New Delhi (ENI). As India's defence minister, George Fernandes, said yesterday that the death toll from last Friday's earthquake in the state of Gujarat, in western India, could reach 100 000, church charities and aid organisations sent emergency workers and emergency supplies to the devastated region. Even five days after the tragedy, there is no unanimity on the number of those killed by the earthquake, which measured between 6.9 and 7.9 on the Richter scale, and occurred at 8.50am on 26 January. Officials have given various estimates of the numbers killed - ranging from 15 000 to 100 000. However, a Catholic bishop from the region told ENI he believed that more than 100 000 had perished. [1140 words, ENI-01-0044]

Future direction of WCC in question as Orthodox and Protestants differ

Potsdam (ENI). Protestant and Orthodox members of the governing body of the World Council of Churches (WCC) today argued - politely, but passionately - over the future direction of the world's biggest ecumenical organisation. Dr Hilarion Alfeyev, a Russian Orthodox priest and senior official in the Moscow Patriarchate's department for external church relations, told the WCC's central committee, meeting in Potsdam, near Berlin, that as "the Orthodox churches are in a minority [in the WCC], they feel there is no space for them to express their concerns. When a vote is taken they are, as a minority, always destined to lose, even if they agree amongst themselves." [1100 words, ENI-01-0045]

30 January 2001

Potsdam (ENI). Nine churches, ranging from a church with 1500 members on the Pacific island of Niue, to a Namibian church with more than half-a-million members, have been accepted as members of the World Council of Churches (WCC) yesterday, bringing membership in the world's biggest ecumenical organisation to 342 churches, including 35 associate member churches. The applications were approved by the WCC's central committee yesterday at a meeting in this German city near the country's capital, Berlin. [650 words, ENI-01-0040]

Shopkeepers object as church plans safe space for Sydney's drug-users

Sydney (ENI). Attempts by one of Australia's leading churches, the Uniting Church, to set up the nation's first legal heroin-injecting room in the red light district of Sydney, Australia's biggest city, have been stalled after court action by the local Chamber of Commerce. The injecting room was to open in February in the inner-city area of Kings Cross, an area with many drug addicts, under licence from the state government of New South Wales (NSW), of which Sydney is the capital. Under the church-sponsored programme, addicts would not be provided with heroin, but would be given clean needles and allowed to inject under medical supervision. Chaplaincy and health services would also be available. [970 words, ENI-01-0041]

Bishop urges poor nations to join fight against global economic injustice

Potsdam (ENI). A Methodist bishop from Argentina today called for "dependent countries" to confront the global economic system "in which we are becoming the property of those who hold our debt"- the creditor nations. Bishop Aldo Etchegoyen, of the Evangelical Methodist Church of Argentina, was speaking during a meeting of the World Council of Churches' central committee in the east German city of Potsdam. In a discussion of globalisation and at a later press conference, the bishop stopped short of calling for debtor nations to stop international debt repayments unilaterally. But he clearly indicated that something must be done to halt "a perverse system that has gotten completely out of control". [958 words, ENI-01-0042]

Don't sacrifice the welfare state, German president tells churches

Potsdam (ENI). Germany's president, Dr Johannes Rau, today vigorously rejected the idea that economic prosperity and social stability could be created merely through welfare cuts and the market economy. Addressing the central committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC), Dr Rau - a prominent Protestant layman - also paid tribute to the "key role" played by the churches in German unification, recalling the candle-lit demonstrations and prayers for peace that preceded East Germany's peaceful revolution of 1989 [712 words, ENI-01-0043]

29 January 2001

Potsdam (ENI). More than 1000 Christians from Germany and around the world attended an ecumenical worship service at the St-Nikolai-Kirche last night in this east German city to mark the opening of the World Council of Churches' (WCC) first major gathering in reunited Germany - a meeting of its governing body, the 158-member central committee - from 29 January to 6 February. From the WCC's foundation soon after the Second World War, the German Protestant churches have been among the organisation's main supporters. And, in a speech of welcome last night at the hotel in Potsdam where the meeting is being held, Dr Manfred Stolpe, the prime minister of the state of German Brandenburg, of which Potsdam is the capital, said that the ecumenical movement had made a "decisive contribution" to East Germany's peaceful revolution of 1989 that swept away the country's communist regime and led to the fall of the Berlin Wall. [1267 words, ENI-01-0037]

