Geneva (ENI). Ten European Christians, soon to be joined by two more, have arrived in Israel and Palestine to "accompany" religious leaders, social and other service workers and peace activists - all of whom are particularly vulnerable to the violence that is plaguing the region. The 10 - from Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway - are the initial participants in the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel, approved late last year by the WCC's executive committee. [491 words, ENI-02-0266] North American and European church leaders urge restraint with Iraq

Geneva (ENI). Leaders of two dozen mainstream North American and British churches have called on their governments to halt a "rush to war" with Iraq. In an open letter, the church leaders urge their governments to exercise restraint in the face of demands for military action to remove Iraqi President Saddam Hussein from power. [399 words, ENI-02-0267]

Irish Catholic priest goes underground in Zimbabwe after threats

Harare (ENI). An Irish Roman Catholic priest in Zimbabwe's eastern Nyanga district has fled his parish and has gone into hiding following threats by militants belonging to the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF) of President Robert Mugabe and from suspected government intelligence agents. Father Patrick Joseph Kelly, 60, who has worked in Zimbabwe since 1999, was accused of "preaching opposition politics" and sympathising with white commercial farmers and workers affected by the government's chaotic and sometimes violent land reforms. [524 words, ENI-02-0268]

29 August 2002

Geneva (ENI). The question of how Christians seeking to unite can worship together when they have widely differing liturgies and ceremonies triggered vigorous debate at a meeting in Geneva of the main governing body of the World Council of Churches. A proposal to do away with the term "ecumenical worship" at WCC gatherings and instead distinguish between "confessional common prayer" (the formal liturgies of member churches) and "inter-confessional common prayer" (services which blend liturgical elements from a number of Christian traditions) dominated discussions. [948 words, ENI-02-0265]

WCC looks at radical proposals on worship and decision-making

Geneva (ENI). Far-reaching proposals dealing with future worship and decision-making procedures at the World Council of Churches have been presented to a meeting of the ecumenical organisation's main governing body in Geneva. The proposals are contained in a report from a special commission set up to deal with grievances expressed by its Orthodox member churches, including the charge that the WCC is too dominated by Protestant theology and decision-making styles. [978 words, ENI-02-0264]

WCC has to grapple with diverse beliefs as it strives for unity of members

Geneva (ENI). Tensions within Christianity - which professes to be a "church universal" but which struggles with divisions and disagreements about how to live out that unity locally - continue to occupy a meeting in Geneva of the World Council of Churches. "The church is at once universal and local, diverse and one," Hermen Shastri from the Methodist Church in Malaysia told the WCC's central committee, its main governing body, which is meeting until 3 September. One of the most contentious issues - the ordination of women - is to be tackled next year at a consultation to be organised by the WCC's Faith and Order Commission. [734 words, ENI-02-0262]

28 August 2002

Geneva (ENI). The World Council of Churches central committee has taken steps to substantially cut its programmes, while the ecumenical organisation's general secretary, Konrad Raiser, has blamed global economic conditions for massive revenue shortfalls. The committee meeting in Geneva was told the WCC needed to reduce its expenditure by nearly CHF 5 million (US$ 3.34 million) by the end of the year to deal with a shortfall in income. The WCC had budgeted a total income of almost CHF 47 million for 2002. [406 words, ENI-02-0262]

Support for democratic reform in Pakistan is waning, WCC leaders hear

Geneva (ENI). A leading Pakistani human rights activist has charged that support is waning from Western governments and religious groups for democratic reforms in her country. Many ordinary Muslims in Pakistan were challenging extremist religious positions, Dr Asma Jahangir, a former official of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, has told the central committee of the World Council of Churches, the WCC's main governing body. [664 words, ENI-02-0261]

Reformed churches told: Act locally to halt negative effects of globalisation

Oradea, Romania (ENI). Actions similar to those used by Reformed congregations in Europe that helped bring down the apartheid ideology of racism in South Africa could be used to tackle the negative effects of globalisation, delegates at a global meeting of church leaders have been told. This call was made by Setri Nyomi, general secretary of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches in an address to delegates at the world body's European Area Council, held 18-23 August in Oradea, Romania. [419 words, ENI-02-0260]

Churches try to broker end to Indian Orthodox feud

New Delhi (ENI). Church leaders in the southern Indian state of Kerala have launched a peace initiative to bring an end to a decades-old church dispute that in recent weeks has spilled over into street fights and violence. A dispute simmering since 1912 has split into two factions the Orthodox Church, which has 2.5 million members mainly concentrated in Kerala and is the second-biggest church there. [456 words, ENI-02-0259]

