28 September (ENI)--India's churches have strongly criticised a special "hearing" on religious freedom in India held in Washington DC last week by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). The commission - a government panel established by the US Congress - heard testimony about violence against Christians in both India and Pakistan. It also heard evidence of the alleged failure of governments in both countries to safeguard the rights of religious minorities. India is mainly Hindu, while Pakistan is overwhelmingly Muslim. However, unlike church leaders in India, some prominent Christians in Pakistan have expressed support for the hearing. [1630 words, ENI-00-0363]

Peace conference in Lisbon ends with Catholic apology to Portugal's Jews

Lisbon (ENI). The leader of Portugal's Roman Catholics has issued a public apology to the local Jewish community for the suffering imposed on it by the Catholic Church, which in the 16th century supported an inquisition that expelled countless Jews or forced them to convert to Christianity. As an international religious gathering - Oceans of Peace: Religions and Cultures in Dialogue - closed in the capital, Lisbon, on 26 September, Dom José Policarpo, the Catholic Patriarch of Lisbon, expressed his church's regrets to the Portuguese Jewish community. Speaking in the centre of Lisbon, at the place where the inquisition once held its hearings, the patriarch apologised for his church's actions. After reading a short declaration of guilt and repentance, Dom José Policarpo embraced three Jewish rabbis and other representatives of the nation's Jewish community. [863 words, ENI-00-0364]

WCC honours its first general secretary's 100th birthday

Geneva (ENI). The World Council of Churches has honoured the 100th anniversary of the birth of its first general secretary, the late W A Visser 't Hooft, one of the towering figures of 20th century church history. At a special ceremony held in Geneva last night 28 September, before more than 100 guests, Dr Philip Potter, WCC general secretary from 1972 to 1984, remembered a man "overwhelmed by the majesty of the cause" of ecumenism and impatient to advance it. [674 words, ENI-00-0365]

28 September 2000

Geneva (ENI). As protests continue about a Vatican document published this month asserting Roman Catholic superiority over all other churches, Pope John Paul II has insisted that the commitment of the Roman Catholic Church to ecumenical dialogue is "irrevocable". Pope John Paul made his statement to participants at a meeting of the joint commission on dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC), which represents 75 million Christians in 215 Congregational, Presbyterian, Reformed and United churches world-wide. [1038 words, ENI-00-0360]

Study of Indian clergy exposes deep inequalities within churches

New Delhi (ENI). An extensive study on the social background of India's non-Catholic clergy over two decades has spelt out for the first time what the authors describe as "some of the most difficult and pressing problems of churches in India". The book - The Christian Clergy in India Volume 1 - Social Structures and Social Roles - which was published here recently, was written by sociologists T. K. Oommen and Hunter P. Mabry. The study of non-Catholic clergy - Protestant and Orthodox - exposes deep imbalances within the nation's Christian community. [962 words, ENI-00-0361]

'If Jesus came back today, he would be a journalist'

Geneva (ENI). If Jesus came back today, he would return not as a carpenter but as a journalist, a prominent Geneva journalist said today after being awarded the1999 Templeton Prize for European Religion Writer of the Year. Alain Dupraz, a journalist working for a daily newspaper, La Tribune de Genève, told guests at the presentation of the prize - a certificate from the Templeton Foundation and a cheque for 3500 Swiss francs (US$1966) - that the articles for which he had won the prize had inspired him to think about the life of Christ. [413 words, ENI-00-0362]

27 September 2000

Geneva (ENI). Bärbel Wartenberg-Potter, a prominent ecumenist and advocate of the equal participation of women in the church, has been elected bishop, becoming Germany's third female Lutheran bishop. Wartenberg-Potter, aged 56, was elected on 24 September as bishop of the Holstein-Lübeck diocese of the North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church, in northern Germany. She is currently general secretary of the Council of Christian Churches in Germany (ACKD), whose headquarters are in Frankfurt. [760 words, ENI-00-0358]

Peru's churches welcome Fujimori's decision to call election

Lima (ENI). Peru's Roman Catholic hierarchy and Protestant community have welcomed President Alberto Fujimori's decision to call new elections as "soon as possible". President Fujimori, whose government is deeply unpopular, said in his announcement on 16 September that he would not stand for re-election. [794 words, ENI-00-0359]

