Johannesburg (ENI). South Africa's Anglican archbishop has launched a powerful attack on the country's president, Thabo Mbeki, and his repeated questioning of the scientific premise that HIV leads to Aids. Speaking on Monday at a conference in Johannesburg, Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane of Cape Town said ''nothing could be more cruel to those infected than to believe that HIV is not the cause of Aids''. The archbishop's speech, to a medical conference in the run-up to World Aids Day on 1 December, came as the United Nations published new and alarming figures about the spread of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (Aids). [670 words, ENI-01-0393]

Cloning of human embryos prompts questioning by churches

30 November (ENI)--A leading British bioethicist, Dr Donald Bruce, has called for a global treaty to ban human reproductive cloning following the announcement that a US company has produced cloned human embryos. The announcement, by Advanced Cell Technology (ACT) of Worcester, Massachusetts, prompted criticism from a number of church leaders and condemnation by US President George Bush who described the cloning as "morally wrong" and "bad public policy". [1150 words, ENI-01-0394]

Dutch synods approve blessing of same-sex partnerships

Amsterdam (ENI). The largest Protestant church body in the Netherlands has approved the blessing of same-sex partnerships. The decision was taken by the three synods of the Uniting Protestant Churches in the Netherlands at a joint meeting from 22 to 24 November near the town of Ede. The Uniting Protestant Churches - a federation of the two main Reformed churches and the smaller Lutheran church in the Netherlands - represent some 2.7 million Christians. The three churches have been engaged in a long-running merger process. [476 words, ENI-01-0395]

29 November 2001

Oxford (ENI). Church leaders in Romania have condemned government plans for a 120-hectare Dracula Park to encourage tourist interest in Transylvania's legendary vampire. "The Dracula myth has nothing to do with the Romanian people or its history," said Costel Stoica, spokesman for the Romanian Orthodox Church's Bucharest patriarchate. "It gives a false image of our country, deriving from an Irish writer's fantasy." The Orthodox priest was reacting to a vote on 19 November by Romania's senate, approving a tourism ministry ordinance setting up the park outside the northern town of Sighisoara. [522 words, ENI-01-0392]

28 November 2001

Bielefeld (ENI). A controversy has broken out in Germany over assistance given by church agencies to homeless people congregating at railway stations. Seeking warmth and shelter, many of the urban homeless gather at the stations, in some cases receiving assistance from the Bahnhofsmission, or station mission, an ecumenical agency that offers aid at 100 of the country's main railway stations. In recent weeks, however, the head of German Rail, Hartmut Mehdorn, has said repeatedly that he wants homeless people blocked from entering railway stations. German Rail is implementing a co-ordinated programme for "service, security and cleanliness" at its stations - a plan that doesn't fit well with the presence of a homeless population. [569 words, ENI-01-0391]

27 November 2001

Amsterdam (ENI). An exchange of preachers meant to stimulate inter-religious dialogue in the city of Rotterdam has gained city council support for a second year, starting in January 2002. The council voted to extend financial resources for the "Preaching in the Other's Parish" project, as part of a programme of activities to celebrate the Dutch city's status as one of the Cultural Capitals of Europe for 2001. Each weekend this year, from late January until the end of December, one guest preacher has been invited to speak at a different congregation's church, mosque, synagogue or temple. [663 words, ENI-0390]

26 November 2001

New York (ENI). The newly installed president of the US National Council of Churches (NCC) says the nation's largest ecumenical agency must embark on a period of sustained and serious reflection if it hopes to overcome continuing problems and challenges. "If we understand what we are and how we relate as a council, then everything else will follow," Elenie Huszagh told ENI in an interview following her 15 November installation as NCC president during the council's general assembly in Oakland, California. "An ecumenical organisation is more than what we do together," she said. "It's what we are together." Huszagh is the council's first Orthodox lay person and the first Orthodox woman to hold the one-year (2002-2003) position of president. [894 words, ENI-01-0389]

23 November 2001

Moscow (ENI). In a move that raised some eyebrows in Moscow, Patriarch Alexei II, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, appeared in a television commercial promoting Russia's No. 1 oil company, LUKoil. But officials at both the church and the oil company told ENI it was a "natural" way to thank the company for its contribution to the rebuilding of churches buildings. A 25-second advertisement run after RTR television's morning news last Monday and followed by a beer commercial showed the patriarch outside a church surrounded by LUKoil officials, including company president Vagit Alekperov. [874 words, ENI-01-0388]

