31 July 2000

Church meeting calls for UN intervention to halt violence in Indonesia

Bangalore (ENI). The World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) has urged Indonesia and United Nations "to do whatever is necessary to restore peace and security" in troubled areas of the south-east Asian nation. Expressing concern over "crimes against humanity in the Maluku, Halmahera and Central Sulawesi" islands of eastern Indonesia, WARC's executive committee urged, in an official statement, that the United Nations send a team of observers and peace-keepers to the troubled regions and begin an "urgent evacuation airlift for people in danger". [561 words, ENI-00-0292]

28 July 2000

Bielefeld (ENI). Germany's mainstream churches - Protestant and Roman Catholic - have declared their opposition to a plan by the German federal government to legalise homosexual partnerships. The two partners in the German government, the SPD (Social Democrat Party) and the Green Party, have, in keeping with an agreement of two years ago when they came to power, introduced a bill to legalise the partnerships of same-sex couples. [780 words, ENI-00-0289]

Orthodox-Catholic relations at an impasse after Baltimore talks

Warsaw, 28 July (ENI)-High-level talks between the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches which ended in the United States last week were marred by "methodological deficiencies" and a "polemical atmosphere", leaving relations between the two Christian communions at a dead-end, according to an expert on ecumenism who took part. Professor Waclaw Hryniewicz, a Catholic theologian and director of the Ecumenical Institute at Poland's Catholic University of Lublin, said that the leaders of Catholic and Orthodox churches now appeared "unwilling or hesitant" to recognise their churches as "sister churches". Future ecumenical dialogue would depend on better relations at the local level, particularly in Eastern Europe. [1121 words, ENI-00-0290]

27 July 2000

London, 27 July (ENI)-Young black people want to move from Britain to the United States because they can advance in the US, despite its reputation for racism, according to a Jamaican racial justice campaigner who has spent the past three years working for a British church. Marjorie Lewis-Cooper, a United Church minister from Jamaica, said: "There is racism in the US, but blacks go there because [social] mobility is not blocked." She said that Britain compared unfavourably, with racism, sexism and a class system - an "unstated caste system" - still in evidence. [692 words, ENI-00-0287]

After Zimbabwe's divisive poll, ecumenical leader aims for reconciliation

Harare, 27 July (ENI)-The head of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe, Bishop Ambrose Moyo, has been elected president of the Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC), the nation's leading ecumenical organisation. The bishop's election comes at a crucial point in the history of this southern African nation. The government of President Robert Mugabe won only a narrow majority in recent parliamentary elections, poverty and corruption are rampant, the HIV-Aids virus is devastating the population and President Mugabe has managed to alienate the international community, particularly Britain, by his policies, including a decision to remove white farmers from their properties without paying them compensation. [643 words, ENI-00-0288]

26 July 2000

Bangalore, 26 July (ENI)-The world's leading Reformed church organisation - the World Alliance of Reformed Churches - celebrated its 125th anniversary on 21 July at St Mark's Cathedral in Bangalore, capital of the southern Indian state of Karnataka. WARC traces its origins to 21 July 1875 when churches holding the Presbyterian system of church rule formed an alliance in London. Dr Setri Nyomi, WARC's general secretary, reminded the congregation of the alliance's growth "from its humble beginnings" to its present stature with 215 member churches and 75 million people in 108 countries. [572 words, ENI-00-0285]

Sexuality debate splits New Zealand's Methodist Church

Wellington, 26 July (ENI)-Aotearoa/New Zealand has a new Christian denomination following the decision of several congregations to leave the Methodist Church. Almost three weeks ago, at a service in a Catholic church in Auckland, five Methodist congregations officially launched the New Zealand (NZ) Wesleyan Methodist Church. Another congregation also resigned from the Methodist Church and formed a community church. Division among the nation's Methodists began seven years ago when the Methodist Church decided to end discrimination within the church on the basis of sexuality. This decision sparked a major debate within the church. [669 words, ENI-00-0286]

25 July 2000

Guatemala City, 25 July (ENI)-Guatemalans who want to know who killed Roman Catholic Bishop Juan Gerardi will have to wait a little longer. Or, in the view of many here, probably a lot longer. The auxiliary bishop of Guatemala City, Juan Gerardi was murdered in April 1998, just two days after releasing a landmark report on violations of human rights during the country's civil war, which ended in 1996. [1156 words, ENI-00-0283]