Theologian signals more changes as ecumenism adapts to 21st century

Potsdam (ENI). Dr Konrad Raiser, a leading German ecumenist and general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), has signalled further shake-ups for the world's biggest inter-church organisation and for ecumenism at all levels. In his report to the WCC's 158-member central committee, which is meeting until 6 February in this German city near Berlin, Dr Raiser hinted that more flexible methods of dialogue and co-operation were needed to boost church relations in the 21st century, rather than concentrating on traditional church disputes over theological and liturgical differences. [917 words, ENI-01-0038]

Is violence ever justified? A tough question for churches

Potsdam (ENI). As the World Council of Churches prepares to launch a major 10-year initiative to encourage Christians to find ways to overcome violence, one of the organisation's senior leaders has sparked a major debate by speculating on whether "violence for a just cause" can be justified. In his address, Catholicos Aram had strong words for the churches. Often, he said, their "blind association with the pride of their nations and with the policies of their governments greatly jeopardises their prophetic role". He also pointed out that the churches had not been able to reach a "common understanding" on the use of violence to combat injustice. He added: "Violence is evil; yet for some, living under conditions of injustice and oppression, where all means of non-violent actions are used up, violence remains an unavoidable alternative, a last resort." At a press conference after he gave his speech, Catholicos Aram admitted that there were ambiguities in his reflections on the issue. He added: "I am not endorsing that position [of violence as a last resort]. I am raising it as a question for further discussion." [897 words, ENI-01-0039]

26 January 2001

London (ENI). The British parliament has voted to allow the cloning of human embryos, despite a united appeal by the country's religious leaders urging delay. The Archbishop of Canterbury, the two most senior Roman Catholic archbishops, an Orthodox archbishop, Protestant officials and leaders of the Muslim, Sikh and Jewish communities were among11 religious leaders whose plea was disregarded. They had warned that the issue had not been fully addressed and that "one slight miscalculation" could lead to irreversible implications for future generations. [1069 words, ENI-01-0034]

Catholic bishop admires faith of Hindus at world's biggest-ever gathering

New Delhi (ENI). Amid the chanting of ancient mantras, the blowing of conch-shells and the beating of drums on 24 January, more than 20 million Hindu pilgrims in the northern Indian city of Allahabad took a solemn plunge into the water at a spot where the nation's most sacred rivers meet. The event, hailed as the biggest-ever gathering in human history, has drawn a range of reactions from Christians here, with the local Catholic bishop expressing admiration for the faith of most of those involved, while some Christians have travelled here to pray that Hindus taking part be cleansed of Satan. [1112 words, ENI-01-0035]

'Cult of Fatima' hindered Jubilee year in Portugal, says Methodist bishop

Tomar (ENI). A Portuguese Methodist bishop has declared that renewed Catholic promotion of the "cult of Our Lady of Fatima" last year sharply hindered ecumenical relations between Protestants and Catholics in this predominantly Catholic country. "The revival of the cult of Our Lady of Fatima, with the beatification of the shepherd children, did not contribute to ecumenical progress between us," said Bishop Ireneu Cunha, executive president of COPIC, the Portuguese Council of Christian Churches (Conselho Português de Igrejas Cristãs), in a recent reflection on ecumenism. COPIC represents three ecumenically-minded Protestant churches (Methodist, Presbyterian and Lusitanian) with a total membership of about 15 000 Christians. Bishop Cunha is head of the small Methodist Church of Portugal. He told ENI: "I did not write the article with any intention of attacking the Catholic Church. I just wanted to show our Catholic brothers that Protestant minority ecumenism is not a subservient ecumenism. I wanted to point out that there is a certain discontent among people who have laboured greatly for ecumenism." [1125 words, ENI-01-0036]

25 January 2001

Berlin (ENI). In the eastern part of Germany more than 10 years after the collapse of communism, many more teenagers are choosing to take part in a secular dedication service for youth from the communist period rather than in a Christian confirmation service in church. The big difference in participation between the two ceremonies - the secular service is three times as popular as the church confirmation - has prompted a cross-party group of German politicians, mainly from eastern Germany, to propose a new dedication ceremony for teenagers that will not take place in church, but will incorporate Christian elements. [661 words, ENI-01-0033]

Church agency criticises El Salvador's response to devastating earthquake

San Salvador (ENI). Relief agencies, including some linked to churches, have criticised the El Salvador government's response to the earthquake that devastated this Central American nation on 13 January, killing at least 700 people. In a 22 January update on the effects of the disaster, the Lutheran World Federation's (LWF) office in El Salvador criticised the "inefficient, publicity-oriented, preferential and political manner in which bilateral government [aid] has been received, co-ordinated and distributed". [957 words, ENI-01-0033]

