London (ENI). Supporters fighting to save four "Christian wings" in British prisons have been heartened by an invitation to put new proposals to the government's prison service, according to Ian Aldred of the Kainos Community, which funds the wings. The wings are earmarked for closure - the first as soon as January - despite claims that they improve inmates' behaviour and their chances of resettlement into society. The charity - whose name comes from a Greek word signifying "new beginnings" - financed the wings as prototypes for the entire UK prison system with the hope that they would eventually receive funding from the prison service. [748 words, ENI-01-0408]

After bloody Sri Lankan elections, churches mobilise to overcome violence

Colombo (ENI). The unprecedented degree of bloodshed surrounding elections last week in this island nation in the Indian Ocean has increased the sense of urgency felt by churches working to stem violence in this region wrought by ethnic conflict. During the four-week election campaign that resulted in last week's victory for the opposition United National Party (UNP), 50 activists belonging to different political parties were murdered and approximately 3000 other violent incidents were reported by volunteer election monitors. [493 words, ENI-01-0409]

Let Harry Potter conjure up 'Gospel magic', says Christian magician

London (ENI). Hogwarts and Quidditch and Platform 9 3/4 at Kings Cross Station - all part of the make-believe world of the Harry Potter books - have the enthusiastic support of Christian magician Andrew Thompson, who thinks that such "fantasy magic" opens children's imagination to the wonders of the world. It is an approach he follows in his own work combining membership of the Fellowship of Christian Magicians and Anglican parish ministry in Derby, central England. Conjuring tricks, he says, are "an unbeatable way to teach the Gospel" to adults and children alike. "Conjuring is on the same level as telling a story or showing a movie. There's nothing a Christian could feel tainted by," he told ENI. [645 words, ENI-01-0410]

These are the last scheduled news highlights for 2001. The service will resume in early January. The staff of ENI wish all our readers a very happy Christmas.

13 December 2001

Warsaw (ENI). European church bodies have criticised a package of anti-terrorism measures to be put before a European Union summit this weekend, warning that the legislation could endanger human rights and civil liberties. "Governments have a right and duty to protect their citizens, but they should take a holistic, long-term view of the consequences of their actions," said Dr Keith Clements, general secretary of the Conference of European Churches (CEC), which has more than 125 member churches, predominantly from Protestant, Orthodox and Anglican traditions. Dr Clements was speaking as the EU prepared for a final agreement on the anti-terrorism package at the summit of heads of government from the EU's 15 member states that starts tomorrow in Laeken, on the outskirts of Brussels. [543 words, ENI-01-0407]

12 December 2001

Colombo (ENI). In spite of church leaders' hopes that peace would follow last week's elections in this island nation torn by years of ethnic conflict, renewed violence broke out today between rebel Tamil forces and the government. At least 16 people have died in an attack by Tamil Tiger rebels on a military base and at a police station, and through return strikes by the Sri Lankan military forces, the BBC reported. Just yesterday Christian leaders had expressed optimism that Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe, sworn in on 9 December, would seek national consensus in solving the ethnic conflict. [542 words, ENI-01-0406]

11 December 2001

New York (ENI). The Rev. Pat Robertson, the influential religious broadcaster and one-time Republican presidential candidate, has resigned as president of the conservative Christian Coalition, a move some critics said could mark the end of the organisation that helped mobilise millions of US evangelical Christian voters in the 1990s. But other observers said neither Robertson nor the religious right in the United States should be written off, and Robertson himself said he was leaving at a time when conservative Christians could point to at least two major recent successes. "Without us, I do not believe that George Bush would be sitting in the White House or that Republicans would be in control of the United States House of Representatives," he said in a statement. [717 words, ENI-01-0405]

10 December 2001

New Delhi (ENI). A new school curriculum set to go into effect in India in 2002 has drawn protest from churches who see it as an attempt by the pro-Hindu coalition government to "tamper" with history in order to promote Hinduism at the expense of minority religions. The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) in a statement on 7 December expressed "serious concern over tampering with historical data" and cautioned education policy makers "not to deprive the coming generations of the possibility to know the truth in its integrity, an essential ingredient for any civil society". Earlier, the executive committee of the National Council of Churches in India (NCCI) decried attempts by the government "to promote Hindutva [Hindu nationalism] through education". [709 words, ENI-01-0404]

