for Mr Right, in Christianity magazine. [650 words, ENI-00-0209]

30 May 2000

New York (ENI). The National Council of Churches (NCC), the biggest ecumenical agency in the United States, will consider setting up an organisation bringing together all major Christian confessions, including Roman Catholics and conservative Evangelical denominations which are not members of the NCC. [1271 words, ENI-00-0206]

29 May 2000

London (ENI). John Vickers, the editor of a newly published reference book of Methodism, admits that he "spread out a bit on Wesley", but otherwise he tried to keep entries compact. The result is his Dictionary of Methodism in Britain and Ireland, 438 pages long and containing about 1900 entries, 351 of them written by Vickers himself. The publishers say the book is the first comprehensive guide to Methodism in the two countries. Vickers and his editorial committee found it a struggle to hold the balance among the four sorts of entries: people, events, places and doctrines. He hopes the balance is "about right". [851 words, ENI-00-0205]

26 May 2000

Warsaw (ENI). Leaders of minority churches in Greece have expressed support for a government proposal to scrap the obligatory indication of religious affiliation on citizens' identity cards. However, the proposed reform is vigorously opposed by the (Orthodox) Church of Greece and by many politicians and may well prove unpopular with many Greeks. A spokeswoman for the Church of Greece in Athens told ENI that belonging to the Orthodox Church was "part of being Greek". The Church of Greece is about to issue an official statement about the identity card issue. [1114 words, ENI-00-0203]

Sri Lanka's churches pray for peace as war rages around Jaffna

Thrissur, India (ENI). As Sri Lanka's army struggles to halt a fierce onslaught from Tamil rebels in the north of the country, churches are praying for peace and giving their support to continuing efforts to end the conflict. "Round-the-clock prayers are being said in churches by turn," the president of the National Christian Council (NCC) of Sri Lanka, Roy Rebeira, told ENI in a telephone interview on 24 May from Colombo, the capital. He added: "We have signed a statement today urging all churches to observe 16 June as a day of prayer for peace." [886 words, ENI-00-0204]

25 May 2000

New York (ENI). John Shelby Spong, the retired Episcopal (Anglican) bishop whose name has become synonymous with "controversy" because of his radical views, is to write a column on religion and sexuality for a new website - theposition.com - which is now under construction and due to be launched on 5 June. Bishop Spong will argue in his first column that the Ten Commandments were written, in part at least, to sexually repress women. [745 words, ENI-00-0202]

24 May 2000

Vancouver (ENI). Twenty-six Anglican and Roman Catholic leaders from 13 countries, meeting for five days (15 to 19 May) near Toronto, Canada, in an effort to continue healing their 466-year-old rift, have decided to set up a commission to explore ways to reunite the two churches. The meeting also gave rise to hope that the Vatican may one day recognise Anglican ordinations. [1149 words, ENI-00-0200]

Churches distance themselves from attempted coup in Fiji

Suva (ENI). Some of Fiji's churches have cautiously distanced themselves from the bid to overthrow the elected government which has brought chaos to the capital, Fiji, and focussed international attention on the ethnic divisions in this Pacific nation. On Friday 19 May armed soldiers in civilian clothing led by Fijian businessman George Speight, took the prime minister, Mahendra Chaudhry, and other politicians hostage at Fiji's parliament in Suva, the capital. [1065 words, ENI-00-0201]

23 May 2000

Geneva (ENI). Co-operation between two of the world's main Protestant church organisations could be considerably increased, if a proposal by Germany's Lutheran churches is accepted. The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) - the world's main Lutheran church organisation - has been invited to hold its next assembly in Germany in 2003. The LWF's German National Committee said last week that it hoped that the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, the world's main Reformed church organisation, would hold its assembly in Germany at the same time as the LWF gathering. However an LWF official appeared to rule out the possibility of simultaneous assemblies in the near future. [642 words, ENI-00-0197]

'You cannot buy peace of mind in a shop,' Dalai Lama tells Denmark

Copenhagen (ENI). The Dalai Lama, spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists, speaking at a Lutheran service in Denmark, has praised the values shared by the world's main religions, but has condemned Western consumerism. At a service in a church in central Copenhagen on 19 May, the 67-year-old Dalai Lama, whose name means "Ocean of Wisdom", told the congregation: "All religions can help humanity because all religions talk about love, forgiveness, discipline and truthfulness. [912 words, ENI-00-0198]

Australian politicians come to watch as former politician turns priest

Melbourne (ENI). In a highly secular country like Australia, an ordination rarely attracts national headlines. But across the continent, newspapers have carried pictures of the Catholic Church's newest priest, Michael Tate, robed and ready for his new life. The reason for the strong interest by the media and the public in Tate's ordination is his past career as a politician, which he has now given up for the church. [680 words, ENI-00-0199]