24 January 2001

24 January (ENI)--Pope John Paul II has appointed, on 21 January, 37 new cardinals, enlarging to a record size the body that will elect his successor. With the new nominations the College of Cardinals, which for the last 900 years has chosen the bishop of Rome, numbers 180, of whom 128 can vote in the "conclave", the meeting which chooses the pope. This goes beyond the rules established by Pope Paul VI in 1975, and confirmed by John Paul II in 1996, which set the maximum number of cardinals aged below 80 - in other words who have the right to vote - at 120. [1031 words, ENI-01-0030]

UK insurance figures show attacks on church workers are now common

London (ENI). A wave of violence has engulfed church workers in England and Wales, with, on average, more than one assault every day of the year. In 1999, the latest year for which figures are available, 462 church workers, including ministers and priests, were injured in attacks. And because many crimes are not reported, the figure is recognised by the British government as greatly understating the actual level of violence against church workers. [866 words, ENI-01-0031]

23 January 2001

New Delhi (ENI). A memorial service was held this morning at the Leprosy Home in Baripada in the state of Orissa, in India, to mark the second anniversary of the murder of Australian Baptist missionary Graham Stuart Staines and his two sons. Another memorial service was held in New Delhi yesterday. But the services have been overshadowed by a tragic accident on 12 January in which an amateur actor re-enacting the murder was badly burnt. He died a week later. [610 words, ENI-01-0027]

Catholic bishops of Belarus express forgiveness for Soviet-era persecution

Warsaw (ENI). Roman Catholic bishops from Belarus have officially declared forgiveness for acts of persecution directed against the church during the Soviet era, and begged pardon for sins committed by Catholics, including collaboration with the Nazis. The bishops also expressed regret for their failure to "achieve reconciliation" with Orthodox Christians. [848 words, ENI-01-0028]

Slovakia's Orthodox and Greek Catholic churches reach historic accord

Warsaw (ENI). Leaders of Slovakia's Orthodox and Greek Catholic churches have ended a decade-long dispute over properties by accepting an agreement which has the support of the Slovakian government. An Orthodox spokesman said that the accord, which is the first of its kind in the world, could encourage similar breakthroughs in neighbouring countries where the Orthodox and Greek Catholic churches were engaged in arguments over the ownership of properties confiscated during the communist era in Eastern Europe. But he stressed that government help was needed in creating the necessary framework. "The approach we've adopted isn't ideal - but it's the best available," said Professor Milan Gerka, chancellor of the Orthodox Church's metropolitan council in Slovakia. [944 words, ENI-01-0029]

22 January 2001

Barranquilla (ENI). The Latin American Council of Churches (CLAI) has elected an Anglican bishop from the Caribbean as its president for the next six years. Bishop Julio Cesar Holguin, the 53-year-old head of the Episcopal Church in the Dominican Republic, was elected late on 17 January on the second ballot. Sixteen other members of the executive committee were also elected. [945 words, ENI-01-0025]

War, representation and reform - challenges for Latin American council

Barranquilla (ENI). Church leaders in Latin America have ended a regional assembly here with a call for the continent's main ecumenical organisation to adapt to "a new moment in the ecumenical movement". The week-long general assembly of the Latin American Council of Churches (CLAI), which brought together 500 church leaders from throughout Latin America and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean, ended on 19 January with the adoption of a final declaration outlining the main challenges for Latin American ecumenism in the coming years. The challenges include the violent conflict in Colombia, difficult relationships between the various divergent expressions of Christianity in the region, the need for increasing integration of women, indigenous and blacks in CLAI's staff and ruling bodies, and the reorganisation of CLAI itself. [1233 words, ENI-01-0026]

19 January 2001

Barranquilla (ENI). The growth of Pentecostal Christianity provides the greatest challenge to the ecumenical movement in Latin America, but church leaders gathered at a regional conference in this Colombian port city are having a difficult time agreeing on how to respond to the challenge. "Religious pluralism has expanded enormously in Latin America, and the most urgent task the ecumenical movement faces today is how to open up our movement to a wider participation of Pentecostal churches," declared Walter Altmann, outgoing president of the Latin American Council of Churches (CLAI), at the organisation's fourth general assembly. [1375 words, ENI-01-0022]

