Jerusalem (ENI). Mordechai Vanunu, the Israeli technician jailed for revealing details about his country's nuclear programme, has placed his future security in the hands of the Anglican church, appealing to the Archbishop of Canterbury to help ensure his safety. The appeal was made public by Vanunu's brother, Meir, who said that the archbishop, Dr Rowan Williams, should help safeguard Vanunu who he says has been receiving death threats since his release from an Israeli prison on 21 April. [404 words, ENI-04-0268]

Lutherans say Nepal bomb attack detrimental to humanitarian work

Geneva (ENI). The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) has expressed shock after a bomb explosion at one of its offices in western Nepal, noting with dismay that the attack hinders its aid programme in the impoverished mountain kingdom. "This incident is only a small snapshot of the worsening security situation in Nepal, which is increasingly impeding essential humanitarian and development work in one of the world's poorest countries, the LWF acting general secretary, the Rev. Sven Oppegaard, said about the 27 April bomb attack. [361 words, ENI-04-0266]

Ecuador church leaders warn that toppling president is no panacea

Quito, 30 April (ENI) --Church leaders have warned against the overthrow of the government in Ecuador, where growing political unrest is seen brewing yet another grave institutional crisis in the poor South American country. "We do not want political instability or that the president is toppled," declared Archbishop Vicente Cisneros, president of the Ecuadorian (Roman Catholic) Bishops' Conference, in a press conference. "A country without democratic stability and social fairness lacks a future." [453 words, ENI-04-0265]

Church leaders welcome EU enlargement but caution against new divisions

Geneva (ENI). Church leaders in Europe have welcomed the enlargement of the European Union that includes 10 new member countries from eastern and southern Europe, but at the same time warned against new divisions that could arise. French Protestant leader, the Rev. Jean-Arnold de Clermont, told a service in Brussels gathering Protestants, Orthodox and Roman Catholic representatives, that the enlarged EU needed to be based on values such as justice. De Clermont is also the president of the Conference of European Churches, with membership from most of Europe's Protestant, Anglican and Orthodox churches. [412 words, ENI-04-0267]

29 April 2004

Nairobi (ENI). Sudanese civil society groups, including church organizations, on have protested in Nairobi to express their opposition to the application of Islamic law, known as Sharia, in Khartoum and three other areas in Sudan. The protesters, mainly Sudanese refugees in Kenya, also voiced disappointment at peace talks in the Kenyan town of Naivasha, that stalled last week. They bore placards with statements that included: "We need peace in Sudan. Stop the Killings. Stop fighting for oil, children and mothers need Justice, and Sudanese children deserve a home in the Sudan." [423 words, ENI-04-0264]

Church juries mark 40 years at world's oldest short film festival

Oberhausen, Germany (ENI). A special screening of the Oberhausen International Short Film Festival in Germany is celebrating four decades of church involvement at the world's oldest short film festival and this year marks its golden jubilee. German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and filmmakers were to attend the opening of the festival, founded in 1954 as a "cultural film festival". At that time, short films were still shown in movie theatres and there were only three film festivals in Germany. Today, there are more than 60 festivals in Germany alone. [306 words, ENI-04-0264]

28 April 2004

London (ENI). Noble Peace laureate and former Anglican archbishop in South Africa, Desmond Tutu, has called for England's cricket team to boycott Zimbabwe because of the actions of President Robert Mugabe's government. Tutu told television interviewer Sir David Frost: "If not going was to exert some pressure [on Zimbabwe's political leadership], I would, as someone who used to support the sports boycott against apartheid, say yes." [402 words, ENI-04-0261]

Philippine church leaders urge vote for competent president

Manila (ENI). The Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines is urging voters in the 10 May presidential election to shun inexperienced candidates, and some Protestant leaders support this stand, while others back an outsider Evangelical presidential candidate. "Elections are a crucial moment in our continuing task of nation-building. They are a timely opportunity to transform society by electing wise, capable and upright leaders," the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines said in a pastoral letter. [408 words, ENI-04-0262]

'I am a committed Christian' says Zimbabwe rapper called blasphemer

Geneva (ENI). Zimbabwean rap artist Maskiri, who angered Christian groups in his country last year with a song seen as deriding God, has made a surprise confession - he's a committed Christian, stirring yet another controversy. "I have always been a churchman," Maskiri has been quoted as saying. He said he felt closer to God when he performed at a concert to welcome Australian-based Zimbabwean rhythm-and-blues singer Audius Mtawarira at the Hear The Word Ministries' main church in Harare on Good Friday. [453 words, ENI-04-0260]