27 August 2002

Geneva (ENI). The World Council of Churches is in a "financially unsustainable position" and its central committee meeting in Geneva will have to take decisions to restore "financial stability", the committee has heard. Anders Gadegaard, on behalf of the WCC's finance committee, said the council's audited financial results for 2001 showed an operating deficit of CHF 5.9 million (US$3.91 million) or CHF 4.3 million more than budgeted, largely due to a poor global economic climate. [752 words, ENI-02-0257]

WCC's Raiser calls for reforms of church bodies

Geneva (ENI). The general secretary of the World Council of Churches has called for reforms in the way churches work together to ensure that church bodies remain viable in the 21st century. A recent increase in financial pressure and difficulty in attracting younger people to the ecumenical movement are signs that church organisations needs to change their structures, suggested Dr Konrad Raiser, WCC general secretary. [580 words, ENI-02-0258]

Tensions boil over at European gathering of Reformed churches

Oradea, Romania (ENI). Tensions boiled over on the last day of a European Reformed church gathering in Romania with senior leaders of the host church, the Reformed Church in Romania, complaining of manipulation and undemocratic methods reminiscent of the communist era. The drama unfolded on 23 August at the end of the European Area Council meeting of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, held from 18 to 23 August in Oradea, Romania and some delegates feared that it threatened the very existence of the grouping. [784 words, ENI-02-0255]

'Retirement' for pastor means hard work with troubled Uruguay church

New York (ENI). At a time when many people his age would be thinking of retirement, Oscar Bolioli, 68, is returning from New York to his native Uruguay to become president of the country's Evangelical Methodist Church. Bolioli, a Methodist pastor, is currently the associate general secretary for international relations at the United States' National Council of Churches, whose headquarters are in New York. These days Bolioli is critical of both church pragmatism and liberation theology. [612 words, ENI-02-0256]

26 August 2002

Geneva (ENI). Leaders of the main governing body of the world's largest grouping of Christian churches have expressed concerns about how the blind acceptance of market principles can exclude many people in the process of globalisation. The meeting of the central committee of the World Council of Churches began in Geneva as the United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development was starting in Johannesburg [839 words, ENI-02-0254]

'Critical realism' needed to respond to globalisation, says WCC moderator

Geneva (ENI). Globalisation is an irreversible process to which all people are subject and which churches cannot escape , Catholicos Aram I, the moderator of the World Council of Churches' central committee has said. At a meeting in Geneva of the central committee - the WCC's main governing body, Aram, a member of the Armenian Apostolic Church (an Oriental Orthodox church), said a critical issue was how the church should respond to the challenges of globalisation. [596 words, ENI-02-0253]

Churches celebrate pioneering work of Lausanne conference 75 years ago

Lausanne (ENI). Church leaders have gathered to mark the 75th anniversary of the first World Conference on Faith and Order that took place here in 1927. That meeting 75 years ago has been described as literally the first time since Christendom began to be divided that official representatives of churches discussed divisive questions of doctrine in an effort to learn rather than simply to dispute. [908 words, ENI-02-0251]

Greek Orthodox official questioned in Israel, criticised by patriarchate

Jerusalem (ENI). Israeli police have questioned an official of the Greek Orthodox Church in Jerusalem on suspicion of supporting terror groups and illegally visiting countries hostile to the existence of the Jewish State, because, he says, he continues to support Palestinians. Archimandrite Atallah Hanna, who has faced criticism from his patriarchate for his alleged remarks, claimed after his release from custody that his arrest had been unjustified as he had only expressed opposition to Israel's military occupation of areas claimed by the Palestinians. [433 words, ENI-02-0252]

23 August 2002

Geneva (ENI). Sweeping changes to the World Council of Churches (WCC) - the world's biggest ecumenical body - are to be discussed by the organisation's main governing body, the central committee, when it meets in Geneva next week. The 158-member central committee that meets 26 August-3 September will have before it what may be controversial proposals centring on the future decision-making process of the organisation and on financial difficulties it faces. [538 words, ENI-02-0249]

New Anglican head in Kenya opposed to abortion and homosexuality

Nairobi (ENI). Bishop Benjamin Nzimbi, who will be consecrated as the new head of the Anglican church in Kenya on 22 September, is socially conservative and known to be vehemently opposed to homosexuality and abortion. Currently bishop of Kitui Diocese in eastern Kenya and dean of the Anglican Church, Nzimbi, unlike his predecessor, Archbishop David Gitari, 65, does not have a reputation for being politically outspoken. [239 words, ENI-02-0250]

