Nairobi (ENI). An Anglican bishop in west Kenya has called for women belonging to his church to reject "joter", a traditional local practice by which widows become the spouse of another member of their husband's family. Joter - also known as wife inheritance - is traditional among the Luo people of Nyanza Province of western Kenya. The Luo people are often polygamous, and several widows may can be inherited by a single family member. Another element of the tradition is the practice of holding a "cleansing" ritual in which the widow has sex with an outsider before being given to her brother-in-law or other family member. [414 words, ENI-00-0328]

30 August 2000

New York (ENI). Faith and morality are almost certain to play a major role in the remaining months of the US presidential campaign as Vice President Al Gore, the Democrat candidate, and the governor of the state of Texas, George W. Bush, the Republican candidate, appeal to voters concerned about public values. Al Gore's recent ground-breaking selection of US Senator Joseph Lieberman as his vice presidential running mate has given a religious emphasis to the Democrat campaign - Lieberman is the first Jew and the first non-Christian to run on the presidential ticket of a major US political party. He is also known for adopting the moral high ground. [1334 words, ENI-00-0327 words]

29 August 2000

Geneva (ENI). When more than 50 Christians from ten countries and various confessions gathered in Janské Làzné, in the Czech Republic, from 5 to 12 August for their annual congress, they meditated on the Bible, prayed, sang and praised God. But, unlike those at other international church gatherings who require a team of interpreters to communicate, all participants at Janské Làzné shared one language - Esperanto. This meeting marked the 50th anniversary of the Christian Esperanto Congress, an ecumenical event which promotes cultural exchange and brings together members of the Christian International Esperanto League (Kristana Esperantista Ligo Internacia - KELI). [680 words, ENI-00-0326]

28 August 2000

New York (ENI). The Mennonite World Conference (MWC), which has more than 70 member churches world-wide, many of which do not accept women as pastors, has elected its first woman president. Nancy Heisey of Harrisonburg, Virginia, in the United States, was elected president last month at the organisation's triennial general council meeting in Guatemala City. She will take up the post at the MWC's assembly in 2003, succeeding Mesach Krisetya of Indonesia. [744 words, ENI-00-0324]

Campaigner accuses churches of turning blind eye to abuse of children

Wellington (ENI). Ron O'Grady, a clergyman and leading crusader against child prostitution and child pornography, has claimed that the biggest occupational group of convicted child abusers in some Western countries are church workers, including clergy. O'Grady made these comments in an address to 2500 pastors and lay Christians at the World Convention of the Churches of Christ, in Brisbane, Australia, on 3 August, and repeated them in an interview with ENI on his return to his home in Aotearoa/New Zealand. [716 words, ENI-00-0325]

25 August 2000

Warsaw (ENI). As Hungarians celebrated this week the millennium anniversary of the coronation of their first king, St Stephen, ecumenism received a major boost through Orthodox recognition of the nation's patron saint. "This is the first time a Western saint has been formally accepted by Orthodox churches," said Bela Harmati, presiding bishop of Hungary's minority Lutheran Church. "This unique privilege has clearly sent a signal not just to Hungary, but to the rest of Christianity as well." Although Protestant churches do not customarily share the reverence for saints associated with Catholicism and Orthodoxy, St Stephen occupies a special place for all denominations in Hungary as both the founder of the state and the first Christian king. [1025 words, ENI-00-0322]

Catholic Church in Germany 'used forced labourers during war'

Bonn (ENI). Forced labourers brought to Germany from abroad were used in Roman Catholic institutions during the Second World War, according to a senior spokesperson for Germany's Roman Catholic Church. The church said just one month ago there was no evidence that it had taken part in the system, widely used in Germany to replace adult males who were away fighting the war on various fronts. However, Rudolf Hammerschmidt, spokesperson for the German Bishops' Conference, told the Welt am Sonntag weekly on 13 August that documents brought to light last month showed that forced labourers had worked in Catholic monasteries, dioceses, parishes, and diaconal facilities. [660 words, ENI-00-0323]