27 April 2004

Nairobi (ENI). Christian aid organizations working in Somalia believe an accusation by Islamic clerics in Mogadishu that they were converting children in the south of the country to Christianity should not affect their welfare work in the troubled country. Some humanitarian aid providers have, however, expressed concern over the development as it is believed to be the first such charge against Western aid agencies in the largely Muslim country beset by regional feuding and that lacks an effectively functioning government. [405 words, ENI-04-0258]

German church appeals on behalf of N. Korea train disaster victims

Geneva/Bangkok (ENI). A senior German Protestant leader has appealed to citizens of his country to contribute to an appeal for the victims of a North Korea train explosion disaster, saying that aid needs to reach those in distress soon. "We now know that hundreds of severely-wounded people are waiting for medical aid and that thousands of people have lost their homes," said Bishop Rolf Koppe, head of ecumenical relations for the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD). [511 words, ENI-04-0257]

Kerry, Vatican discord elevates abortion issue in US election campaign

New York (ENI). The divisive issue of abortion again appears likely to be a factor in a US presidential campaign, triggered after the Vatican disavowed the position of Senator John Kerry, the presumed Democratic Party opponent of President George W. Bush. Kerry, a Roman Catholic who is a supporter of abortion rights, reaffirmed his stance just as a prominent Vatican cardinal said Catholic politicians who take Kerry's position should be denied holy communion. [383 words, ENI-04-0259]

Bishops in Botswana decry voter apathy ahead of poll

Gaborone (ENI). Roman Catholics bishops in Botswana, fearing apathy, are encouraging Christians to take a greater interest in the affairs of what is considered Africa's most stable country, by voting in the scheduled October general elections. In a joint pastoral letter, Roman Catholic bishops Boniface Setlalekgosi of the Gaborone diocese and Frank Nabuasa of Francistown, Botswana's second city, have emphasised the need for the Batswana people to determine their own future by voting. [338 words, ENI-0256]

26 April 2004

Rome (ENI). The Vatican has severely criticised "liturgical abuses" that include the concelebration of the eucharist by Roman Catholic priests and ministers of Protestant denominations. The criticism came in a document, Redemptionis Sacramentum (The Sacrament of Redemption), made public last Friday after being signed on 25 March by Cardinal Francis Arinze, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. [482 words, ENI-04-0255]

Anglican bishop in Panama warns against hyping electoral promises

Quito (ENI). Anglican Bishop Julio Murray of Panama has warned four presidential candidates, ahead of the 2 May national election, to limit their election promises and curb attempts "to dupe the people with proposals difficult to fulfil". "Considering the realities of growing unemployment, lack of social security, rampant violence and public corruption, we need viable proposals and not mere electoral promises", said Murray in an interview with Ecumenical News International. [393 words, ENI-04-0254]

War on terror makes world more unsafe says Church of Scotland report

London (ENI). The world has become a more dangerous place because of the failure to tackle terrorism by non-military means, a Church of Scotland inquiry into anti-terror operations has found. The Church and Nation Committee of the Presbyterian Church, Scotland's largest, said that describing global efforts to tackle terrorism as a war was "a major error of judgement". [405 words, ENI-04-0253]

Danish court backs expulsion of Lutheran who believes in reincarnation

Copenhagen (ENI). A Danish regional high court has upheld the expulsion of a Lutheran church member, Steen Ribers, because of his support for what he describes as "Christian" reincarnation. Ribers was a member of the parish council and a verger, or church caretaker, in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark when in 1994 he was expelled by his parish minister for declaring that reincarnation was compatible with the teaching of Jesus according to the Gospel. [404 words, ENI-04-0252]

23 April 2004

Jerusalem (ENI). Mel Gibson's film "The Passion of the Christ" has become a surprise hit in the Arab world, among both Muslims and Christians, who often have different motivations for viewing the controversial movie. While Christian Arabs, including Palestinians, are examining questions of faith, many Muslims appear to be taking an interest because of an upsurge in hatred against Jews now sweeping across the Middle East. [815 words, ENI-04-0250]

Ten years on, South Africa and its churches face challenges

Cape Town (ENI). When South Africa celebrates its10th anniversary of democratic rule on 27 April, it will do so in a spirit of triumph. Once one of the world's most bitterly divided countries, it narrowly avoided civil war, dismantled the officially-sanctioned racist policy of apartheid, it launched a non-racial democracy and now lays claim to Africa's most robust economy. But church leaders who once denounced apartheid now feel sidelined, and are having to address a new and truculent set of problems and concerns, whether they be an horrific AIDS epidemic or the mounting political crisis in neighbouring Zimbabwe. That has sometimes pitted them against the South Africa government - a new, and often uncomfortable, role. [855 words, ENI-0249]