22 November 2001

Moscow (ENI). In a bizarre mix of farce and tragedy, a report in a respected Russian newspaper about the arrest of a supposed Orthodox priest in Chechnya on suspicion of illegal arms trading appears to have prevented a group of elderly ethnic Russians from fleeing the region to Moscow, church officials said. Mikhail Vasilyev, a young and energetic Orthodox priest who works in the Moscow Patriarchate's department for contacts with the armed forces, has visited Chechnya four times this year and has worked hard to establish his credibility with military officials and the Kremlin-backed government of Akhmad Kadyrov in Chechnya. But Vasilyev said he was not the same "Father Mikhail" arrested in the Chechen capital, Grozny, for trying to sell a case of machine-gun cartridges, as the Izvestia newspaper reported on 5 November. "It was some bearded guy in black clothes who posed as a priest," an indignant Vasilyev told ENI. [856 words, ENI-01-0386]

Scottish bishop hopes to offer 'lifeline' to doubting Christians

London (ENI). Bishop Richard Holloway, until last year the head of the Scottish Episcopal (Anglican) Church, has admitted that he may have ceased to be a Christian although he has given his life to the faith. In his new book, Doubts and Loves, the former bishop of Edinburgh also says he has "ended up in my sixties the kind of bishop that I attacked when I was a priest in my thirties. This book may conclusively demonstrate my departure from the faith ... On the other hand ... it may offer a lifeline to people who, like me, want to remain members of the Christian community, but only if they can bring their minds, formed by the science and philosophy of the day, along with them," he writes. [708 words, ENI-01-0387]

21 November 2001

New York, 21 November (ENI )--New York City clergy say the recent visit of an ecumenical delegation to show solidarity with US churches in the wake of the 11 September terrorist attacks proved to be an important and necessary moment in their struggle to offer pastoral care. "It was therapeutic," said the Rev Elias Villis, priest at the Greek Orthodox Church of Our Savior in Rye, a New York City suburb. Villis was one of more than a dozen clergy who met the ecumenical delegation of the World Council of Churches on 8 November at the national headquarters of the Episcopal (Anglican) Church. In an interview with ENI, Villis - who ministered to fire-fighters, police and other emergency personnel in the days immediately following the attack at the "Ground Zero" site of the fallen twin towers of the World Trade Center - said it was something of a new experience for US churches and clergy to be receiving such pastoral attention from fellow clergy elsewhere in the world. [658 words, ENI-01-0385]

20 November 2001

Peshawar (ENI). Church-sponsored aid workers here on the border with Afghanistan say time is running out for the international community to prevent a bloodbath inside Afghanistan. "We need a massive influx of troops, not under the guise of protecting humanitarian aid, because we know best how to do that, but rather to simply stand between the warring armies and stop the country from falling into chaos," said a European church worker here who asked not to be identified. While church workers on the Afghan-Pakistani border are not afraid to speak openly about relief operations, many say they are reluctant to make public political statements because they have to carry out their work in a treacherous political landscape. [815 words, ENI-01-0384]

19 November 2001

London (ENI). Civilians not soldiers are increasingly the victims of the world's armed conflicts, according to Scilla Elworthy, director of the Oxford Research Group, in an introduction to War Prevention Works, a new book from the group. In the 20th century, more than 100 million people died in war. At the start of the century, military personnel accounted for four-fifths of the deaths, and civilians one-fifth. By the end of the century, it was the other way round. War Prevention Works sets out 50 case studies of non-violent conflict resolution initiatives, describing them as "extraordinarily cost-effective", but adds: "For every one of these successful interventions, many others failed for lack of funds or resources." [826 words, ENI-01-0383]

19 November 2001

Amsterdam (ENI). As the observance of Ramadan begins in many parts of the Islamic world this week, world and national ecumenical bodies are sending greetings to the Muslim faithful. The Council of Churches in the Netherlands has prepared a short text of seasonal greetings that Christians can offer Muslim friends and neighbours to acknowledge the holy month-long period of fasting. The words of the text stress the need for continued dialogue between the two religions. "The friendships between Muslims and Christians have come under pressure in recent months," says the Dutch greeting, which Christians can copy and hand to Muslims at Eid al-Fitr, the festival marking the end of Ramadan, in mid-December this year. [698 words, ENI-01-0381]

