Paris (ENI). Churches in France, Germany, Canada, the United States and Britain and Ireland, ahead of the 60th anniversary on 6 June of the D-Day landings that helped defeat Nazi Germany, have called on their governments to promote "reconciliation and peace" and have paid tribute to the "heroism of those who freed us from the Nazi yoke". "Sixty years after the end of a conflict that saw the peoples of Europe clashing with each other yet again, Europe is now gathered around its values which are liberty, solidarity, and peace," the churches note in the statement. [510 words, ENI-04-0333]

28 May 2004

Sofia (ENI). Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomeos I has, along with the Vatican, called for the rescinding of the death sentence a Libyan court meted out on a group of foreign medical workers, ruled by the court to have deliberately infected several hundred Libyan children with HIV. Bartholomeos, widely seen as the spiritual leader of the world's mainstream Orthodox Christians, said in a statement made during a visit to Turkey by Bulgarian Foreign Minister Solomon Passi, that he hoped the sentences would not be carried out. [289 words, ENI-04-0331]

Canadian Anglicans now battle it out for church naming rights

Vancouver (ENI). The Internet has become a verbal battleground for Anglicans in Canada, the United States and Britain debating the issue of homosexuality, and it has also triggered vigorous questions over the ownership of the name "Anglican". While the Anglican Church of Canada has an official Web site for the General Synod - its national office - numerous groups and individuals have registered sites to air their views of issues such as same-sex blessings, same-sex marriage and the installation of a gay bishop in the Episcopal Church in the United States. [469 words, ENI-04-0332]

Orthodoxy in divided Korea takes a higher profile

Sofia (ENI). The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople has elevated the Orthodox Church in Korea to become a separate metropolis, at the same time as Orthodox church officials in South Korea are trying to build links with a recently-formed Orthodox community in the communist North. An enthronement service is scheduled for 20 June at the St Nicholas Cathedral in the South Korean capital, Seoul, to mark the elevation of the head of the Orthodox Church in Korea, Bishop Sotirios, to be the new metropolitan, an intermediate rank between that of an archbishop and a patriarch. Sotirios has served in Korea as a missionary priest from Greece since 1975. [673 words, ENI-04-0330]

27 May 2004

Nairobi (ENI). Songs, ululation and drums marked the signing of key agreements on Wednesday between the government of Sudan and the main rebel group, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army, that paves the way for a comprehensive peace accord to end a 21-year-long civil war. "This is superb. We have been waiting for the agreement for a long time. We are really tired of war," Sudanese Roman Catholic Bishop Joseph Abangite Gasi told Ecumenical News International after the signing ceremony in Naivasha, about 80 kilometres west of Nairobi. [499 words, ENI-04-0328]

Greek church and Patriarchate reported to have resolved dispute

Sofia (ENI). A dispute that threatened to create a schism between the (Orthodox) Church of Greece and the Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople appears to have been resolved following mediation efforts by the Greek government. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomeos I, often seen as the spiritual leader of Orthodox Christians worldwide, had announced in April he was suspending relations with the head of the Greek church, Archbishop Christodoulos, over the right to approve bishops in northern Greece. Three new bishops for dioceses at the centre of the dispute have been inaugurated at a ceremony attended by Greek President Kostis Stephanopoulos and Archbishop Christodoulos. [345 words, ENI-04-0329]

Human and wildlife resource rivalry concerns Kenya churches

Nairobi (ENI). Less than 20 kilometres from the centre of Nairobi, Kenya's capital, are lions, cheetahs, zebras, and giraffes that abound in the wild. Such creatures in the Nairobi National Park have for years generated huge amounts of income from tourism. But recent killings of people and cattle by animals in some areas have triggered protests; and now the churches are expressing fears about the situation. "We are concerned about this loss of life," Anglican Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi told Ecumenical News International. [477 words, ENI-04-0327]

26 May 2004

New Delhi (ENI). Church leaders in India have lambasted a prominent daily newspaper for "hurting" the Christian community by publishing a picture depicting Sonia Gandhi as Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as the infant Jesus in her hands. Following strong protests, the 25 May edition of the Hindustan newspaper published an apology on its front page for the caricature, carried on its front page. The paper also removed the offensive picture from the archives on its Web site. [405 words, ENI-04-0326]