26 September 2000

London (ENI). In a case described as "excruciatingly" difficult for doctors and judges, a British court has decided to allow an operation to separate conjoined twins, even though the weaker twin will die within minutes of the operation. The religious and moral aspects of the case have been widely discussed, not only in court but in the national and international media. However the only church that has directly intervened in the discussions is the Roman Catholic Church, to which the twins' parents belong. The intended operation is opposed by the parents, from the Maltese island of Gozo, and by Archbishop Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales. Since the Court of Appeal in London handed down its decision last Friday, the Catholic Church has expressed 'dismay' over the ruling. [1083 words, ENI-00-0354]

US diocese in mourning after violent death of one of its priests in Moscow

New York and Moscow (ENI). The murder in Moscow last month of an Episcopal (Anglican) priest from Nebraska, in the United States, has prompted deep sorrow in the priest's former diocese. The 49-year-old priest, who was working in Russia as an English teacher, was killed with a kitchen knife in his Moscow apartment. [452 words, ENI-00-0355]

Despite growing tolerance, Dutch churches are divided on gay marriage

Amsterdam (ENI). The Dutch Parliament's initial approval of a bill this month authorising same-sex marriages has prompted heated debate within churches in The Netherlands, with some clergy, including some Roman Catholic priests, declaring that churches should bless gay marriages, but many other clergy opposing such measures. The bill, which has been passed by the second chamber of parliament but which still has to be passed by the first chamber to become law, provides for partners in same-sex relationships to have most of the rights and privileges enjoyed by married, heterosexual couples. [1178 words, ENI-00-0356]

Gay Christianity comes out of the closet in Latin America

Tegucigalpa (ENI). Excluded from traditional churches, homosexual Christians in Latin America are forming their own congregations with help from the biggest gay denomination in the United States. "Gay and lesbian people throughout Latin America are buried, they're frightened, they're ashamed. Our churches in Latin America are like the catacombs of the early Christians, they're new millennium catacomb congregations where people can hide and yet still believe," according to Judy Dahl, a pastor and director of global outreach for the US-based Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (UFMCC), which ministers to gay people. [958 words, ENI-00-0357]

25 September 2000

London (ENI). In a case described as "excruciatingly" difficult for doctors and judges, a British court has decided to allow an operation to separate conjoined twins, even though the weaker twin will die within minutes of the operation. The religious and moral aspects of the case have been widely discussed, not only in court but in the national and international media. However the only church that has directly intervened in the discussions is the Roman Catholic Church, to which the twins' parents belong. The intended operation is opposed by the parents, from the Maltese island of Gozo, and by Archbishop Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales. Since the Court of Appeal in London handed down its decision last Friday, the Catholic Church has expressed 'dismay' over the ruling. [1083 words, ENI-00-0354]

US diocese in mourning after violent death of one of its priests in Moscow

New York and Moscow (ENI). The murder in Moscow last month of an Episcopal (Anglican) priest from Nebraska, in the United States, has prompted deep sorrow in the priest's former diocese. The 49-year-old priest, who was working in Russia as an English teacher, was killed with a kitchen knife in his Moscow apartment. [452 words, ENI-00-0355]

22 September 2000

London (ENI). Queen Elizabeth II is among contributors to a fund to create a giant millennium cross, which will stand in front of Westminster Cathedral, London's principal Roman Catholic church. Queen Elizabeth, who is supreme governor of the Church of England, read about the cross in The Times and sent her donation the day the newspaper report appeared. The cross will be erected in the cathedral piazza - near Victoria Station, in central London - on 29 November. This will be followed by an ecumenical service at which a senior member of the royal family is expected to attend, along with Archbishop Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, leader of the 4 million Roman Catholics in England and Wales, and Richard Chartres, (Anglican) Bishop of London. [718 words, ENI-00-0352]