Fight globalisation or be 'dehumanised', theologian tells churches

Bangalore, India, 25 July (ENI)-A leading Christian theologian has urged churches to take tougher action against globalisation and not merely engage in "a war of words against it". Globalisation, and its negative effects, particularly on the population of the developing world, have been frequently been attacked by churches and related organisations in both the industrialised world of Western Europe/North America and in the developing nations of Africa, Asia and Latin America. Addressing 70 delegates and staff attending the executive committee meeting of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) as it began on 21 July in Bangalore in southern India, Professor Choan-Seng Song, WARC's president, described globalisation as the "relentless pursuit of [a system of] politics almost entirely dictated by economic domination in this post-Cold War era". [684 words, ENI-00-0284]

24 July 2000

London, 24 July (ENI)-The campaign for the cancellation of the debts of the world's poor suffered a setback when the Group of Eight nations (the seven leading creditor nations, plus Russia) meeting in Okinawa, Japan, announced no extra measures for debt relief for the world's neediest nations. Speaking from Okinawa, Martin Drewry, head of campaigns for the leading development charity Christian Aid, told ENI: "The outcome was worse than anticipated. My feelings are a mixture of disappointment, anger and frustration." For debt campaigners, disappointment at the outcome of the summit was compounded by anger at its $750 million cost. This was reported to be more than 10 times the cost of the Cologne summit, while the 1998 summit in Birmingham, England, cost $10 million. [884 words, ENI-00-0281]

'Thorny' issue proves to be an obstacle for Catholic-Orthodox commission

New York, 24 July (ENI)-A joint theological commission of Roman Catholic and Orthodox clerics and theologians has concluded 10 days of meetings in the United States, but was unable to resolve a controversy that has been brewing between the two churches since the end of the Cold War. The meeting of the Joint International Commission for the Theological Dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, held at Mount St Mary's College and Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland, from 9 to 19 July, centred on the controversy over the Eastern Catholic churches that are linked to the Pope, but practise Eastern liturgy, similar to Orthodox rites. [712 words, ENI-00-0282]

21 July 2000

Jerusalem (ENI). The leaders of three of Jerusalem's principal churches have appealed to the parties at the Camp David Middle East summit in the United States not to separate the city's Christian communities as part of a future peace settlement. The heads of the Greek Orthodox, Catholic and Armenian Apostolic churches in Jerusalem have set out their concerns in a joint letter to US President Bill Clinton, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. [753 words, ENI-00-0279]

Catholic archbishop defends decision to allow priest to remain in ministry

London (ENI). Four months after his installation as Roman Catholic leader in England and Wales, Archbishop Cormac Murphy O'Connor has vigorously defended his record as bishop, following public criticisms of his decision, in the 1980s, to allow a priest suspected of child abuse to continue working for the church. [616 words, ENI-00-0280]

20 July 2000

Baltimore (ENI). The first woman ever elected as bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in the United States says she wants to be remembered as one who opened the door of church leadership to black Christian women around the world. [786 words, ENI-00-0277]

German church confesses it used forced labourers during war

Bielefeld, Germany, 20 July (ENI)--The Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), Germany's main Protestant body, and the main Protestant social-service organisation are to contribute 10 million Deutschmarks (US$4.7 million) to a compensation fund launched this week for forced labourers brought to Germany during the Nazi era. In a statement announcing their decision the EKD and Diakonisches Werk admitted that forced labourers had been used in church parishes and diaconal institutions, such as church-run hospitals. [1076 words, ENI-00-0278]

19 July 2000

Geneva (ENI). As more reports emerge of Indonesian army involvement in Muslim attacks on Christians in the Maluku islands, churches and related agencies in Indonesia and around the world are calling for swift action to stem the violence which reportedly threatens the region's entire Christian community. At least 28 people have died in fighting in recent days, according to international press reports, in a continuing inter-communal conflict that broke out in January 1999 and has flared up repeatedly since then. Press reports estimate that 4000 people have been killed in the past 18 months as Christians and Muslims have attacked each other. Hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to abandon their homes as villages are re-organised along sectarian lines. [924 words, ENI-00-0275]

Plans to resolve India's interfaith tensions face delays and accusations

New Delhi, 19 July (ENI)-Plans by the National Commission for Minorities (NCM), an autonomous body representing India's religious minorities, to arrange talks between Christian and Hindu groups in the wake of continued attacks on Christian targets have come up against major difficulties, prompting a major debate within churches about dialogue with the fundamentalist Hindu groups which are critical of Christians. [857 words, ENI-00-0276]