24 August 2000

Toronto (ENI). Faced with more than 350 lawsuits over alleged physical and sexual abuse at church-run schools, the Anglican Church of Canada (ACC) is making significant cuts to budgets and staff. The ACC's general synod - the church's national governing body - and eight of its 30 dioceses are named in lawsuits claiming that indigenous people suffered cultural, physical and sexual abuse as children at residential schools operated by the church on behalf of Canada's federal government. [1193 words, ENI-00-0321]

23 August 2000

Copenhagen (ENI). Gunnar Staalsett, Bishop of the Norwegian capital, Oslo, and former general secretary of the Lutheran World Federation, has warned that political and religious fundamentalism has become a serious threat to democracy and human development. "Political and religious fundamentalism is gaining new strength these days, and is one of the most serious threats to democracy and human development," Bishop Staalsett said. He called for increased inter-religious and inter-faith dialogue to counter fundamentalism, and added that "politicians, diplomats and bureaucrats [need] to be educated for a new era in which religion matters". [716 words, ENI-00-0320]

22 August 2000

Geneva (ENI). A leading European church body has called for the reopening of debate on a key piece of European legislation that could allow the patenting of human genes. The church and society commission of the Conference of European Churches (CEC), which brings together almost all mainstream Protestant, Anglican and Orthodox churches in Europe, is concerned that a directive adopted by the European Union in 1998 would allow - under certain conditions - the patenting of human genes. [789 words]

Russians celebrate the millennium with $500-million Moscow cathedral

Moscow (ENI). The Russian Orthodox Church celebrated the climax of its millennium celebrations with the consecration on Saturday of Moscow's US$500 million Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. On Sunday in the cathedral, church leaders canonised more than 1000 20th-century martyrs, including Tsar Nicholas II and his family. But the celebrations were partly overshadowed by the frantic operations to recover the Kursk submarine in the Barents Sea. Special prayers for the sailors in the Kursk submarine, their families and rescuers, were included in the solemn liturgies on Saturday and Sunday. [1605 words, ENI-00-0319]

21 August 2000

Warsaw (ENI). The rector of Prague's International Baptist Seminary has praised the swiftness of the police response after three armed men threatened an employee at the seminary in a robbery on 15 August. He added that staff members had been "shattered" by the attack, which had damaged the seminary's "quiet, rural image". [506 words, ENI-00-0315]

Despite criticism, Russian church decides to continue membership of WCC

Moscow (ENI). The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) has decided to remain a member of the World Council of Churches (WCC), the world's main ecumenical organisation, despite vehement criticism from some highly conservative sections of the Russian church. However one leading Orthodox bishop has suggested that the WCC should change its name as the current title does not fit in with Orthodox understanding of the word "churches". [513 words, ENI-00-0316]

Two million young people turn up for Mass in Rome with Pope John Paul

Rome (ENI). Two million young people from 170 nations - the biggest gathering ever held in Italy - turned out to greet Pope John Paul II yesterday for the Roman Catholic Church's 15th World Youth Day (WYD), a key event in Catholic celebrations to mark the millennium. The WYD festival began on 14 August, and as the celebrations continued in Rome throughout the week, thousands and thousands more young Catholics gathered here. Most came from Italy, although France, Poland, Spain, the United States, the Philippines and Latin America were also well represented. The international media gave massive coverage to the event, hailing it as the "Catholic Woodstock" or "Popestock", a reference to the huge rock festival that took place in the US in 1969. Journalists from the around the world marvelled at the ability of an 80-year-old church leader to attract young people in far bigger numbers than pop stars. [1006 words, ENI-00-0316]

18 August 2000

Copenhagen (ENI). A Danish Lutheran pastor could lose his job for providing refuge in his home to ethnic Serb refugees who were in Denmark illegally. However he told ENI that he intended to continue helping them, whatever the consequences. "My obligations as a Christian must always precede my obligations as a civil servant and public employee," said Leif Bork Hansen, who, like other Lutheran pastors here, receives his salary from the Danish government. Hansen added that if he put government regulations before his Christian principles, "I am betraying the commandments of the Bible to provide Christian charity to people in need." [733 words, ENI-00-0312]