Switzerland faces major decision on Catholic bishops

Geneva (ENI). Switzerland's National Assembly will take a significant decision on 27 September when it votes on whether it should repeal a key article in the Swiss constitution which forbids the Roman Catholic Church from creating a bishopric - or diocese - without the federal government's approval. Some of the key institutions in the Swiss Confederation believe that this right of veto, dating from 1874, is obsolete, discriminatory and contrary to international law. But there is intense debate about the clause in religious communities and also among politicians. And the debate is also likely to affect the general public, as the final decision about the clause will be taken by the Swiss people in a national referendum. [889 words, ENI-00-0353]

21 September 2000

Toronto (ENI). One of the most "painful issues" facing the United Church of Canada (UCC) is its work for "justice and reconciliation" with Canada's First Nations - indigenous peoples, according to the church's new moderator, Marion Pardy. Elected last month as moderator of her church, she was speaking to ENI after her arrival in Toronto where the UCC has its headquarters. Pardy is the fourth woman to serve as moderator of the UCC, which was formed in 1925 as a merger of Congregational, Methodist and Presbyterian churches. With 720 000 members, it is Canada's biggest Protestant church. [905 words, ENI-00-0351]

20 September 2000

Warsaw (ENI). A new Catholic cathedral in eastern Siberia will promote the revival of Christian life in the region, as well as helping change Siberia's image abroad, according to a Catholic official in the region. "Siberia is a challenge for us," according to Jozef Weclawski, chancellor of the Roman Catholic Church's east Siberian apostolic administration. "The stereotype of Siberia carries very sad associations of snow and ice, exile, penal servitude and extermination. This is historically truthful - and even today, there are many large cities here with no priests or nuns." [898 words, ENI-00-0350]

19 September 2000

London (ENI). Two months after it was engulfed in controversy over a priest convicted of sex offences, the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales has announced an independent review of arrangements to prevent child abuse within the church. [823 words, ENI-00-0348]

Churches condemn Philippines military action to free hostages

Manila (ENI). Roman Catholic and Protestant church leaders in the Philippines have strongly criticised a massive military offensive launched at the weekend against an extremist group of Muslims behind a spate of highly-publicised kidnappings in the south of the Philippines. [697 words, ENI-00-0349]

18 September 2000

Copenhagen (ENI). The Lutheran Church of Norway has made history by appointing to a parish a homosexual priest living openly with another man. The priest will work in Majorstua, a suburb of Oslo. His appointment was narrowly approved by the Oslo Bishop's Council, with four members voting in favour, three against. The council is the ruling body for the diocese of Oslo, capital of Norway. Like other Scandinavian countries, Norway is often considered a liberal country on issues such as sexuality. But the decision has caused some conflict within the Church of Norway, the country's biggest denomination, and debate is still continuing. [775 words, ENI-00-0347]

15 September 2000

Warsaw (ENI). Roman Catholic leaders in Poland have expressed strong support for a controversial Vatican document released early this month which restates the belief that that Protestant denominations are not churches but "ecclesial communities". However, as in many other countries, Poland's Protestant church leaders have criticised the document - Dominus Iesus, on the Unicity and Salvific Universality of Jesus Christ and the Church - and predicted that it could endanger improving ecumenical relations in this predominantly Catholic country. [855 words, ENI-00-0344]

Norwegian prince's decision to live with partner provokes lively debate

Copenhagen (ENI). When Crown Prince Haakon of Norway and his girlfriend, Mette-Marit Tjessem Hoiby, publicly announced early this month that they had bought an apartment in central Oslo for US$610 000 and would live together as a couple, they were behaving like many other young couples in their liberal, northern European country. In Norway cohabitation - living together without being married - is very popular among young people, and also for many older couples. One in four Norwegian couples living together are not married, and nine out of 10 couples who do get married have already lived together. [920 words, ENI-00-0345]

A Nigerian state sets up council of faiths to deal with fears over Islamic law

Kaltunga (ENI). The northern Nigerian state of Gombe has set up an inter-religious council following clashes last week between Christians and Muslims that left at least ten people dead and caused millions of dollars of damage to property. The state governor, Abubakar Habu Hashidu, set up the committee on 8 September after consulting Muslim and Christian leaders in the state. He said that the council would be formally inaugurated on 16 September. The clashes between Christians and Muslims, which broke out on 7 September in the town of Kaltunga, and spread to the towns of Billiri and Bambam within two days, follow the decision in July by Gombe's state government to introduce Sharia, the Islamic legal code. [764 words, ENI-00-0346]