Philippine Catholics rebut knocks over population boom

Manila (ENI). The Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines, through some of its leaders, is seeking to deflect criticism that as the dominant denomination, and one that opposes contraceptives, it is largely to blame for this Southeast Asian country's ballooning 84 million population. "It is wrong to blame the (Catholic) Church for the country's growing population simply because of its emphasis on natural family planning methods," Bishop Francisco Claver from Bontoc-Lagawe in northern Philippines told Ecumenical News International. [609 words, ENI-04-0251]

22 April 2004

Geneva (ENI). Church aid agencies working in Iraq are pulling out international staff, reviewing their programmes in the face of continuing violence, and in at least one instance, considering suspending operations altogether, the Geneva-based Action by Churches Together International alliance has announced. "The hostage taking in Iraq, combined with an escalation of hostilities in general, have compelled DanChurchAid to seriously re-consider its international presence in Iraq (Basra)," said Lennart Skov-Hansen, relief coordinator of the Danish aid agency which is a member of ACT, a global network of churches and relief organizations. [466 words, ENI-04-0247]

Japan interfaith network grateful to Islamic Clerics Association in Iraq

Geneva (ENI). A group of Christian and Buddhist leaders in Japan has sent a letter to Sheikh Abdel Salem Al Kubaissi of the Islamic Clerics Association in Iraq to express gratitude for the role of the Muslim group in facilitating the release of five Japanese held hostage in Iraq. "We are grateful to learn that three Japanese civilians and two other Japanese who were taken as hostage were protected by the Islamic Clerics Association in Iraq and released," members of Interfaith Peace Network said in a statement sent to Geneva. [425 words, ENI-04-0248]

Church service in South Carolina honours US Civil War dead

New York (ENI). An historic Episcopal (Anglican) church in Charleston, South Carolina, was recently the site of a solemn service to pay tribute to war dead who perished in a submarine that sank 140 years ago during the US Civil War, a conflict that still lingers in the memory of Americans. Charleston's Church of the Holy Communion honoured at a solemn mass on 17 April the eight crew members of the H.L. Hunley, a southern or Confederate submarine that had, before its sinking, become the first submarine to sink an enemy vessel. Separately, the US Army and the ship builders in Mississippi on Wednesday christened a new supply vessel in honour of a black Civil War hero. [484 words, ENI-04-0245]

Ask society before running up debt, church group tells Zambian leaders

Lusaka (ENI). Zambia Jubilee, a church-sponsored debt cancellation project is calling on the Zambian government to involve the church and civil society when taking out international loans so as to avoid another debt crisis. "Why get more loans when you have a huge debt at hand which is unsustainable?", said Jack Zulu, Zambia Jubilee policy analyst. "The Zambian government is irresponsible in the manner it is contracting and spending them on non-productive issues." [362 words, ENI-04-0246]

21 April 2004

Jerusalem (ENI). Released Israeli nuclear whistleblower, Mordechai Vanunu, says he was persecuted by the authorities in Israel because of his conversion to Christianity. "I want to tell those who say I am a traitor, I suffered here 18 years because I am a Christian," Vanunu said after his release from 18 years in jail. He had been convicted of treason for giving information about Israel's nuclear weapons programme to Britain's Sunday Times newspaper in 1986. Vanunu emerged from prison on Wednesday flashing victory signs and waving to a crowd of cheering supporters who waited to greet him. He said he was treated harshly, including being placed in a solitary confinement for 12 of his 18 years in prison, because he abandoned Judaism to become a Christian. [445 words, ENI-04-0243]

Polish priest wins case against newspaper that insulted Pope

Warsaw (ENI). A 96-year-old Polish Roman Catholic priest has won a defamation case against Poland's main ex-communist newspaper, Trybuna, after suing it for describing Pope John Paul II as a "simpleton curate". Supreme Court judge Gerard Bieniek said he had ordered the Trybuna daily to apologise for offending the "religious and patriotic feelings" of the priest, the Rev. Zdzislaw Peszkowski. "Although Father Peszkowski was not directly hurt by this article, he is, as a Catholic priest, particularly close emotionally to the Pope, and can therefore make this claim," said Bieniek in his ruling. But the judge dismissed an accompanying claim for financial damages, saying the paper had already published several statements of regret for the article carried in 1997. [371 words, ENI-04-0242]