Russian intellectuals try to revive an ideology that has fallen out of fashion

Moscow (ENI). A group of scientists and human rights activists has established the Moscow Society of Atheists in order to revive an ideology that has gone out of fashion here during a decade of post-communist life. The society has been set up to defend Russia against what its members see as the threat of clericalism as religion, particularly the Russian Orthodox Church, the country's main church, grows in influence. But Vsevolod Chaplin, a leading priest at the Russian Orthodox Church's Moscow Patriarchate overseeing relations with political parties and public organisations, told ENI that the establishment of the Society of Atheists was part of a broader trend, which he described as a "new wave of godlessness among a certain group of Russian intellectuals". [669 words, ENI-01-0023]

Pakistani Catholic priest calls for inter-faith action to end 'blasphemy' law

New Delhi (ENI). A prominent Pakistani Catholic priest detained by police for a week after protesting against Pakistan's draconian blasphemy law has called on Christians to unite with others in a campaign to have the law abolished. "Only in collaboration [with others] can we achieve our demands," said Father Arnold Heredia of Karachi's Catholic archdiocese, who spent six days in police custody and one day in gaol before being released on 16 January on a bond of 30 000 rupees (US$490). All charges against him were dropped. [1160 words, ENI-01-0024]

18 January 2001

Manila (ENI). Angered by what they describe as the "death of truth and justice", thousands of indignant Filipinos, with the blessing of Roman Catholic and Protestant church leaders, are taking to the streets in a protracted campaign to remove their president, Joseph "Erap" Estrada. [948 words, ENI-01-0019]

Columbia president's greeting to church meeting seen as mixed blessing

Barranquilla (ENI). Colombia's President Andres Pastrana has sent greetings to participants meeting in this Colombian port city for the fourth general assembly of the Latin American Council of Churches (CLAI). But one prominent local pastor warned that churches should be wary of greetings from the president. In a letter written on 11 January, President Pastrana declared that the assembly would "help us consolidate in the heart of Colombia the concepts of tolerance, participation, equality, and respect - characteristics of a modern and Christian society." But on 16 January Milciades Pua, a Presbyterian pastor in Barranquilla, reminded the assembly that "the hand which signed the letter to CLAI is the same hand which signed the Plan Colombia for the destruction of our people, the intensification of the war, for the destruction of the peasantry and their land, and for the creation of even more displaced persons". [584 words, ENI-01-0020]

In war-torn Colombia, children dream of a peaceful life

Barranquilla (ENI). During a week-long conference in this Colombian port city packed with speeches and complex panel discussions about theology and ecumenical relations, Latin American church leaders took time to listen to children - the real experts on the future of the region. At an evening session on 16 January, dozens of children spent more than two hours telling church leaders about their wishes and dreams for peace in this troubled nation and beyond. The children sang songs, recited poems, told stories, and shared their prayers for a Latin America filled with peace and justice. [425 words, ENI-01-0021]

17 January 2001

Barranquilla (ENI). A leading Chilean churchman has welcomed court action against his country's former leader, Augusto Pinochet, as a step towards healing the deep wounds of Chile's history. "With the support of the judges, justice is beginning to look like justice," said Isaias Gutierrez, president of the Latin American Council of Evangelical Methodist Churches and former bishop of the Methodist Church of Chile. He was speaking to ENI in Colombia where he is attending the fourth general assembly of the Latin American Council of Churches (CLAI). [886 words, ENI-01-0017]

Dominus Iesus was an attempt to put the clock back, says Methodist leader

Barranquilla (ENI). A recent Vatican document, widely criticised after its publication last September because it suggested that Protestant denominations were not real churches, contained language "insensitive" to Christians in non-Catholic churches, according to a leading Roman Catholic official in Latin America. Bishop Paul Schmitz, director of ecumenical relations for the Latin American (Catholic) Bishops' Conference (CELAM), said that Vatican officials "didn't use ecumenical language" in drafting Dominus Iesus. Federico Pagura, a former bishop of the Methodist Church of Argentina, one of eight presidents of the World Council of Churches and a long-time champion of ecumenism, also interviewed by ENI in Barranquilla, said that the document had in fact had little impact in Latin America. "It's nothing new," Pagura said of the document. "Although some people have been hurt by its contents, it really just restates the old traditional posture of the [Catholic] Church before Vatican II." [1058 words, ENI-01-0018]