22 August 2002

Harare (ENI). The Anglican Church in Zimbabwe is facing new strains with a weekend vote of no-confidence in the dean of the St Mary and All Saints cathedral in Harare, while the Mennonites have decided to go ahead and hold their World Conference in the troubled country next year. Rev. Godfrey Tawonezvi was said to have been handpicked as dean in September last year by Bishop Nolbert Kunonga, seen by many in the church as having a cosy relationship with President Robert Mugabe. [502 words]

21 August 2002

Oradea, Romania (ENI). Wrongs that ethnic Hungarians charge have been committed against them in eastern Europe and especially Romania, particularly during the communist era, have dominated the opening days of a European meeting of Reformed Christians, taking place in Romania. Forty-eight delegates from Reformed churches are gathered in the border town of Oradea, close to Hungary, for the 18-23 August meeting of the European Area Council of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches. The council meetings take place every seven years. [801 words, ENI-02-0245]

Lutheran leader urges destruction of small arms after conflicts

Geneva (ENI). It's a fallacy and an abdication of responsibility to suggest the proliferation of small arms cannot be controlled, Dr Ishmael Noko, general secretary of the Lutheran World Federation, has told an advisory group aimed at curbing trafficking in light weapons. "It is possible to control this trade and to reduce the human suffering which flows from it," said Noko at the first meeting in London of the advisory group of the Eminent Persons Group on Curbing Illicit Trafficking in Small Arms and Light Weapons' Monitoring. [388 words, ENI-02-0246]

Sydney archbishop rejects sexual abuse claims but stands aside for inquiry

Sydney (ENI). The Roman Catholic Church in Australia has been thrown into crisis following sexual assault allegations against the country's most powerful and controversial religious leader, the archbishop of Sydney, Dr George Pell. Pell has stood aside as archbishop emphatically denying allegations that he sexually assaulted a 12-year-old boy 40 years ago. [604 words, ENI-02-0247]

20 August 2002

Divine mercy needed to overcome injustice says pope in Poland

Warsaw (ENI). Poland's church and state leaders have praised Pope John Paul II following the pope's visit to the country, widely expected to be the 82-year-old pontiff's last to his Polish homeland. During the visit from 16 to 19 August, Pope John Paul spoke of the need for divine mercy to overcome "every injustice in the world" and urged support for those thrown into poverty since the collapse of communism. [687 words, ENI-02-0242]

WCC and CEC protest violence against Serbian Orthodox in Kosovo

Geneva (ENI). Leaders in the World Council of Churches and the Conference of European Churches have protested to the head of the United Nations Interim Administration in Kosovo about continued violence faced there by members of the Serbian Orthodox Church. [355 words, ENI-02-0243]

Pakistan's supreme court quashes death sentence on Christian

New Delhi (ENI). Church leaders in Pakistan expressed relief after the country's supreme court overturned the conviction of a Christian sentenced to death for blasphemy. On 15 August the Supreme Court acquitted Ayub Masih of blasphemy against the Prophet Mohammed and ordered his release from prison where he had been held since his arrest in October 1996. [373 words, ENI-02-0244] 19 August 2002

New Delhi (ENI). Churches in the south Indian state of Kerala have launched their own television channel to counter racy TV programmes they think have a negative effect on family values. "Our aim is to correct the deficiency in the present media. We want to promote [TV] entertainment based on Christian and human values," said Archbishop Jacob Thoomkuzhy, chairman of the new channel, called Jeevan (Life) TV. [366 words, ENI-02-0239]

Donors to religious causes found to be more generous

New York (ENI). Americans who donate money to both religious and secular causes are more generous than those who give money only to secular institutions, a recent study has concluded. The US National Council of Churches (NCC) and Independent Sector, a Washington-based coalition of non-profit groups, foundations and corporations, found that US households donating to both types of institutions give more than three times the amount than those who merely donate to secular institutions - an average of US $2247 and US $623, respectively. [512 words, ENI-02-0240]

Prominent Zimbabwean Anglican backs Mugabe's land reform

Harare (ENI). A former Anglican bishop has come out in support of the Zimbabwe government as it continues to force white farmers off their land ostensibly to make way for the resettlement of landless black peasants. At least 200 farmers have been arrested since Thursday for failing to heed a 9 August deadline to leave their farms. As bands of militants of the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF) were evicting farmers challenging the order, Jonathan Siyachitema, a former Anglican bishop of Harare, last week praised the controversial land reforms as "necessary to ensure equitable land redistribution." [388 words, ENI-02-0241]