Australian church leaders condemn abolishment of body for Aborigines

Melbourne (ENI). Australian church leaders have condemned the federal government's decision to abolish the country's elected representative body for Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders. National Council of Churches in Australia representatives' have said that the death of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Commission represents the end of Aboriginal people's hopes for self-determination. "This is a return to the paternalism of colonial days when indigenous people had no say in their future," said the Rev. Shayne Blackman of the Uniting Church's Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress in a statement.. [358 words, ENI-04-0244]

20 April 2004

Jerusalem (ENI). The man who blew the cover off Israel's secret nuclear weapons programme is to leave jail, but he will have to remain in Israel, where he is reviled as a traitor and scorned because of his conversion to Christianity. After serving 18 years behind bars - 12 of them in solitary confinement - for revealing classified secrets to the world, Mordechai Vanunu will close the door on his cell. But the man who told Britain's Sunday Times newspaper in 1986 that Israel had built more than 200 atomic bombs will not be fully free. Israeli authorities will bar Vanunu, a former technician at Israel's top secret Dimona nuclear facility in the southern Negev desert, from leaving the country for a year or holding contacts with foreign residents without prior permission. [476 words, ENI-04-0240]

Christian denominations acknowledge inaction on Rwanda genocide

Nairobi (ENI). Political leaders and representatives of Christian denominations have acknowledged their past inaction and urged strong support for a healing process in Rwanda, that had suffered the trauma of a genocide in which up to one million people were killed over 100 days in 1994. Churches said in a document entitled, "The Kigali Covenant", produced at a workshop in the Rwandan capital from 16 to 19 April, they would "stand up and speak against behaviour, pronouncements and practices that have the tendency to set one group of people against another". The covenant was read out at a Sunday service in the Kigali Stadium to mark the 10th anniversary of the massacres. [443 words, ENI-04-0238]

Gay priest whose naming as bishop sparked row appointed cathedral dean

London (ENI). Jeffrey John, the gay Anglican priest whose planned appointment as a bishop caused a storm in England last year, has been named a cathedral dean. Deans, who are responsible for the overall leadership of cathedral life and worship, rank immediately below diocesan bishops in the Church of England. [357 words, ENI-04-0239]

Small loans give some hope to Zimbabweans living with AIDS

Geneva (ENI). With the job market imploding and the day-to-day banking system severely disrupted, how does a person in Zimbabwe, who wants to start their own small venture as the only way out, scrape together some meagre funds to get started? Obvious, you might say - micro-finance. Not a new idea, but one that has brought hope to small groups of individuals in Zimbabwe, where increasingly, people are forced to live on the edge, especially those afflicted with HIV/AIDS. [606 words, ENI-04-0241]

19 April 2004

New Delhi (ENI). Indian women's groups are urging the country's electorate to vote against the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the general election in the world's biggest democracy. "Vote the NDA out of Parliament," urged the groups, including the Joint Women's Programme run by a Protestant woman activist, that accuses the government of an "intensified assault" on women's rights during its tenure. [422 words, ENI-04-0235]

Church alliance gives backing to Zimbabwe's 'clearout' of graft

Geneva (ENI). An alliance of churches in Zimbabwe has given its support to the government's crackdown on corrupt politicians and business executives, which President Robert Mugabe reiterated on Sunday at Zimbabwe's independence celebrations. "The EFZ is encouraged by the efforts of the head of state, President Robert Mugabe, to tackle and remove the evil practice of corruption from our midst," the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe stated in Harare in mid-April. "The EFZ offers its wholesale support to this initiative." [482 words, ENI-04-0236]

Survey finds religious commitment strongest among US arts students

New York (ENI). Does spirituality animate US college and university students engaged in the arts and humanities more than their counterparts studying science or business? Apparently yes, says a new survey conducted by the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA). It concluded that religious commitment is strongest among students majoring in such fields as fine arts (62 per cent), education (59 per cent) and humanities (57 per cent) and lowest among majors in the field of biological science (43 per cent), history or political science (41 per cent), and sociology (37 per cent). [383 words, ENI-04-0237]

16 April 2004

Durban (ENI). South African Anglican Bishop Rubin Phillip has appealed for peace from political parties in hotly contested KwaZulu-Natal, the only one of the country's nine provinces that the African National Congress was not certain to rule. The bishop's call came as the ANC, the ruling party in the country, was heading to a landslide victory in South Africa's third democratic elections after garnering almost 70 per cent of all the votes cast. [542 words, ENI-04-0233]