22 May 2000

London (ENI). An English cathedral which has become a symbol of international reconciliation has awarded its peace price to a German nobleman and former United Nations official who resigned in protest at UN sanctions on Iraq. Count Hans von Sponeck, who is the winner of the 2000 Coventry Peace Prize, is a diplomat with more than 30 years' service in the UN including the post of former assistant secretary-general. [854 words, ENI-00-0194]

Churches complain as Pakistan government backtracks on blasphemy law

Thrissur, India (ENI). Pakistan's military ruler, General Pervez Musharraf, has changed his mind about amending a controversial law on blasphemy against Islam which is strongly criticised by Christians and other religious minorities in Pakistan. Christians have accused the general of giving in to Islamist groups which have brought pressure to bear to prevent any change to the blasphemy law. [816 words, ENI-00-0195]

Donald Coggan: an archbishop in a hurry who left his mark

London (ENI). The former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord (Donald) Coggan, who died on 17 May aged 90, earned the nickname "an old man in a hurry" because of his relatively brief tenure as the head of the Anglican Communion and his determination to achieve great things. Dr Coggan was nearing 65, with only five years to go to mandatory retirement, when he became Archbishop of Canterbury, thus becoming head of the world-wide Anglican Communion. Archbishop Coggan, however, left his mark as the holder of the See of Canterbury from 1974 to 1980. [700 words, ENI-00-0196]

19 May 2000

New York (ENI). The newly-elected general secretary of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) - criticising what she says is deepening political and economic stagnation - claims that the Philippines is slowly returning to "the dark days" of corruption and possibly even martial law that her nation experienced under Ferdinand Marcos in the 1970s and 1980s. Speaking early this month at New York's Interchurch Center, and afterwards in an interview with ENI, Sharon Rose Joy Ruiz-Duremdez, the first woman to head the NCCP, was unsparing in her criticism of Philippines President Joseph Estrada, the actor-turned-politician who, Duremdez claimed, has restored Marcos "cronies" to power and adopted a presidential style of governing that "resembles Marcos-era authoritarianism". [842 words, ENI-00-0191]

British prince says only a sense of the sacred can save us from disaster

London (ENI). Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, has urged the world to "rediscover a sense of the sacred" as it faces the needs of sustainable development and the dilemmas of genetic engineering. "If literally nothing is held sacred any more - because it is considered synonymous with superstition or in some other way 'irrational' - what is there to prevent us treating our entire world as some 'great laboratory of life' with potentially disastrous long-term consequences?" the Prince of Wales asked in a radio talk on 17 May in the BBC's prestigious Reith Lectures series. [839 words, ENI-00-0092]

Arrests put tragic church bombing of 1963 back in the headlines

New York, 19 May (ENI )--Two former members of the Ku Klux Klan, the white supremacist group, have been charged with murdering four black girls, aged between 11 to 14 in a 1963 church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama. [564 words, ENI-00-0193]

18 May 2000

Copenhagen, Denmark/East London, South Africa (ENI). A leading official in a Danish church agency that funded Allan Boesak's work in the 1980s has expressed both relief and sadness at the three-year gaol term imposed on the South African anti-apartheid campaigner for fraud and theft. "I was relieved by the court ruling, but at the same time deeply saddened," Christian Balslev-Olesen, general secretary of DanChurchAid, told ENI. Balslev-Olesen, one of several Scandinavian agency officials who gave evidence for the prosecution against Boesak, added: "Allan Boesak and I were close friends for many years, and what he has done amounts to a profound breach of a relationship based on trust." [1576 words, ENI-00-0189]

Philippine church mourns death of first woman bishop

Manila (ENI). An outpouring of affection, admiration, and a sense of great loss have followed news of the death of Bishop Nelinda Primavera-Briones on10 May, three months before her 50th birthday. Also known as "Bishop Ellen" and "Ate Ellen" (older sister Ellen), Bishop Briones was the first woman bishop of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP). She died of a heart attack after a long drive from Manila to Iriga City, about 400 kilometres south of the Philippine capital. [601 words, ENI-00-0190]

17 May 2000

New York (ENI). As was widely expected, the Vatican has named Edward Egan, Bishop of Bridgeport, Connecticut, as the new archbishop of New York, succeeding the late Cardinal John O'Connor. The announcement last week came as no surprise, particularly since 68-year-old Bishop Egan served as auxiliary bishop under Archbishop O'Connor from 1985 to 1988. Like Archbishop O'Connor, Bishop Egan is a Vatican loyalist who is expected to uphold traditional church teaching on such issues as abortion and homosexuality. He is also widely praised as a person of firm views with strong administrative and financial skills. [675 words, ENI-00-0187]