16 August 2002

Bielefeld (ENI). Floods from the Czech Republic are surging through eastern Germany, reportedly having claimed some 100 lives in all of Europe, displacing tens of thousands of people, leading to churches appealing for help. The floods swept through the historic centre of the German city of Dresden after the Elbe River broke its banks leaving some of the city's art treasures under water and threatening Dresden's Baroque masterpiece, the Frauenkirche (Church of our Lady). [660 words, ENI-02-0238]

Christians join white ribbon protests on Indian Independence Day

New Delhi (ENI). While India celebrated its 55th Independence Day on 15 August, leading Christian groups seeking peace joined activists wearing white ribbons on the day to protest against recent communal killings in the western state of Gujarat. More than 2000 Christians in troubled Gujarat wore white ribbons on their arms as they attended a church gathering in Ahmedabad - the commercial capital of Gujarat state, an area that has borne the brunt of recent communal violence. [351 words, ENI-02-0237]

Russian church put up for sale to meet factory's debts finds no buyer

Moscow (ENI). An unfinished Russian Orthodox church in the Ural mountain town of Miass appears to have escaped being auctioned off to meet the debts of the factory that had been building it. The church was put up for auction to help meet the debts of the bankrupt UralAZ heavy truck plant, Moscow's Kommersant newspaper reported earlier this month. Parishioners in Miass had feared they would lose the church as a result. [370 words, ENI-02-0236]

15 August 2002

Trincomalee, Sri Lanka (ENI). Twelve years after two dozen Tamil refugee families were forced to flee their lands by civil war, church leaders have facilitated the refugees' return to their home areas at Kanniya near this strategic natural harbour town. The success of the Methodist church at Trincomalee in helping the refugees return stands as a sign of hope to local people that a solution to Sri Lanka's two-decade-old civil war may be possible. [899 words, ENI-02-0235]

14 August 2002

London (ENI). An ambitious "virtual church" that cuts across regional boundaries is tapping into the appeal of clubbing for the teen and twenties generation. Organised around the Web site www.church.co.uk, it aims to reach those who are "uncomfortable with church but aware of their spirituality", according to one of the founders, minister and broadcaster Steve Chalke, and his colleague, Joe Davis. [796 words, ENI-02-0233]

Religious minorities 'marginalised' in Bangladesh

Colombo, Sri Lanka (ENI). Religious minorities are becoming increasingly "marginalised" in Muslim-majority Bangladesh, says a Bangladesh church official. "The religious and ethnic minority communities are apprehensive about their security," says Joyanta Adhikari, moderator of the education department of the National Council of Churches of Bangladesh (NCCB). [399 words, ENI-02-0234]

13 August 2002

Medellin, Colombia (ENI). Colombia appears on the verge of a major escalation of its nearly 40-year-old civil war, with optimism shrinking among human rights groups about reviving peace efforts - a cause championed by Colombia's churches. The country's new president, Alvaro Uribe, on 12 August, declared a national state of emergency after five days of violence that left more than 100 dead following his inauguration last week. [585 words, ENI-02-0230]

Mugabe sticks to land programme, Zimbabwe police quiz outspoken cleric

Harare (ENI). Despite alerts from many quarters that his land reform programme threatens the lives of millions of Zimbabweans, President Robert Mugabe has repeated his warning to white farmers that his government will stick to its policy of removing them from their land. The government has also applied pressure to church workers seen as undermining its plan, with the latest action coming in the questioning by police of Reverend Tim Neill, the outspoken former vicar-general of the Anglican church in Harare, now working with farm workers displaced under the land programme. [561 words, ENI-02-0231]

Plea by Christian leaders to halt Israel bombings seems not heard

Jerusalem, 13 August (ENI)-An unprecedented attempt by Christian leaders from Jerusalem to halt suicide bombings through direct talks with the militant Islamic group, Hamas, appear doomed. Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah, the leading representative of the Roman Catholic Church in the Holy Land, and other clerics including Anglican officials, held two hours of talks on Saturday with Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, who was blunt in his rejection of the appeal from the Christian clerics. [631 words, ENI-02-0232]

12 August 2002

Bielefeld, Germany (ENI). Many people view clerics as smart people and think the place they display their knowledge is in the pulpit, but a German television station is giving them the chance to entertain on TV in imparting their wisdom. TV station RTL is lining up pastors, priests, rabbis and imams in a show entitled "Germany's smartest clergyman". [364 words, ENI-02-0228]