US church groups criticise Bush support for Israeli plan

New York (ENI). A coalition of US churches and church organizations has criticised President George W. Bush's support for an Israeli government plan seen in part as backing claims to settlements in the disputed West Bank, where most Palestinians live, thereby fomenting the ingredients of conflict. Bush's support for the plan - part of an overall proposal for Israeli withdrawal from other parts of the West Bank and from the Gaza strip bordering the Mediterranean Sea - was announced on 14 April. It was immediately criticised by the Washington-based Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP), a coalition of 19 US Protestant, Roman Catholic and Orthodox church groups that includes the US National Council of Churches, the country's largest ecumenical organization. [392 words, ENI-04-0234]

African Anglicans give US Episcopal Church three months to repent

Nairobi (ENI). African Anglican archbishops have urged the worldwide Anglican Communion to give three months to the US Episcopal (Anglican) Church to repent for authorising the consecration of an openly gay priest as a bishop or face disciplinary action. "It should be given a three-months period at maximum to retrace its steps and come back to the main fold of the Anglican world," said Nigerian Anglican Archbishop Peter Akinola at a press briefing in Nairobi at the end of a two-day meeting of African archbishops in the Kenyan capital. [365 words, ENI-04-0231]

Scottish church leader named president of Princeton Theological Seminary

London (ENI). Princeton Theological Seminary, one of the most prestigious religious training centres in the United States, has looked to an academic, military chaplain and church leader from Scotland for its next president. The seminary, which is part of the 2.5-million-member Presbyterian Church USA, has chosen the outgoing moderator of the Church of Scotland, Professor Iain Torrance, as its sixth president. [365 words, ENI-04-0232]

Ecumenical disability network starts computer literacy training

Nairobi (ENI). Some Christians with disabilities from East Africa are finding integration into society and church life easier following the launch of a drive to increase their computer literacy. "If one of them can use a computer at their place of work, this will be a great achievement for us," says Samuel Kabue, a blind Presbyterian who heads the Ecumenical Disability Advocates Network (EDAN), a programme of the World Council of Churches, at a five-week training course to help those with impairments realise their potential. [402 words, ENI-04-0230]

Extension of active service in Salvation Army means doing peaceful work

London (ENI). At 62, Commissioner Alex Hughes, the head of the Salvation Army in Britain and Ireland, has decided to spend his final three years of full-time active service as a local area commander - a post he last held 20 years ago. It will be the first time a Salvation Army country leader anywhere in the world has chosen to return to corps (church) level. It is, Hughes admits, "causing a stir". He speaks of a growing certainty for him and his wife Ingeborg, who is also a commissioner, that they should "end as we began". "It is not a political statement but a personal conviction," he explained. [719 words, ENI-04-0229]

15 April 2004

Geneva (ENI). Three eminent Zimbabwean clerics have appealed to the country's ruling party and the major opposition party to engage in a dialogue and end the rivalry between their supporters. The church leaders' call came two weeks after two supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change were shot, one of them fatally, during an election in Zengeza, 25 kilometres south-east of Harare, to fill a vacant seat in the country's parliament. [414 words, ENI-04-0227]

WCC delegation to Kenya blesses African continent, sees hope

Nairobi (ENI). A World Council Churches delegation on a pastoral visit to Kenya has given a blessing to Africa at the headquarters of the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) in Nairobi, in a ceremony that involved placing hands on the headquarters' foundation stone. "This to me is a living stone," the Rev. Sam Kobia, general secretary of the WCC, told Ecumenical News International at the ceremony. "If you do not have a foundation, you cannot really exist, and the stone becomes the most durable foundation." [358 words, ENI-04-0228]

Polish archbishop calls for patience after bailiffs raid official residence

Warsaw (ENI). A Roman Catholic archbishop in Poland has appealed for patience from creditors of a church publisher, after court officials seized possessions from the archbishop's official residence to repay the debts of the publishing house. "It isn't the church which is guilty - only the people who caused this abuse," said Archbishop Tadeusz Goclowski of Gdansk. "We're now trying to extricate ourselves from this situation, talking to the creditors and arranging how to return their money." The 72-year-old church leader was speaking following a raid last month by bailiffs, who removed furniture and paintings from the archbishop's residence to cover 20 million zloties (US$5 million) owed by the Gdansk archdiocese's Stella Maris publishing house. [382 words, ENI-04-0226]