50 faith groups support Million Mom March to halt America's gun culture

Washington DC (ENI). More than 50 faith groups participated in the Million Mom March, an event which attracted 500 000 people to the US capital on 14 May, Mothers' Day, to demand tougher laws on the ownership and use of guns. In addition, smaller marches took place in more than 65 cities across the US. Many mass killings, including some at schools, have made gun ownership one of the most controversial issues in the US. While gun owners and manufacturers insist that every citizen has a right to self-defence, and thus to have access to firearms, opponents point to statistics showing huge numbers of deaths brought about by a proliferation of gun ownership. [742 words, ENI-00-0188]

16 May 2000

Warsaw (ENI). A Polish Roman Catholic priest who barricaded himself into his church to avoid being deported from Belarus has accused the country's rulers of trying to "subordinate the church". [912 words, ENI-00-0183]

Married Catholic priests? An issue that will run and run

London (ENI). The newly installed leader of the four million Roman Catholics in England and Wales has indicated that he believes debate over the possibility of married priests within his church is not over. [672 words, ENI-00-0184]

Despite 200 arrests, United Methodists make little change on gay policies

Cleveland (ENI). Despite two weeks of heated debate and the arrest of more than 200 people during its international convention here, the second-biggest US Protestant denomination has made little change to its conservative policy on the most controversial issue facing the church - homosexuality. But gay rights activists promise that their campaign for full inclusion in the life of the church will escalate in coming months. [1304 words, ENI-00-0185]

United Methodists tell Washington to ban guns

Cleveland (ENI). The United Methodist Church has fired a shot right into the core of America's bitter political debate over guns. In an overwhelming vote that surprised even a woman who helped write the church bill, the denomination last week passed a resolution urging a government ban on the ownership of guns, not only in the US, but also in other countries where the church has a presence. [696 words, ENI-00-0186]

15 May 2000

East London (ENI). Former anti-apartheid activist Allan Boesak this morning reported to a Cape Town prison to start a three-year sentence for theft and fraud. The former clergyman - who in the 1980s was widely respected by churches and ecumenical organisations world-wide that poured money into his anti-apartheid fund - will live in a communal cell, with no special privileges, according to the prison authorities. [907 words, ENI-00-0181]

Fatima's 3rd secret overshadows historic beatification of two children

Fatima (ENI). A visibly tired but determined Pope John Paul II completed on Saturday, 13 May, his two-day visit to Fatima in Portugal. His long-awaited beatification of Francisco and Jacinta Marto, two of the three children who witnessed the 1917 apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima, was an historic event. They are the first children to be beatified in the history of the Roman Catholic Church who were not martyrs. But the beatification was overshadowed by the partial revelation of Fatima's "third secret", which has been the subject of speculation for decades. [908 words, ENI-00-0182]

11 May 2000

Copenhagen, 11 May (ENI)--The general secretary of DanChurchAid, the development agency of Denmark's Lutheran Church, has strongly attacked the policies of some Western countries which he claims are preventing aid from reaching starving people in Ethiopia. [806 words, ENI-00-0178]

10 May 2000

Geneva (ENI)--Russia's foreign minister, Igor Ivanov, has vigorously defended Moscow's military campaign in Chechnya during a meeting with representatives of the Conference of European Churches (CEC). At the 90-minute meeting with a delegation from CEC's Church and Society Commission (CSC), held last weekend in Moscow, Ivanov complained that outsiders had an inadequate understanding of the history and geography of the Northern Caucasus. After the meeting, CSC moderator David Skidmore, a member of the Church of England, told ENI in a telephone interview from Moscow that the foreign minister had been "very professional, very polite" with the delegation, but "he did most of the talking". Ivanov rejected suggestions that the Russian military had used "disproportionate means" to put down the Chechen guerrillas. [548 words, ENI-00-0176] Canada's ecumenical council elects its first Catholic president

Edmonton (ENI). For the first time in its 56-year history, the Canadian Council of Churches (CCC) has chosen a Roman Catholic as its president. At a meeting in Edmonton from 3 to 5 May, the CCC's 46-member governing board elected André Vallée, Bishop of Hearst in northern Ontario, as its new leader. Canada's biggest church - just over 12 million Canadians claim affiliation with the Catholic Church - became a full member of the CCC in June 1997. The CCC has 19 churches as members. [952 words, ENI-00-0177]