16 January 2001

Barranquilla (ENI). Lifting candles high on 14 January in a prayer for peace in this war-torn land, hundreds of Protestant and Evangelical church leaders from throughout Latin America and the Caribbean opened a five-day conference here. The opening worship celebration of the Fourth General Assembly of the Latin American Council of Churches (CLAI) took place in a basketball stadium in the centre of this Colombian port city. More than 2000 local Christians joined almost 500 assembly participants for the three-hour service. The assembly theme, "Free to Construct Peace", is especially relevant in Colombia, where a bloody civil war between government troops, leftist guerrilla groups, and a right-wing paramilitary army has brought continual violence to this country. [740 words, ENI-01-0014]

Casualties and culprits in media reporting of the Yugoslav conflict

Thessaloniki (ENI). As 50 religious leaders, politicians, academics and journalists gathered in this Greek city for a three-day seminar beginning on 11 January to discuss Western media perceptions about the Balkans, many of the non-media delegates focussed their attention on the 1990s Yugoslav conflict and declared that in war, truth is the first casualty. The seminar from 11 to 13 January was organised in part because of concerns among religious leaders that during the violence in the Balkans the Western media reported the conflicts in simplistic and ignorant ways, often wrongly ascribing the conflict to religious differences. [1016 words, ENI-01-0015]

Critics force Latin American council to withdraw mission document

Barranquilla (ENI). A lengthy document outlining the mission of the church in Latin America during the new millennium has been withdrawn by leaders of a regional consultation on mission after several groups - including women, indigenous people, and blacks - strongly objected to its content. The document, Theology on the road, was prepared over the past two years by the Theology Commission of the Latin American Council of Churches (CLAI). It was distributed late last year to participants in this month's regional Mission Consultation and CLAI general assembly which is being held in the Colombian port city. [957 words, ENI-01-0016]

15 January 2001

Barranquilla (ENI). If the leading ecumenical organisation linking Protestant churches across Latin America is to survive in the new millennium, it must overcome its image as an advocate for leftist politics and repair its tendentious relationship with the region's churches, according to a prominent Latin American church historian. That message was delivered on 13 January by Professor Arturo Piedra to a gathering of church officials in this Colombian port city. Piedra is a professor of theology and church history at the Latin American Biblical Seminary in San Jose, Costa Rica. His keynote address launched a Consultation on Mission that preceded the general assembly of the Latin American Council of Churches (CLAI) which groups Protestant churches across the continent. [627 words, ENI-01-0013]

12 January 2001

London (ENI). The British Guide Association has defended a programme for girls aged 14 and over following criticisms from members in the press that the programme handbook contains unsuitable material or wording. The Guides' chief executive, Ms Terry Ryall, defended the organisation and the programme in a statement, saying: "The Guide Association aims to be a progressive organisation which recognises what real life is like for its young members and listens to them. When we stop listening and responding appropriately, within our moral code, we will cease to exist." [693 words, ENI-01-0011]

Episcopal Church set to improve relations with Jewish and Muslim faiths

New York (ENI). The newly appointed officer for ecumenical and interfaith relations for the Episcopal (Anglican) Church in the United States has vowed to make the strengthening of Christian-Jewish-Muslim relations one of his ecumenical priorities. Improving ties between Episcopalians and Orthodox Christians is another of his priorities. "The ecumenical movement is alive and well locally, and the grassroots are leading the way," Bishop Christopher Epting told ENI. Local American churchgoers often "scratch their heads" at theological disagreements among churches at the national and international level, he said. [662 words, ENI-01-0012]

11 January 2001

Lusaka (ENI). Zambia's health minister, Enoch Kavindele, has warned local clergymen that, if the spread of HIV/Aids in his country is not halted soon, "the prospects of pastors preaching to empty churches are very high". Kavindele's warning is directed at church leaders who have bitterly criticised government television advertisements promoting the use of condoms to fight the spread of HIV infection. Church leaders said that the advertisements, some of which feature school students talking about the use of condoms, were in fact contributing to the spread of the disease by endorsing casual sex. [595 words, ENI-01-0010]

10 January 2001

Managua (ENI). While Nicaraguan government agents and police search desperately for her throughout the country, a 70-year-old nurse from the United States is spending her days "just being quiet and praying". The nurse went into hiding in the early hours of 8 December shortly before 15 soldiers armed with machine guns surrounded her house in Mulukuku, a remote jungle village 150 kilometres north-east of Nicaragua's capital, Managua. Since then she has remained in hiding, provoking the anger of the government while receiving support from church groups and human rights organisations around the world. [979 words, ENI-01-0009]