14 April 2004

Melbourne (ENI). The World Council of Churches, the world's biggest inter-church grouping, must find new ways of relating to Christians in southern hemisphere nations if it is to remain relevant, the general secretary of the National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA) has stated. "The WCC has a top-down structure and rather bureaucratic procedures. That can disadvantage people who don't come from a culture of European-style decision-making and democratic processes," said the Rev. John Henderson. "If you don't know the system you don't know where to enter it. So unless the WCC finds ways of better empowering Christians from the South, it will lose its relevance." [382 words, ENI-04-0224]

Refugee crisis forces Christians in Nigeria to celebrate Easter in open air

Makurdi (ENI). Christians in the capital of Benue state, Makurdi, in central Nigeria were forced to celebrate the Easter Holy Week in the midst of refugees who had occupied church buildings following ethnic violence that displaced over 30 000 people. Many services were conducted in the open air because the church sanctuaries were filled to overflowing with the displaced people. In many cases, the church services brought together Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Methodists, Lutherans, Evangelicals, and Pentecostals who would normally worship separately. [298 words, ENI-04-0225]

13 April 2004

Jerusalem (ENI). More pilgrims and local Christians celebrated Easter this year in the Holy Land, a marked contrast to the previous three years when many stayed away because of Israeli-Palestinian violence, said church leaders. This was evident from Easter Friday, when Christians, wearing crowns of thorns and carrying crucifixes in same manner as Jesus did, took part in religious processions. One of those taking part, Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the Vatican's top diplomat in the Holy Land, told Ecumenical News International that this year there was a noticeable increase in the number of pilgrims. [474 words, ENI-04-0221]

Pro-Israel Christians warn Bush of backlash if he backs Sharon plan

Jerusalem (ENI). A powerful pro-Israel Christian organization in America has warned US President, George W. Bush he may face an electoral backlash if he supports Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon's plan to evacuate Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip. The group, known as the National Unity Coalition for Israel, is an umbrella for 200 groups representing millions of American Christians and Jews. The warning has come as Bush was due to meet with Sharon in Washington DC. [422 words, ENI-04-0223]

World Council of Churches' Kobia seeks blessing at Kenyan birthplace

Nairobi (ENI). Songs and ululation rang out when the Rev. Sam Kobia, general secretary of the World Council of Churches, celebrated his first 100 days in office at Miathene village, Meru, the place he was born, near Mount Kenya. There he sought blessings from his parents, relatives and friends before embarking on the rest of his work as the WCC's first African leader. "We thought that it would be the best way to start this ministry, by first going back to where we came from," he told the congregation of Lavington United Church, Nairobi, after arriving from the village some 300 kilometres north-east of Nairobi. [405 words, ENI-04-0222]

Catholic Church in Zambia defends its position on HIV/AIDS

Lusaka (ENI). The Roman Catholic Church in Zambia has issued a rebuttal to the Zambian Government for alleging that the church has encouraged stigmatisation, thereby hindering the fight against the country's HIV/AIDS pandemic. Health minister Dr Brian Chituwo on a number of occasions in March made accusations on the national broadcaster's television channel. On 13 March he said: "For many years, the church has perpetuated the spread of HIV/AIDS through stigmatisation." Countering Chituwo's assertions, the (Catholic) Zambia Episcopal Conference paid for a newspaper advertisement which labelled the minister's statement as a "misinterpretation of history". [390 words, ENI-04-0220]

8 April 2004

Geneva (ENI). The World Council of Churches, the world's largest grouping of churches, will continue to deepen its relations with the Roman Catholic Church, Christianity's largest church, the WCC's general secretary the Rev. Sam Kobia has said. Kobia, from the Methodist Church in Kenya, on 1 January became the first African to head the WCC. He said in an interview with the WCC's public information team that bilateral attempts at church unity are growing as "the ecumenical movement is confronted with a changed reality". [391 words, ENI-04-0217]

Anglican bishop finds Easter message in Sri Lanka election result

New Delhi, 8 April (ENI) - Church leaders in Sri Lanka have expressed cautious optimism following the formation of a new government by the island nation, determined by the results of national elections on 2 April. Mahinda Rajapakse, a Buddhist lawyer in the United People's Freedom Alliance - headed by executive President Chandrika Kumaratunga - has been sworn in as Sri Lankan Prime Minister after their party won 105 seats in the 225-member Sri Lankan parliament. The outgoing United National Party won only 82 seats. "We now have a new government and opposition whose collective mandate is to build on signs of hope," said Duleep de Chickera, Anglican bishop of Colombo in an Easter message. [454 words, ENI-04-0216]