Afghan diplomat outlines plans for government even as events unfold

Geneva (ENI). The Afghan official representative to the United Nations in Geneva has said that Christian as well as other aid organisations could have a role to play in a new Afghanistan - as long as they don't promote Christianity. Afghan diplomat Humayun Tandar told ENI that Christian and other humanitarian agencies could help a post-war Afghanistan to rebuild community schools and health clinics. But "proselytism creates tension", warned Tandar, a representative of the government of former Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani, who is still recognised by the United Nations. Tandar made his comments on 14 November, a day before the rescue of eight foreign aid workers who had been held under arrest by the Taliban government for three months, charged with promoting Christianity. [915 words, ENI-01-0382]

16 November 2001

Geneva (ENI). The Afghan official representative to the United Nations in Geneva has said that Christian as well as other aid organisations could have a role to play in a new Afghanistan - as long as they don't promote Christianity. Afghan diplomat Humayun Tandar told ENI that Christian and other humanitarian agencies could help a post-war Afghanistan to rebuild community schools and health clinics. But "proselytism creates tension", warned Tandar, a representative of the government of former Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani, who is still recognised by the United Nations. [915 words, ENI-01-0382]

15 November 2001

New York (ENI). The first Native American woman to be named bishop of a church in the United States says her appointment should expand the parameters of the Episcopal (Anglican) Church. At the same time, the Rev. Carol Gallagher - who in early 2002 will become the suffragan (assistant) bishop of the Episcopal Church's diocese in the southern part of Virginia - describes herself as a "traditionalist" when it comes to liturgy. [688 words, ENI-01-0380]

14 November 2001

New Delhi (ENI). With the number of people with AIDS increasing dramatically in India, a national forum of Christian hospitals and health workers has resolved to engage churches in an AIDS awareness campaign. "We want to involve not only the service wing of the churches but the church leadership and the congregations in the fight against AIDS," Dr Vijay Aruldas, general secretary of the Christian Medical Association of India (CMAI), told ENI. CMAI has also decided to set up a task force "to monitor progress" on AIDS abatement. These decisions emerged during the biennial general assembly here from 8 to 10 November which marked the 75th anniversary of the medical organisation. CMAI is a forum of 4000 Christian health workers and 370 health-care institutions affiliated with Protestant and Orthodox churches. [649 words, ENI-01-0379]

13 November 2001

New York (ENI). A prominent United Methodist bishop has accused the Philippine military of human rights violations in the wake of the 8 October killing of five fishermen, arguing that the deaths reveal an alarming state of militarization in the Philippines. Speaking to United Methodist Church (UMC) staff and reporters here on 9 November, Bishop Solito Toquero criticised the Philippine military for claiming that the five men - three of them members of a United Methodist Church - were members of the New People's Army (NPA), an armed communist rebel group, and that they died in a skirmish with the army. [873 words, ENI-01-0378]

12 November 2001

London (ENI). The Methodist Church has complained that proposals to reform Britain's gambling laws do not go far enough, leaving children free to roam amusement arcades and feed slot machines for money prizes. The independent Gambling Review Group, appointed by the British government, wants low pay-out fruit machines banned from unlicensed premises like cafes and taxi offices, but would leave them in amusement arcades. Their unsupervised use by teenagers would continue to be legal. In response to the review group's proposals, the Methodists, on behalf of British and Irish churches, ask for a minimum age of 18 for all forms of gambling, including the National Lottery, and say the UK is alone among western European countries and the United States in allowing under-18s to gamble. [629 words, ENI-01-0377]

9 November 2001

Jerusalem (ENI). The Israeli Government is refusing to recognise the authority of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of the Holy Land, more than two months after his election, on suspicion that he is pro-Palestinian. The refusal to approve the appointment is said to be disrupting the day-to-day functioning of the Greek Patriarchate, the oldest and most powerful church in Jerusalem. Under a law dating back to the 6th century emperor Justinian, the government of the Holy Land has the right to approve or disqualify candidates for the office of patriarch. [727 words, ENI-01-0376]

8 November 2001

Churches support thousands of Dalits in their conversion to Buddhism

New Delhi (ENI). In an attempt to escape a rigid caste system that has made them social outcastes, thousands of Hindu Dalits embraced Buddhism at a mass conversion ceremony here on 4 November supported by churches and Christian groups. In a three-hour initiation ceremony, the Dalits formally rejected the caste system along with their Hindu faith. Buddhist monks shaved the heads of the ceremony leaders, while many other Dalits arrived at the ceremony having already tonsured their heads. Some churches and Christian organisations publicly expressed their support for the ceremony seen as an exercise of the Dalits' right to choose their religion. [927 words, ENI-0374]