Fears mount that attacks on Christians in Pakistan becoming routine

New Delhi (ENI). Despite reports that Pakistani authorities have arrested more than five people over an attack on a Christian hospital chapel in which four medical staff and one attacker died, church officials are fearful about the frequency of such onslaughts against them. [528 words, ENI-02-0229]

9 August 2002

Harare (ENI). The Roman Catholic Church says it has resumed control of its feeding programme in the drought-stricken Binga district in north western Zimbabwe after it was disrupted in June by militants of the country's ruling political party. "Everything is back to normal," Tarcisius Zimbiti, the acting director of the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) told ENI. [429 words, ENI-02-0226]

US wrangle between Baptists spills over into world alliance

New York (ENI). A long-standing dispute between two prominent United States Baptist groupings has spilled into the international arena and could affect the future of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA), the international fellowship of Baptist conventions and unions. The dispute centres on a decision by the alliance's membership committee to recommend accepting the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) into membership if the body officially breaks away from the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). The CBF was formed in 1991 as a body of moderate US Baptists and has taken issue with a number of SBC positions, including strict prohibition of the ordination of women as pastors. [688 words, ENI-02-0227]

8 August 2002

Bielefeld, Germany (ENI). A conference aimed at promoting regional peace, organised by the United Evangelical Mission, was forced to move to another location on the island of Java after it received threats from Muslim extremists, says a UEM spokesperson in Germany. The conference, with the theme "Overcoming violence and promoting a culture of peace", was scheduled to have met in Solo from 2 to 8 August, but was forced to move to Yogyakarta, 100 kilometres from its original location in central Java, Indonesia's most heavily populated island. [383 words, ENI-02-0224]

Pakistan Christians say they are powerless to respond to attacks

New Delhi (ENI). Church leaders in Pakistan say that insecurity is increasing among the country's Christians in the wake of the attack this week against a missionary school near Islamabad. Six people were killed, including two Christian staff, and three people were injured on 5 August when gunmen attacked the school at Murree, 40 kilometres north-east of the capital Islamabad. [451 words, ENI-02-0225]

7 August 2002

Harare (ENI). Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa appears to have acceded to pressure from church and civic lobby groups in his country for him to urgently address the problem of high-profile corruption - a major threat to the Southern African nation's ailing economy. [555 words, ENI-02-0221]

Excommunicated women want to continue struggle to be priests

Rome (ENI). Seven women excommunicated by the Vatican after being "illegally" ordained as priests say that they intend to contest the punishment and continue their struggle. The seven women - four Germans, two Austrians and one US citizen - were ordained as priests on 29 June in Austria at a ceremony on board a boat on the River Danube by an Argentine bishop from a church not recognised by the Vatican. [430 words, ENI-02-0222]

Rowan Williams joins Christian protest against possible attack on Iraq

London (ENI). The next Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, has given an early sign of robust political involvement by signing a statement against war on Iraq. The Christian Declaration, with nearly 3000 names including those of other Anglican and Roman Catholic bishops, was handed to the British government on 6 August - Hiroshima Day - the 57th anniversary of the world's first use of a nuclear weapon in an act of war. [596 words, ENI-02-0223]

6 August 2002

New York (ENI). One of the most distinguished Roman Catholic intellectuals and authors in the United States has written a stirring defence of his church and Christian faith while also sharply rebuking the papacy of Pope John Paul II. In a new book, Garry Wills - a renowned scholar, journalist and former Jesuit seminarian - declares that a "person who loves the church can have a lover's quarrel with its leadership". [821 words, ENI-02-0220]

5 August 2002

Miami (ENI). With visits to Guatemala and Mexico, Pope John Paul II has made what may be his last journey to a region that he once called "the continent of hope". The pope's visits to both Guatemala and Mexico were seen by some commentators as an attempt to reach indigenous communities at a time when many Catholic leaders in the region fear that Evangelical and Protestant groups are gaining ground. [1007 words, ENI-02-0219]

2 August 2002

Bremen, Germany (ENI). A lively debate has broken out in Germany over an advertisement for an energy company in which a pastor poses in full clerical garb performing the baptism of a nine-month-old baby. The advertisement carried on billboards and in newspapers included the slogan: "The future of our children begins by assuming responsibility. Including for our environment." [300 words, ENI-02-0218]

1 August 2002

London (ENI). The image of Britain as a secular nation with a only a small minority of worshippers has been shaken by evidence that almost half the population goes to church at least once a year. The findings, in research supported by the Baptist Union of Great Britain, exclude attendance at weddings, baptisms and funerals. Overall, the survey suggests that at least 44 per cent of the population attends a church during a typical year. [513 words, ENI-02-0217]

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