9 January 2001

Moscow (ENI). For the Moscow branch of the Salvation Army, the beginning of the year 2001 marked what the head of the Christian group's Russian operations, Kenneth Baillie, has called a "legal never-never land". "As of two days ago, we do not exist in Moscow," Baillie told ENI in a telephone interview on 3 January, referring to the refusal of the Moscow authorities to re-register the city's branch of the Salvation Army as a religious organisation. Under a controversial law on religion dating from 1997, local branches of the Salvation Army, together with many thousands of religious organisations throughout Russia that had registered under a more liberal 1991 law, had until 31 December 2000 to be re-registered with local authorities. [730 words, ENI-01-0008]

8 January 2001

Washington DC (ENI). With pomp and ceremony on 6 January, the Episcopal (Anglican) Church in the United States and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) formally inaugurated full communion between the two churches with a liturgy lasting almost three hours at the Washington National Cathedral. The Epiphany Day service, attended by 3500 people, symbolised a new relationship between two of the most prominent denominations in the US. The 5.2-million-member ELCA and the 2.5-million-member Episcopal Church now fully recognise each other's members, ministries and sacraments, and can exchange clergy. [1156 words, ENI-01-0006]

Vatican leaders refuse to meet homosexual Christians from United States

Rome (ENI). As the Roman Catholic Church ended its jubilee year on 6 January, a group of homosexual and lesbian Christians from the United States held a protest in Rome against Vatican teaching which states that homosexual acts are "objectively disordered". The delegation of 24 members of two homosexual organisations - Dignity, an American organisation representing gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Catholics, and Soulforce, an ecumenical and interfaith coalition which led a string of gay protests at US church meetings last year - asked for an audience with Catholic leaders, including Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The cardinal did not reply to the request for a meeting. [710 words, ENI-01-0007]

5 January 2001

Thrissur (ENI). A group of concerned church leaders and activists in southern India has launched a campaign to combat "the deep-rooted cancer of corruption" within churches. The campaign has been established following the murder of a bishop, the imprisonment of another, and a rise in concern among church members that corruption is rife in church hierarchies, particularly in denominations which receive funding from abroad. A seven-member task group of officials from church-related organisations "to fight corruption and violence within the church" has been set up following a meeting by more than 20 church leaders on 9 December at the Inter-Church Service Association (ICSA) in Chennai, capital of the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. [999 words, ENI-01-0004]

Moscow abstains as 15 Orthodox leaders reach historic agreement

Geneva (ENI). Leaders of 15 of the world's 16 Eastern Orthodox churches have vowed to work more closely together in ways that are likely to raise their international profile on moral and ethical concerns. At a meeting on 24 December at the headquarters of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomeos I, in Phanar, Istanbul, leaders of 15 autocephalous (self-governing) and autonomous Orthodox churches vowed to increase co-operation, including: the establishment of regular summit meetings to deal with current Orthodox issues; the setting up of an inter-Orthodox federation of theological schools around the world; the foundation of an inter-Orthodox committee on bioethics. [1208 words, ENI-01-0005]

4 January 2001

Edmonton (ENI). Churchgoers who decline to drink from the communion cup for fear of disease and dip the bread into the wine instead are far more susceptible to infection, according to a report recently released by the Anglican Church of Canada. Cardiologist Dr David Gould, author of the study Eucharistic Practice and the Risk of Infection, has said that fingers which come into contact with the wine are a greater source of infection than lips which touch the common communion cup. [964 words, ENI-01-0002]

Speculation begins over who will succeed Patriarch Diodoros of Jerusalem

Geneva and Jerusalem (ENI). Mourners from many different churches - Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant - in the Holy Land paid their respects to one of Jerusalem's most prominent religious leaders, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, Diodoros I, at his funeral on 22 December. Messages of condolence also arrived from churches and church-related organisations around the world and from political leaders in the Middle East. At the same time, church members and the media have begun speculating about who will succeed the patriarch. [911 words, ENI-01-0003]

3 January 2001

London (ENI). The head of a leading development charity, Dr David Bryer of Oxfam UK, is to become the first chief executive of the World Faiths Development Dialogue (WFDD), a multi-faith initiative launched three years ago by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr George Carey, and the president of the World Bank, James Wolfensohn. [1024 words, ENI-01-0001]

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