Russian church declares policy on modern world's thorny moral challenges

Moscow (ENI). In a bid to catch up with modern times, the Russian Orthodox Church this week officially laid out its policies on a string of contemporary issues, including many sensitive subjects such as cloning, contraception, homosexuality, divorce, nationalism and globalisation. The church's views are revealed in a "social doctrine" document of more than 100 pages that was presented to its 146-member Council of Bishops this week, and adopted on 15 August, after less than a day of discussion. The four-day council meeting ended late on 16 August. [793 words, ENI-00-0313]

Sri Lanka's churches lament delays on constitutional bid to end civil war

New Delhi (ENI). Sri Lanka's churches have expressed deep "disappointment" over delays in reforming the nation's constitution. But they hope that the delay will provide an opportunity for further consideration and improvement of the planned reforms, which are intended to give a measure of autonomy to the Tamil minority and bring an end to the devastating ethnic conflict that has taken 100 000 lives since it began 16 years ago. [855 words, ENI-00-0314]

17 August 2000

Lusaka (ENI). A Roman Catholic bishop, Telesphore Mpundu, of Mpika, in northern Zambia, has caused controversy by calling on the Bemba-speaking ethnic group in his diocese to end the traditional embalming and secret burial ceremonies after the death of a chief. In an interview with ENI, Bishop Mpundu said that in the case of chiefs who had embraced Catholicism, the ancient burial practices, which were at odds with church teaching, should be "discontinued". [460 words, ENI-00-0311]

16 August 2000

Copenhagen (ENI). South Africa's churches are suffering from "post-apartheid fatigue" and doing too little to promote reconciliation in the wake of apartheid's divisions, according to Dr Charles Villa-Vicencio, executive director of Cape Town's Institute for Justice and Reconciliation. Dr Villa-Vicencio was speaking to ENI after taking part in a seminar in Copenhagen which was part of a two-week "Images of the World Festival". The seminar focused on the work of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, headed by Desmond Tutu, former Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town and winner of the Nobel Peace Price. Dr Villa-Vicencio said the commission had led South Africa through a unique reconciliation process which probably saved the country from many years of continued violence and even civil war. [764 words, ENI-00-0309]

Russian bishops adopt guidelines to reaffirm importance of ecumenism

Moscow (ENI). The Russian Orthodox Church's Council of Bishops has adopted a new document outlining church policy on relations with Protestant and Catholic churches, and reaffirming the need for and importance of ecumenical links. The Council of Bishops, which is holding a four-day "millennium" meeting in Moscow, has adopted a policy which points out that Christ called on all his followers to seek unity. The policy proclaims the importance of ecumenical dialogue and stipulates guidelines. [937 words, ENI-00-0310]

15 August 2000

Moscow (ENI). After eight years of debate, which at times threatened to split the Russian Orthodox Church, the Council of Bishops yesterday unanimously approved the canonisation of Tsar Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra and their five children - Alexei, Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia. The canonisations will take place on Sunday 20 August, in Moscow's newly reconstructed Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. [1202 words, ENI-00-0308]

14 August 2000

Santa Fe de Bogota (ENI). As Columbia prepares for a visit by US President Bill Clinton, church leaders and human rights activists have warned that expanded US military assistance to this war-torn country will increase the level of violence and swell the number of displaced people. President Clinton will travel to the Colombian city of Cartagena on 30 August to meet with Colombia's President Andres Pastrana. For security reasons, however, President Clinton will spend only a few hours in Columbia. [1239 words, ENI-00-0307]

11 August 2000

Rio De Janeiro (ENI). A group of United States church representatives who travelled 8000 kilometres to visit a favela (slum) in Rio de Janeiro have been told to keep away because their lives could be in danger. The 12 Americans came to Brazil to study the plight of the country's poor children. The message to stay away from the Ramos slum in northern Rio came on 28 July from the very children whom the Americans, representing the Presbyterian Church (USA), intended to visit. The children relayed the message through a local pastor whose church ministers to the slum's residents. They said that they wanted to meet the Americans, but feared for the visitors' safety because tension between police and gang leaders who controlled the local streets had made life dangerous. [859 words, ENI-00-0306]