Chile's Catholic and Evangelical leaders at odds over 'morning-after' pill

Santiago (ENI). Roman Catholics and Evangelicals in Chile, already at odds over a recent law legalising divorce, are quarrelling again, this time over the minister of health's decision to make available free-of-charge the "morning-after" contraceptive pills to rape victims who want to prevent a pregnancy. Some Evangelical leaders strongly criticised an appeal by Cardinal Javier Errazuriz, the Roman Catholic archbishop of Santiago, to the country's Catholic mayors to refuse to comply with the government's order on the pill. [469 words, ENI-04-0325]

25 May 2004

New York (ENI). US, European and Canadian church leaders have met with United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan to highlight their support for a stronger role for the UN in Iraq. "The future of Iraq is tied to the UN," said the Rev. Robert Edgar, general secretary of the US National Council of Churches, which has long opposed US policies on Iraq and which coordinated the meeting with Annan. [490 words, ENI-04-0324]

Sweden's Sami people want their own congregational structure

Stockholm (ENI). The Sami people, the original inhabitants of Scandinavia who mainly live in the north of Sweden, want to have their own congregation within the Church of Sweden, but not linked to geographical borders. The Sami parliament, a decision-making body for some 17 000 Sami living in the north of Sweden, voted unanimously to support the idea and it has raised the issue with the Lutheran's church' council. Today most Sami belong to the dioceses of Haernosand and Luleå. [340 words, ENI-04-0323]

Praise for Zambian denomination that elects woman as bishop

Lusaka (ENI). The Council of Churches in Zambia has praised the United Church of Zambia (UCZ) for electing a woman as a bishop, saying it was a step in the right direction to transforming unequal relations between women and men. "We commend UCZ for trusting a woman to hold such a high position in the church," said Suzanne Matale, gender and children's co-ordinator for the council of churches, lauding the election of the Rev. Silvia Mukuka as bishop of the denomination's North-Western Presbytery (church district). [243 words, ENI-04-0320]

Dutch cathedral's 750 years marked with construction of scaffolding

Amsterdam (ENI). An ambitious project to construct what is claimed to be the largest scaffolding structure built in Europe has started in the Dutch city of Utrecht to link two sections of a former cathedral whose nave was destroyed by a 17th-century tornado. The undertaking is one of many activities to celebrate the 750th anniversary of the Dom Church, where the tower and far end of the former cathedral have remained separate buildings since the tornado struck in 1674, say organizers. The 112-meter church tower is the tallest in the Netherlands. [311 words, ENI-04-0321]

Web cathedral looks to Internet to promote 'stealth evangelism'

New York (ENI). The Web site of Grace Cathedral, a prominent Episcopal (Anglican) institution in San Francisco, has been honoured with a "Webby" - a mark of distinction considered one of the "Oscars of the Web". The Web site www.GraceCathedral.org won the spirituality category for the Webbys, which distinguish Web sites in an annual competition judged by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. [283 words, ENI-04-0322]

24 May 2004

Johannesburg (ENI). Former South African Anglican leader Archbishop Desmond Tutu has declined to comment on Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's attack on him as "an angry, evil and embittered little bishop". As well as attacking Tutu and Bulawayo's Roman Catholic Archbishop Pius Ncube as "unholy men", Mugabe also denied in an interview with Britain's Sky TV that his country needed food aid and he rejected charges that his government inflicts human rights abuses. [442 words, ENI-04-0319]

Kenyan churches say they won't budge on abortion

Nairobi (ENI). Church leaders in Kenya have said that new estimates released by several civil society organizations indicating the occurrence of 300 000 abortions annually will not move them to support legalising the practice. "The church cannot change its position to allow people to do wrong," the Rev. Wycliffe Balongo of the Anglican Church told Ecumenical News International in Nairobi. "We are dealing with sanctity of life, which we believe begins at conception." [383 words, ENI-04-0318]