14 September 2000

New York (ENI). A world-wide fascination with American cowboys and the steady increase of US ministries focusing on traditional "old west" elements like cattle drives, dude ranches and rodeos have lead the Fellowship of Christian Cowboys and the International Bible Society (IBS) to publish The Way For Cowboys, a pocket-size New Testament with the Psalms and Proverbs. Debbie Kubik, managing editor of US publications for IBS, said her organisation took on the project because of customer requests and a growing relationship between IBS and the Fellowship of Christian Cowboys, both based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. [464 words, ENI-00-0343]

13 September 2000

London (ENI). Churches cannot rely on older people to bolster dwindling congregations, according to a British research study. The study found that people over the age of 65 share the increasingly secular mood of the United Kingdom's population as a whole, with members of a sample group reporting that religion means less to them as they got older and many dropping out of church membership. The author of the survey, Peter Coleman, professor of psychogerontology at the University of Southampton, England, described the findings as "quite remarkable". [685 words, ENI-00-0341]

Church book will help Protestants to relate to Germany's 3m. Muslims

Berlin (ENI). As Germany's political leaders seek to combat increasing racism and violence against foreigners, the country's main Protestant body has published its first official statement on relations between Christians and Muslims. A 128-page handbook summing up the two years of study by the Evangelical Church in Germany's (EKD) special commission on relations with Islam was released at a press conference on 11 September in Berlin, Germany's capital. [764 words, ENI-00-0342]

12 September 2000

New York (ENI). During an unprecedented visit by US ecumenical leaders to Cuba from 2 to 7 September, the head of the National Council of the Churches (NCC) called on US President Bill Clinton to end 40 years of economic sanctions against Havana and challenged Americans to reconsider their image of Cubans as "godless Communists" who blindly follow Fidel Castro. Dr Bob Edgar, who created a strong tie between the NCC and the Cuban Council of Churches (CCC) earlier this year by campaigning for six-year-old Elian Gonzales to be returned to Cuba, also drew attention to the growth of Christianity in Cuba and pointed to medical and educational needs there. [983 words, ENI-00-0338]

German-speaking athletes can find advice in Olympic scripture book

Bielefeld (ENI). Prominent German sportsmen and women have contributed to a special "sports bible" that is being distributed to all German-speaking athletes at the Olympic Games in Sydney. The book of scripture, Das Leben Gewinnen (Win Life!), contains the German-language Good News version of the New Testament, along with testimonies by sportsmen and women. [519 words, ENI-00-0339]

Dominus Iesus, a 'public relations disaster' for ecumenism

Geneva (ENI). A week after publishing a document which casts doubt on the validity of Protestant Christianity and asserts Roman Catholic superiority over all other churches, the Vatican continues to draw criticism both from other churches and from within its own ranks. The general secretaries of two organisations representing major wings of Protestantism have publicly lamented the harm done to ecumenism by Dominus Iesus, on the Unicity and Salvific Universality of Jesus Christ and the Church, published on 5 September by the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The document declares that churches that do not have a "valid Episcopate [bishops] and the genuine and integral substance of the Eucharistic mystery are not Churches in the proper sense". Another document from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith published in an Italian magazine this month orders Catholic bishops not to use the term "sister church" in reference to Protestant churches. This too has caused dismay in ecumenical circles. [1656 words, ENI-00-0340]

11 September 2000

Geneva (ENI). Alain Dupraz, religion writer at a Swiss newspaper, La Tribune de Genève, has been named as the winner of the 1999 John Templeton European Religion Writer of the Year. [268 words, ENI-00-0336]

Pakistan's Christians demand to an end to 'religious apartheid' at polls

New Delhi (ENI). Christians in Pakistan are waging a vigorous campaign against the Separate Electorate System (SES) which many church members believe imposes a form of religious apartheid on elections in the mainly Muslim nation. The election system, they claim, marginalises them and other religious minorities by allowing to vote only for candidates of their own faith. [973 words, ENI-00-0337]