Orthodox Patriarchs, in Easter messages, address question of violence

Sofia (ENI). Concerns about violence are common themes in Easter messages issued by two Orthodox Christian leaders, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomeos I of Constantinople and the Patriarch of Serbia Pavle. Patriarch Bartholomeos, who is based in Istanbul and is recognised by most Orthodox Christians as their spiritual leader, said: "We hear about many group homicides and other hurtful acts committed by people against people." In his message, Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Pavle, speaking against a background of recent violence in Kosovo between ethnic Albanians and Serbs, urged the church's followers to fix on the hope offered by the events of Easter. [428 words, ENI-04-0218]

Nigeria declares ecumenical centre, mosque national monuments

Abuja (ENI). Nigeria's federal government has declared the National Ecumenical Centre and the National Mosque, both in the capital Abuja, as national monuments. At the same time the government has said the country will remain a secular state and a multi-religious nation. Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigeria's Christian president, declared the two religious centres as national monuments during a visit to the national mosque. He said that both religious centres needed to be preserved. [373 words, ENI-04-0215]

Methodists award prizes for commandments hatched in cafes, bars

London (ENI). After asking young people in pubs, cafes and cinemas, Britain's Methodists have five more commandments to add to the original 10. The competition to find the 11th Commandment attracted 2000 entries submitted from mobile phones using text messages. Appropriately, the winners included "Thou shalt not confuse text with love." Others were: "Thou shalt not worship false pop idols" [a pun on the name of a popular TV show], "Thou shalt not kill in the name of any god", "Thou shalt not consume thine own body weight in fudge" and "Thou shalt not be negative". [371 words, ENI-04-0219]

7 April 2004

Bishop in Nigeria orders church closed over theft of sacrament casket

Warri, Nigeria (ENI). A Roman Catholic Church in the southern part of Nigeria has been closed following the invasion of the church by robbers who stole receptacles holding the parish's blessed sacrament. Bishop Richard Burke of the Warri diocese ordered the closure of the Mother of the Redeemer Church at Effurun, in the state of Delta, after robbers stole a gold-plated container used in administering the sacraments and other valuable, sacred items. [299 words, ENI-04-0212]

Britain's Muslims plan to boost knowledge about Islam in schools

London (ENI). The Muslim Council of Britain, aiming to counter negative stereotypes of Islam, has started a scheme to put a free resource pack into every primary and secondary school in England. "The majority of schools teach Islam as one of the major world religions. We feel that it is time for us to make the most of this immense opportunity," said the council in a statement about the scheme, called Books 4 Schools. [326 words, ENI-04-0213]

6 April 2004

San Fernando, Philippines (ENI). Some Roman Catholic leaders in the Philippines are encouraging their flocks to watch Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" movie, which some critics have condemned for its gruesome scenes. But the same bishops are offering no encouragement to Filipinos who re-enact the death of Jesus by crucifying themselves on Good Friday, one man for a 17th time. Ruben Enaje, a Filipino carpenter and sign artist, survived a fall from a three-storey building 18 years ago. In his gratitude for what he describes as "God's boundless mercy", Enaje has since embarked on a yearly passion, crucifixion every Good Friday, the day that commemorates the death of Jesus who was nailed to a cross. [606 words, ENI-04-0211]

Humanitarian agencies have hands full in a tense Haiti

Dajabon, Dominican Republic (ENI). A small bridge and a narrow river are all that separate the Dominican Republic from Haiti in this small border city and for the first time in weeks, the area separating two uneasy neighbours shows hesitant signs of normality. A twice-weekly market has re-opened, allowing Haitians to legally cross the border into the Dominican Republic and buy and sell goods in Dajabon. But tensions continue to emanate from Haiti, a nation still trying to find its way in the wake of political change viewed by some as a US-led coup against now-exiled President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and by others as a justified rebellion in a country in need of new leadership. Whatever Haiti's political fate, the humanitarian situation remains grave. "People are knocking on my door saying, 'Help me, pastor, help me,' " said the Rev. Paul Michelet, an Assemblies of God pastor in Quanaminthe, Haiti, who had crossed the border into the Dominican Republic. [702 words, ENI-04-0210]

5 April 2004

Jerusalem (ENI). The Latin Patriarch in Jerusalem, Archbishop Michel Sabbah, has urged Christian pilgrims to continue coming to the Holy Land, saying they can help end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and his Lutheran counterpart has urged people not to despair. Archbishop Sabbah, the most senior Roman Catholic cleric in the region, made the plea while delivering his Easter message at a news conference in the Old City of Jerusalem. Sabbah, 71, is the leader of some 400 000 Catholics in Israel, the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Jordan and in 1987 he became the region's first Palestinian patriarch. [655 words, ENI-04-0208]