7 December 2001

London (ENI). A snapshot of British religious beliefs has found that people attach more importance to having a church funeral than to being married by the church or having their children baptised. Three-quarters of those who died in 2000 had a Christian funeral ceremony, while the proportion of first marriages taking place in church was 54 per cent and only around one-third of children were baptised in their first year. The findings are reported in the 2002/03 edition of Religious Trends, published by Christian Research, the UK's leading compiler of church statistics. [572 words, ENI-01-0403]

6 December 2001

Oxford (ENI). A fifth of Europeans questioned in an international survey say the 11 September attacks in the United States brought them "closer to religion", while almost half now claim to have "changed priorities". Three-quarters of Europeans surveyed said their family was now "most important" to them, with 47 per cent saying that they expected to be more "family-focused" in future. The survey, conducted by Euro RSCG Worldwide, an international advertising agency network based in New York, also found that 35 per cent of Italians and 16 per cent of Dutch people planned to "focus more on religion" over Christmas. [727 words, ENI-01-0401]

Church groups say anti-terror law is a 'political weapon' against minorities

New Delhi (ENI). Churches and Christian groups have criticised a proposed controversial anti-terrorism law that they fear the Indian government wants to push through parliament despite widespread criticism and protests. The coalition government in October issued the Prevention Of Terrorism Ordinance (POTO) in the wake of the 11 September attacks in the United States. On Tuesday, hundreds of journalists and activists demonstrated here against the measure while, at an all-party meeting convened by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, opposition parties condemned the legislation. Critics of the ordinance worry that it could be misused against minorities and social activists. [638 words, ENI-01-0400]

Church observers criticise statement on Israel's handling of Palestinians

Geneva (ENI). Church officials observing an international conference here on Israel's treatment of Palestinians have criticised the gathering for issuing a declaration without ensuring the measures necessary to enforce its provision. Representatives of 114 countries attending the meeting on 5 December issued a declaration demanding that Israel respect the rights of Palestinians in the occupied territories, as set down in the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 that regulates the treatment of civilians under military occupation. [644 words, ENI-01-0402]

5 December 2001

Peshawar (ENI). More than a month after an attack on a Christian church left 16 people dead, Pakistan's government still hasn't solved the killings, according to church leaders here. "Government officials just keep saying they are working on it, yet no one has been arrested as far as we know. We think they know who did it, and announcing an arrest would be a big step forward," Victor Azariah, the general secretary of the National Council of Churches of Pakistan, told ENI. [759 words, ENI-01-0399]

4 December 2001

Geneva (ENI). Secular media are sometimes more courageous in debating religious issues than churches, according to Pieter van der Ven, a Dutch journalist who has just been presented with the 2000 John Templeton European Religion Writer of the Year award. Speaking at an award ceremony in Geneva on 30 November, van der Ven, desk chief for religion and philosophy at the Dutch daily newspaper Trouw, pointed to the response of churches after the events of 11 September. Many church people, said van der Ven, were ready "to admit that Christianity and Western arrogance and wealth are much to blame for the wrongs in the world," and, as a result, were reluctant to sound critical and afraid of appearing superior. [718 words, ENI-01-0398]

Canada's Anglicans celebrate 25th anniversary of women in ministry

Vancouver (ENI). Since 1976, when the first women were ordained as priests in the Anglican Church of Canada (ACC), more than 500 have entered the priesthood. Today 16 per cent of the church's active clergy - or 344 priests - are women. The Anglican Communion was first invited to consider admitting women to the priesthood at the Lambeth Conference in 1968. [571 words, ENI-01-0397]

3 December 2001

Bulawayo, Zimbabwe (ENI). Zimbabwe's outspoken Roman Catholic Archbishop Pius Ncube has denounced the ''hypocrisy'' of President Robert Mugabe's government and ordered church workers to defy an edict that only ruling party officials may distribute food aid. One of the southern African country's most prominent clergymen said in an interview that 77-year-old Mugabe is ''a Catholic when it suits him'' and is prepared to sacrifice the lives of thousands of Zimbabweans just to stay in power after elections due early next year. [545 words, ENI-01-0396]

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