18 July 2000

Nairobi (ENI). A man who prompted headlines world-wide in June last year when he assaulted one of Kenya's most prominent clergymen during a protest march has astonished Christians here by publicly repenting for the violent act. [493 words, ENI-00-0274]

17 July 2000

Harare (ENI). A Catholic archbishop fears for his life after being blamed, by Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe, for the ruling party's poor results in Matabeleland, in western Zimbabwe, during last month's parliamentary elections. Out of the 24 parliamentary seats for the west of the country, Zanu PF, Robert Mugabe's party, retained only two. Commenting on the results after the elections, held on 24 and 25 June, President Mugabe publicly singled out Archbishop Pius Ncube, blaming him for the defeat of Zanu PF in the region. [897 words, ENI-00-0273]

14 July 2000

New York, 14 July (ENI)-The Episcopal (Anglican) Church in the United States has formally approved entering into full communion with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The Episcopal House of Deputies, meeting at the Episcopal Church's 73rd general convention in Denver, Colorado, approved the measure for full communion, known as "Called to Common Mission (CCM)", on 8 July by 190 votes to 23, following approval the day before by a nearly unanimous vote of the Episcopal House of Bishops. The measure was approved by the ELCA assembly last year. A joint liturgy to inaugurate the agreement will take place on 6 January at the Washington National Cathedral. [843 words, ENI-00-0269]

US Episcopal Church reaches compromise on gay relationships

New York, 14 July (ENI)-The Episcopal (Anglican) Church in the United States, meeting at its 73rd General Convention in Denver, Colorado, has rejected a proposal to allow, throughout the church, ceremonial rites - "holy unions" - for homosexual couples and other non-married couples. However, the two bodies voting on the resolutions - the House of Bishops and the House of Deputies (priests and laity) - did approve a resolution calling for church support, including pastoral care, for unmarried couples living in faithful, committed relationships. [448 words, ENI-00-0270]

'Condoms are for sensible people,' says Uganda's courageous priest

Durban, 14 July (ENI)-An Anglican priest from Uganda who was Africa's first clergyman to declare that he is HIV-positive has called, during the 13th World Aids conference, for greater openness by churches and others about the virus and the means to prevent infection. Interviewed by ENI during the conference, held in the South African port of Durban, 40-year-old Gideon Byamugisha, said: ''The message we need to get across to the churches is that condoms are not a leeway for immorality. 'The Roman Catholic Church [which officially opposes the use of condoms] is changing without being explicit about it. We did a survey last year in Rakai, one of the worst affected areas of Uganda, and we found that 68 per cent of those using condoms were Catholics. [921 words, ENI-00-0271]

Analysts predict upheaval after Mexico changes political course

Mexico City, 14 July (ENI). Mexico faces a period of enormous political change following the historic victory of Vicente Fox in the country's presidential elections on 2 July, according to political and human rights analysts with ties to the ecumenical community. The victory of Fox - a former Coca-Cola executive and one-time governor of the state of Guanajuato - and the strong showing by the National Action Party (PAN), on whose ticket Fox stood, in congressional elections, brought to an end 71 years of rule by the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). [763 words, ENI-00-0272]

13 July 2000

Geneva (ENI). The general secretary of the World Council of Churches hopes that his organisation can enter into a "new policy dialogue" about poverty eradication with the United Nations. Interviewed by ENI following a major UN conference last month in Geneva on social development, Dr Konrad Raiser, a prominent German theologian, said that he hoped such a dialogue might be possible with appropriate institutions in the UN system, such as the United Nations Development Programme. [718 words, ENI-00-0264]

Churches call for inquiry into Zimbabwe's pre-election violence

Harare (ENI). Church officials in Zimbabwe have backed calls for an investigation into violence in the run-up to last month's parliamentary elections which severely dented President Robert Mugabe's 20-year grip on power. A 100-member team of Ecumenical Peace Observers, sponsored by the Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC) wants a national inquiry into pre-election violence and compensation paid to the victims. [536 words, ENI-00-0265]

Religious and political leaders pay tribute to Robert Runcie

London (ENI). Dr Konrad Raiser, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), has praised the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord (Robert) Runcie, as "a generous and visionary leader", describing his death as a loss to the world-wide ecumenical family. The WCC official's remarks were one of a host of tributes from religious and secular leaders after the death of Robert Runcie - Archbishop of Canterbury from 1980 to 1991 - on 11 July. Dr Runcie's successor at Canterbury, Archbishop George Carey, said of him: "He gave a high priority to the Church of England and to the role of the Archbishop of Canterbury in our world-wide communion." One of the most unexpected tributes came from Lady Thatcher, the former British prime minister whose ideological disagreements with Archbishop Runcie became famous. She described him as a "good, brave man". [946 words]