8 September 2000

Bonn (ENI). The Roman Catholic Church in Germany has agreed to pay five million Deutschmarks (US$2.35 million) to forced labourers who were brought to Germany from abroad during the Second World War and worked in Catholic institutions. The church will spend a further five million DM on promoting reconciliation. The decision, by the council of the German Bishops' Conference, was announced in a statement issued on 29 August in which the church officially acknowledged that it had used forced labourers during the war. [328 words, ENI-00-0331]

Zambia's church leaders call for HIV tests for all political candidates

Lusaka (ENI). The high cost of holding by-elections to replace members of parliament who have died from Aids-related diseases has prompted church leaders here to called on the government to make all candidates for national elections and for public office undergo an HIV/Aids test. At a recent meeting of the Pastors' National Forum (PNF), the religious leaders - from Catholic and Protestant churches across the country - resolved to press the government for a change in the electoral laws. [613 words, ENI-00-0335]

6 September 2000

Melbourne (ENI). The National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA) has strongly criticised a recent decision by the Australian government to deny visas and information to United Nations human rights committees. The government's decision follows UN criticism of Australian treatment of its indigenous people and of asylum-seekers. The NCCA, which includes Australia's Catholic, mainstream Protestant and Orthodox churches, described the government's reaction to the UN as tragic, and one that will diminish Australia in the eyes of the world. The council's general secretary, David Gill, has written to the Australian prime minister, John Howard, expressing ''surprise and concern'' and asking him to reconsider the decision, announced on 29 August. [1758 words, ENI-00-0333]

Brazilians will dance their way around the world to spread peace

Hanover (ENI). The language of dance can help the church to express its message, according to Lusmarina Campos Garcia, the Brazilian producer of a new contemporary dance performance commissioned by the World Council of Churches (WCC) to promote its Decade to Overcome Violence. The 40-minute performance - intended to challenge churches and civil society throughout the world to take action against violence - received its world premiere on Saturday 2 September at Expo 2000 - the world exhibition in Hanover, Germany. The dance was performed by Brazil's Marzia Milhazes Dança Contemporânea, with music from the Trio Aquarius. The dance tells the story of the WCC's "Peace to the City" campaign, a network of peace initiatives launched in 1997 and based in seven cities around the world. Using music, song, dance, light and colour, the production portrayed efforts to build a culture of peace world-wide. [575 words, ENI-00-0334]

5 September 2000

Rome/London/Geneva (ENI).The Vatican has dealt a blow to Catholic-Protestant relations by reaffirming its doubts about the validity of Protestant churches and by officially ordering Catholic bishops not to use the term "sister churches" in reference to them. An official "note" by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, warns that describing Protestant churches as "sister churches" can cause "ambiguities". Another document, Dominus Iesus, on the Unicity and Salvific Universality of Jesus Christ and the Church, also published today by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, declares that churches that do not have a "valid Episcopate [bishops] and the genuine and integral substance of the Eucharistic mystery are not Churches in the proper sense". [ENI-00-0332, 1692 words]

4 September 2000

New York (ENI). Prominent ecumenists have declared that the Millennium World Peace Summit of about 1000 religious leaders, held in New York at the end of August, may well have a good result. But they also criticised the event as too cumbersome and too vague. Referring to inter-faith dialogue in general, S. Wesley Ariarajah, a Sri Lankan theologian, said of the New York meeting: "The inter-religious programme is a 100-year process - we are sowing seeds." Dr Ariarajah is professor of Ecumenical Theology at Drew University in the US state of New Jersey and a former deputy general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC). [932 words, ENI-00-0330]

1 September 2000

New York (ENI). Dr Konrad Raiser, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), has criticised key elements of the Millennium World Peace Summit in New York - a major gathering this week of 1000 religious leaders at the UN headquarters. In an interview with ENI, Dr Raiser, a German theologian and leading ecumenist, praised the historic gathering as a "rich experience", adding that religious leaders needed to provide "affirmation and backing for the essential mission of the United Nations". But he said that many aspects of a proposal from the gathering to create a religious advisory council for the UN remained unclear. [975 words, ENI-00-0329]

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