10 August 2000

Bangalore India (ENI). The world's biggest association of Reformed churches has decided to drop the Latin title of one of its principal programmes, because it is too confusing for church members. Processus confessionis, which means a process of confession, is the shorthand title that the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) has used for the last three years to refer to a key decision at its 23rd general council, in Debrecen, Hungary, in 1997. [325 words, ENI-00-0305]

9 August 2000

New York, 9 August (ENI)-After winning two highly coveted film festival awards and press coverage in North America, a newly-released movie about the final years in the life of the German theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, is building a strong international following. The film, Bonhoeffer: An Agent of Grace, was released in mid-June in North America and will be screened in European cinemas from the end of this month. [835 words, ENI-00-0304]

8 August 2000

New York (ENI). The next general secretary of the World Association for Christian Communication, Randy Naylor, believes that the churches and the media are at odds most of the time because of conflicting agendas. "I don't think either side understands the other," Naylor told ENI in an extended interview. "The church often views media as a form of publicity, and has not taken time to understand the media. That is actually one of the most important things the church can do. Every theological school should have a class on media, and every journalism school should have a class on religion. [836 words, ENI-00-0303]

7 August 2000

Moscow (ENI). The climax of Russia's millennium celebrations begins a week from now, when more than 150 bishops from across the former Soviet Union will come to Moscow to take a series of major decisions about the future of the Russian Orthodox Church, the world's biggest Orthodox church and an important player in the spiritual and social life of this nation. The Jubilee Council of Bishops, which begins on 13 August in Moscow, is expected to take three key decisions reflecting changes since the fall of communism and defining church policies for the new century. The council last met in 1997. [1211 words, ENI-00-0299]

Therapy is no substitute for faith, Carey tells Amsterdam gathering

London (ENI). The Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, has warned against the "idolatry" of replacing faith with psychological therapy and seeing therapeutic techniques as "the total answer to humanity's deepest needs and longings". "That idolatry reveals itself when it replaces the Gospel by focusing solely on satisfying 'my happiness, my needs and my desires'," Anglican leader said. "Christ the 'Saviour' is then replaced by Christ the 'counsellor'. [846 words, ENI-00-0300]

India's churches shocked by brutal murder of Lutheran bishop

New Delhi, 4 August (ENI)-Church leaders in India are in shock after the brutal murder last week of a prominent Lutheran bishop in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The police claim that the murder was linked to conflict within the bishop's church. Many senior Indian church officials are refusing to comment. Bishop Gangavarapu Emmanuel, president of the 800 000-member Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church (AELC), was attacked with knives and axes by three men inside the AELC complex at Guntur on 29 July after he stepped out of his office for lunch. [644 words, ENI-00-0301]

Filipino priest warns of greater risk to civilians in southern provinces

Manila, 7 August (ENI)-"Civilians are at greater risk now that the war is officially over," Roman Catholic priest Eliseo Mercado warned last week, as the Philippines government deployed thousands of troops to the country's troubled southern provinces. [485 words, ENI-00-0302]

4 August 2000

Moscow (ENI). The climax of Russia's millennium celebrations begins a week from now, when more than 150 bishops from across the former Soviet Union will come to Moscow to take a series of major decisions about the future of the Russian Orthodox Church, the world's biggest Orthodox church and an important player in the spiritual and social life of this nation. The Jubilee Council of Bishops, which begins on 13 August in Moscow, is expected to take three key decisions reflecting changes since the fall of communism and defining church policies for the new century. The council last met in 1997. [1211 words, ENI-00-0299]