Ecumenist praises Lord Runcie's enduring legacy for European churches

London (ENI). The historic Meissen agreement between the Church of England and Germany's Lutheran, Reformed and United churches was the personal initiative of Lord (Robert) Runcie, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, who died on July 11, and may have grown out of his experiences in the Second World War, according to one of the church officials who knew him best. [467 words, ENI-00-0267]

Nelson Mandela to receive 2000 World Methodist Peace Award

Geneva (ENI). Nelson Mandela, the former president of South Africa, was today named as the winner of the 2000 World Methodist Peace Award. Previous recipients of the award, made by the World Methodist Council (WMC), based in Lake Junaluska, North Carolina, US, include three former heads of state - Jimmy Carter of the US, Anwar Sadat of Egypt, and Mikhail Gorbachev of the Soviet Union - as well as Kofi Annan, secretary-general of the United Nations. [393 words, ENI-00-0268]

12 July 2000

London (ENI). History may well be kinder to Robert Runcie, the 102nd Archbishop of Canterbury and head of world Anglicanism, who died of cancer last night, 11 July, aged 78, at his home in St Albans, than were judgements passed on him in his lifetime. Even in retirement Lord Runcie had a knack for attracting the wrong sort of publicity. His gossipy conversations with a biographer about the royal family and his own relaxed attitude to ordaining homosexuals prompted ridicule when they were published in 1997. With typical humour Dr Runcie's only public defence was that he had always assumed the book would be published after his death. Having read it, he added, he was sure it should have been. The very fact that in his lifetime Dr Runcie, who was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1980 to 1991, attracted not one but four biographers, plus more headlines than any of his recent predecessors, points to a broader fascination with this clever, compassionate cleric who on numerous occasions showed breathtaking boldness, yet whose natural instinct at a time of political, social and ecclesiastical upheaval was to seek compromise. [1237 words, ENI-00-0263]

11 July 2000

London (ENI). After three years of see-saw debate, Britain's United Reformed Church has decided to leave unresolved the controversial issue of practising homosexuals in the ministry. In 1997, the 100 000-member URC, which is part of the world-wide Reformed tradition, was set to become the first mainstream British church officially to accept homosexuals in relationships as ministers and as candidates for ordination. But at its annual assembly this month, the URC declared that there was a lack of agreement on "the mind of the church on this subject", and called for a seven-year moratorium on further resolutions to the assembly. [526 words, ENI-00-0261]

Pope John Paul expresses 'bitterness' as gays hold festival in Rome

Rome (ENI). The World Pride 2000 festival, whose main event was a parade in Rome on Saturday 8 July with about 200 000 homosexuals and lesbians from around the world, has drawn a sharp rebuke from Pope John Paul II. [736 words, ENI-00-0262]

10 July 2000

Long Beach (ENI). The Presbyterian Church (USA), one of the biggest and most influential Protestant churches in the US, has elected a Korean-American, Syngman Rhee, as its moderator. Rhee was elected on 24 June by the church's 212th general assembly, meeting in Long Beach, California. Four candidates stood for the election, and for the first time in the church's history there was no white, male candidate. [982 words, ENI-00-0258]

Sierra Leone's interfaith council wants Sankoh to be put on trial

Geneva (ENI). Religious leaders from war-torn Sierra Leone have given their backing to calls for Foday Sankoh, leader of the rebel Revolutionary United Front, to be put on trial for war crimes. The RUF has been accused of the murder, rape and mutilation of civilians, including children, during Sierra Leone's civil war which began in the early 1990s. Despite a peace agreement between the government and the rebels, negotiated a year ago in the Togolese capital Lomé, the RUF refused earlier this year to hand over weapons and attacked United Nations peace-keepers. [643 words, ENI-00-0259]

Church officials express deep disappointment at UN development summit

Geneva (ENI). A major United Nations' gathering on social development has ended with only minimal progress being agreed to tackle world poverty, according to members of an ecumenical team co-ordinated by the World Council of Churches and the Lutheran World Federation, both based in Geneva. The gathering - a special session of the UN general assembly on social development meeting in Geneva from 26 to 1 July - was intended to review progress made since a UN conference held in Copenhagen in 1995. [1107 words, ENI-00-0260]

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