Government decision to settle residential school cases upsets churches

Vancouver (ENI). A federal Canadian government decision to settle legal claims of abuse at Indian Residential Schools has been met with surprise and distress by four Canadian churches - even though the government has agreed to shoulder more responsibility. Deputy Prime Minister Herb Gray, the head of a government team negotiating with the churches, announced on 29 October that the government would pay 70 per cent of the compensation destined for 1000 former students of the now-defunct church-run federal institutions. The offer could apply to thousands more former students who allege sexual, emotional, physical and cultural abuse at the schools, administered by four Canadian denominations on behalf of the Canadian government from 1820 to 1969. [787 words, ENI-01-0375]

7 November 2001

Call to Russian Orthodox unity gets stern response

Moscow (ENI). Moscow Patriarch Alexei II on 5 November expressed a mixture of disappointment and understanding over the cool reception his call to unity was given by an assembly of émigré Russian bishops in New York last week. The bishops of the New York-based émigré Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia elected a new, moderate leader, but they responded sternly to the Moscow patriarch's call for unity. At issue is the lingering division between the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR), which broke away from the Moscow Patriarchate in the 1920s over the Moscow church's co-operation with the Soviet state. [1114 words, ENI-01-0373]

6 November 2001

Managua (ENI). Nicaraguan voters on Sunday turned down a former revolutionary's bid to retake power in elections that church leaders said were surprisingly peaceful. Former Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega, the Sandinista National Liberation Front candidate, conceded defeat on Monday to the Constitutional Liberal Party's Enrique Bolańos, a former vice president. "It was very democratic," said Gustavo Parajón, a Baptist pastor in Managua and former president of the Nicaraguan Council of Evangelical Churches. "We seem to have finally institutionalised the idea that we can change governments in Nicaragua without having to resort to arms." [1046 words, ENI-01-0372]

5 November 2001

New Delhi (ENI). Christian groups are concerned that a plan to curb the flow of foreign funds to organisations in India could threaten Christian bodies and other non-governmental organisations (NGOs). In a move ostensibly aimed at cutting off financing of terrorist groups from outside sources, the Indian government plans to replace the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) with stringent legislation to curb foreign donations, according to recent news reports. But Christian bodies fear that more restrictive legislation could lead to a clamp down on foreign donations to legitimate Christian and other organisations unpopular with the government. [575 words, ENI-01-0370]

Killing of church-linked human rights lawyer in Mexico provokes protest

Tegucigalpa (ENI). The assassination of a leading human rights lawyer has left Mexico's new president facing protests at home and abroad, and leaders of church and human rights organisations promise that the criticism will continue to grow until justice is done. Digna Ochoa y Placido, a 37-year old former Dominican nun, was killed in her Mexico City office late on 19 October. Investigators said she had been shot twice; a point-blank shot to the head was cited as the cause of death. [680 words, ENI-01-0371]

2 November 2001

New York and London (ENI). A number of prominent religious and secular relief organisations in the United States and Britain are calling for a suspension of the United States-led bombing of Afghanistan so that food can be delivered prior to the onset of Afghanistan's harsh winter. Jonathan Frerichs, a spokesman for Lutheran World Relief, based in Baltimore, Maryland, said that poor security caused by the war had limited the movement of aid truck drivers and aid workers. Bombings and seizures of aid storage facilities and vehicles had also compounded the problems, and distribution had become more difficult. [824 words, ENI-01-0369]

New library established in India to honour missionary

New Delhi (ENI). A new library has been established in memory of a pioneering missionary known for his literary contributions to Malayalam, the language associated with the southern Indian state of Kerala, where the library is located. In October, the North Kerala diocese of the Church of South India (CSI) opened the Gundert memorial library, named after German missionary Hermann Gundert. [578 words, ENI-01-0368]

1 November 2001

Amsterdam (ENI). The prospect of a financial deficit has led the largest Protestant church body in The Netherlands to propose a major cut in staff based at its national and regional offices. The measure, which requires synod approval, would lead to staff being laid off, according to a statement by the Uniting Protestant Churches in The Netherlands (UPCN), and will affect some of the church body's operations. [556 words, ENI-01-0367]

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