9 May 2000

New Delhi (ENI). Marampudi Joji made history on 30 April when he became the first Dalit archbishop in the Roman Catholic Church in India. Joji was installed as Archbishop of Hyderabad, capital of the state of Andhra Pradesh in southern India, where he is now the leader of 90 000 Catholics. Ironically, however, the installation of Archbishop Joji was conducted by his predecessor, Archbishop Samineni Arulappa, who only weeks before caused much controversy by criticising Joji's appointment in what some have seen as veiled prejudice against Dalits. Despite this, the installation went smoothly, and Archbishop Arulappa urged all present to cooperate fully with the new archbishop. [803 words, ENI-00-0175]

8 May 2000

Pope honours 12 000 modern witnesses to Christianity

Rome (ENI). Pope John Paul II has honoured more than 12 000 members of modern Christianity's different traditions who endured great suffering for their faith. Yesterday's commemoration of "witnesses to the faith in the 20th century" had profound ecumenical significance because the Vatican ceremony included tributes to thousands of non-Catholic Christians. The ceremony took place in the Colosseum in Rome where the ancient Romans watched early Christians being slaughtered for their beliefs. [542 words, ENI-00-0174]

5 May 2000

New York, 5 May (ENI)--Religious leaders in the United States have paid tribute to Cardinal John O'Connor, the Roman Catholic archbishop of New York, who died on 3 May aged 80. Among those paying tribute to Cardinal O'Connor were the leaders of two religious bodies - the Episcopal Church USA and the US National Council of Churches - which generally have taken positions more liberal than those held by Cardinal O'Connor. [821 words, ENI-00-0171]

Zambian churches demand swift action to resolve doctors' strike

Lusaka, Zambia, 5 May (ENI)--Several Zambian church leaders have condemned the way the country's government has handled the problem of over 300 junior doctors who have been on strike since December last year. The Catholic Church has been at the forefront of the criticism, contending that the Zambian government has not been serious in trying to resolve the problems facing the country's health sector. [581 words, ENI-00-0172]

4 May 2000

Warsaw (ENI). Fifty years after all monasteries and convents were forcibly closed by the communist regime in Czechoslovakia, Roman Catholic religious orders of monks and nuns in the Czech Republic have complained that there are still restrictions on monastic life, despite the collapse of communism 10 years ago. The statement was issued for the 50th anniversary of "Action K" - on the night of 13-14 April 1950 - when all 216 men's monasteries in the then Czechoslovakia were suppressed two years after the seizure of power by the Communist Party. [989 words, ENI-00-0169]

Cardinal John O'Connor - an unwavering advocate of Vatican values

Geneva (ENI). While it has often been said that the papacy of Pope John Paul II is largely out-of-step with social, economic and political conditions in the west, Cardinal John O'Connor, the redoubtable archbishop of New York who died last night, 3 May, aged 80, did his very best to make sure every one of America's 55 million Catholics was at least aware of the official Vatican line, even if they chose to overlook it. If O'Connor ever doubted the power of the authoritarian, muscular Catholicism that he embraced, he never admitted it. [1150 words, ENI-00-0170]

3 May 2000

London (ENI). Britain's likely co-operation with a planned US nuclear missile shield has been condemned by members of one of the country's leading Protestant churches, the United Reformed Church (URC). The American missile defence system, dubbed the "new star wars", would create a global network of tracking stations intended to make the United States impervious to nuclear attack from any source. [484 words, ENI-00-0167]

Chicago's cardinal issues warning to visiting Polish priest

Warsaw (ENI). The head of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago has ordered a prominent Polish priest not to make anti-semitic statements during a planned visit to the US city this month. But the warning was dismissed as "stupidity" by a spokesman for the priest, Henryk Jankowski, from Gdansk, who accused the archbishop of "repeating media manipulation". [645 words, ENI-00-0168]

2 May 2000

New Delhi (ENI). Pakistan's military government has promised to make several concessions to ease restrictions on the nation's minority Christian community of about 3 million. The promises have been welcomed by church officials as further signs that last October's military coup d'état has been beneficial for Christians and other minority faith communities in Pakistan, even though the military government led by Chief Executive General Pervez Musharraf has no democratic basis. However, churches in Pakistan are also calling for a swift return to democratic rule. [866 words, ENI-00-0166]

1 May 2000

London (ENI). A senior Church of England bishop has suggested that people who believe in God but do not accept the claims of Christianity might find a "spiritual home" in Judaism. Richard Harries, Bishop of Oxford, said: "Looking at people's spiritual needs, I see a category of people who are natural monotheists and who simply cannot believe Christian claims about Jesus, but who would love to have a spiritual home." [616 words, ENI-00-0165]

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