Therapy is no substitute for faith, Dr Carey tells Amsterdam gathering

London (ENI). The Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, has warned against the "idolatry" of replacing faith with psychological therapy and seeing therapeutic techniques as "the total answer to humanity's deepest needs and longings". Archbishop Carey, the spiritual leader of the world's 80 million Anglicans and head of the Church of England, was speaking on 31 July at Amsterdam 2000, a conference organised by the world's most famous contemporary evangelist, Billy Graham. More than 10 000 Christians from over 200 countries are in Amsterdam this week for the conference. [846 words, ENI-00-0300]

India's churches shocked by brutal murder of Lutheran bishop

New Delhi (ENI)-Church leaders in India are in shock after the brutal murder last week of a prominent Lutheran bishop in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The police claim that the murder was linked to conflict within the bishop's church. Many senior Indian church officials are refusing to comment. Bishop Gangavarapu Emmanuel, president of the 800 000-member Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church (AELC), was attacked with knives and axes by three men inside the AELC complex at Guntur on 29 July after he stepped out of his office for lunch. [644 words, ENI-00-0301]

3 August 2000

Moscow, 3 August (ENI)-Plans for a long-awaited meeting between the heads of the world's two biggest churches - Pope John Paul II of the Roman Catholic Church and Patriarch Alexei II of the Russian Orthodox Church - are being shelved, following a stalemate at high-level talks between Catholic and Orthodox officials in Baltimore, in the United States, according to a senior Russian church official. Pope John Paul II has made no secret of his long-held wish to meet Patriarch Alexei, preferably in Russia, but if not then elsewhere. Several attempts in the 1990s to arrange a meeting between the two leaders came to nought, partly because of opposition from conservative elements with the Russian church and from other Orthodox prelates. [751 words, ENI-00-0297]

Polish bishops deny church indifference to rising violence against women

Warsaw, 3 August (ENI)-Roman Catholic bishops in Poland have rejected claims by a magazine that their church is "insensitive to violence against women". The bishops also denied that women attending confession in Catholic churches were advised to adopt a "spirit of sacrifice" in their relationship towards oppressive and violent husbands. A leading article published last month in a mass circulation weekend magazine, Wysokie Obcasy (High Heels), claimed that "traditional Christian respect for women" was often a meaningless expression in Poland. [942 words, ENI-00-0298]

2 August 2000

Bangalore (ENI). The World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) has decided to set up an endowment fund "to strengthen its ability to contribute to the quality of life for millions of people inside and outside the church". Christians belonging to WARC's 215 member churches around the world and others will be invited to contribute to the "Alliance for Life Fund", which WARC officials hope will raise one or two million dollars before the alliance's next general council, in 2004, and US$10 million by the year 2010. A more ambitious final target for the new fund will be set later. [739 words, ENI-00-0293]

Reformed alliance to hold its next general council in Africa in 2004

Bangalore (ENI). Three decades after the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) was launched in its present form in Nairobi, Kenya, WARC has chosen a west African nation, Ghana, as the site of the next meeting of its highest governing body, the general council, in 2004. Delegates representing WARC's 215 member churches in 106 countries will gather in Ghana for the 24th general council to discuss the theme "That All May Have Life in Fullness". The general council meets every seven to eight years. [408 words, ENI-00-0294]

Church meeting challenged by debate on human rights and homosexuality

Bangalore (ENI). The World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) was sharply reminded that homosexuality is one of the most divisive issues in churches today when its executive committee debated a statement on human rights and sexual orientation. The statement, written by a small taskforce and presented to WARC's executive committee, meeting in Bangalore, India, at the end of July, called on member churches "to work with civil authorities" to ensure that people of homosexual orientation received "full and just protection under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the UN". [709 words, ENI-00-0295]

US ecumenical leader insists that churches must act to end poverty

New York (ENI). In one of his first major sermons since becoming general secretary of the National Council of Churches of Christ (USA), clergyman and former politician Robert Edgar renewed his call for America's faith community to tackle the issue of poverty. Speaking on 30 July at the interdenominational Riverside Church in New York City, Edgar said the nation's religious institutions must unite in common cause to bring about economic justice for those who had not enjoyed the benefits of what had become a period of almost unparalleled economic prosperity in the US. [665 words, ENI-00-0296]

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