Filipino bishop warns against terrorists posing as Islamic missionaries

Manila (ENI). Beware of terrorists posing as Islamic missionaries, a Philippine Roman Catholic leader has warned after government authorities recently arrested people allegedly plotting to replicate the March Madrid bombings in the Philippine capital. "It's possible that terrorists can pose as missionaries and infiltrate the communities of Muslims and incite them to join terrorist activities," the Archbishop Fernando Capalla of Davaom, who is president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, said in a statement. [360 words, ENI-04-0209]

German Protestant leader backs scarf ban, resists veto on religious symbols

Bielefeld, Germany (ENI). Germany's senior Protestant leader has welcomed the decision of the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg to prohibit teachers from wearing the Islamic headscarf in school, but he has strongly criticised the state of Berlin for planning to ban not only the headscarf but any religious symbol worn by public servants. "To use the headscarf as a reason to say that schools must be free of all religious symbols is disproportionate," said Bishop Wolfgang Huber, who heads the Evangelical Church in Germany . "We completely reject the prohibition of all religious symbols alongside the headscarf," said Huber of the plans of the Berlin state government. "This measure does not protect the [constitutionally-guaranteed] freedom of religion, but is a restriction." [472 words, ENI-04-0207]

2 April 2004

Jerusalem (ENI). The Vatican's top diplomat in the Holy Land has publicly rebuked Israeli officials for refusing to renew the visas of Christian clergy and volunteers. Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the head of the Apostolic Delegation in Jerusalem, issued his strongly worded complaint at a public gathering of fellow clergy at the invitation of the Israeli Tourism Minister, Benny Elon. Just hours before he spoke, the Israeli interior minister, Avraham Poraz, issued a request to the Immigration Police not to arrest Christian clergy who reside in Israel, even if they did not have the proper residency papers with them. Archbishop Sambi said this step did not go far enough. [435 words, ENI-04-0206]

Bucharest mayor's threat to cathedral on communist mausoleum stirs row

Warsaw (ENI). Romania's Orthodox church has criticised the mayor of Bucharest for threatening to block the building of a new cathedral on the site of a former mausoleum for communist leaders. "There's clearly been a lack of communication between the church and the critics," Costel Stoica, spokesman for the church's Bucharest Patriarchate, said. "Many city inhabitants have already declared support for the cathedral, and many of the uncertainties have now been clarified. So there should be no problem with the City Council." [373 words, ENI-04-0204]

Zimbabwe spurned Methodist's advice on land reform: newspaper

Geneva (ENI). The Zimbabwe government spurned a warning by a prominent Methodist Church minister 12 years ago about the repercussions of hasty land reform and went ahead with its fast-track land redistribution programme in 2000, according to a Zimbabwean newspaper. Zimbabwe embarked on the controversial land redistribution programme months after the government lost a constitutional referendum which provided for the compulsory acquisition of mainly white-owned commercial farms for redistribution to landless peasants. The privately-owned Zimbabwe Independent newspaper reported recently that the Rev. Gary Strong, a retired Methodist Church minister and former director of World Vision Zimbabwe wrote to the office of President Robert Mugabe in February 1992 warning the government against passing a land acquisition bill which became law the same year. [360 words, ENI-04-0205]

1 April 2004

Jerusalem (ENI). The Christian world has been captivated by a white lily known as the "Holy Virgin" that Israeli agricultural experts and biologists have cultivated to flower before the start of the Easter Holy Week. According to some Christian traditions, this type of flower was presented to the Virgin Mary by the Angel Gabriel when he announced that she was pregnant with Jesus. Israeli scientists say they have been contacted by the Vatican and other Christian institutions interested in ordering batches of the flower. [300 words, ENI-04-0202]

Women can't be pastors or go down coal mines, says Polish Lutheran

Warsaw (ENI). A prominent Polish Protestant leader has voiced "deep concern" about a statement by the country's Lutheran church rejecting women pastors and instructing clergy not to share services with them. "I'm astonished, since I believed our churches had an understanding," said Bishop Zdzislaw Tranda, retired head of the 4000-member Reformed Evangelical Church in Poland, noting that the statement appeared to contradict existing accords between Poland's Lutheran, Reformed and Methodist churches in which they recognised each other's decisions on women pastors. [422 words, ENI-04-0203]

Go to ENI Home Page