Spat over US bishop rocks African Methodists in Zambia

Lusaka (ENI). A leadership crisis in Zambia's African Methodist Episcopal Church (AMEC) over appointing a foreign bishop from the United States as an overseer for the central African region has been exacerbated by bursting into the public domain. The AMEC leadership wrangle in Lusaka has seen two opposing factions jostling for supremacy, one led by the Rev. Edith Mutale and the other by the Rev. Paul Kawimbe. Mutale's group is opposed to what it sees as the imposition of the Rev. Preston Warren Williams II, a bishop from the US. [358 words, ENI-04-0315]

Irish Catholic seminary invests in mix of business and religion

London (ENI). An Irish Roman Catholic seminary made redundant by a lack of would-be priests has found a new role with a course for prospective business people. St Patrick's College in Thurles, County Tipperary, has launched a bachelor's degree programme in business and religious studies, aiming to bring an ethical dimension to the often-savage commercial world. [378 words, ENI-04-0316]

Irish seminaries face lean times through dwindling candidates

London (ENI). A shortage of intending priests, monks and nuns in Ireland has meant that seven out of 10 seminaries have ceased to operate over the past decade. Of the seminaries still running, one is in Rome although it comes under the jurisdiction of the Irish Bishops' Conference. The others are St Patrick's College, Maynooth, in the Irish Republic, and St Joseph's Seminary, Belfast, in Northern Ireland. New vocations in Ireland, long reputed to be one of Europe's most Catholic countries, have dropped from 190 in 1993 to 48 in 2003 - a fall of 75 per cent - according to figures provided to Ecumenical News International by the Catholic Communications Office. [246 words, ENI-04-0317]

21 May 2004

Nairobi (ENI). The All Africa Conference of Churches has warned of "genocide in the making" in Sudan, after sending a delegation last week to the war-torn north-east African nation. The continental church grouping said the situation in Sudan resembled that of Rwanda 10 years ago when up to a million people were slaughtered as the world looked on. It accused African governments of indifference to the suffering of the people of Sudan, for failing to respond to their appeals and for having supported the re-election of Sudan to the executive committee of the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Commission. [631 words, ENI-04-0311]

Religious freedom tenuous in Iraq and Afghanistan, US commission finds

New York (ENI). Despite progress in recent years, freedom of religion remains tenuous in Iraq and Afghanistan, says a US federal commission that monitors religious persecution internationally. In its annual report, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom added six nations - Eritrea, India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkmenistan and Vietnam - to a list of countries "of particular concern" as it says they are violating religious freedom. Other nations already on the list are Burma, China, North Korea, Iran and Sudan. [455 words, ENI-04-0310]

Indian church leaders laud Sonia Gandhi's 'act of renunciation'

New Delhi (ENI). Church leaders in India have lauded Sonia Gandhi, president of the Indian National Congress party, for refusing to accept the mantle of prime minister of the world's largest democracy following her party's victory in recent general elections. In spite of emotional appeals and demonstrations by Congress party leaders and workers across India urging her to reconsider her decision, the Italian-born widow of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi stood her ground. [492 words, ENI-04-0313]

Israeli rabbi vetoes funds from fellowship linked with Christians

Jerusalem (ENI). A prominent rabbi in Israel has issued a ban against accepting funds from a leading Jewish-Christian organization in the United States that donates millions of dollars to Israeli charities each year. Rabbi Mordechai Eliahu, considered one of his country's top authorities on Jewish religious law, on 10 May rescinded a decree in which he had said it was correct to receive money from the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. The controversy has highlighted the sensitivity that some Jews in Israel have towards fostering strong ties with Christians who are sometimes seen as evangelising groups. [424 words, ENI-04-0312]

Catholics in US Congress chastise bishops on communion denial

Oxford (ENI). A group of Roman Catholic members of the US Congress have chastised their church leaders, warning a backlash if bishops deny Holy Communion to legislators who take positions in opposition to church doctrine. In a letter to Washington's Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, 48 Democratic Party member of the lower House of Representatives said they were concerned about statements from Catholic leaders "indicating that the sacrament of communion should be withheld from certain Catholic legislators because of their votes on public issues". [417 words, ENI-04-0314]

20 May 2004

Abuja (ENI). The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Cardinal Anthony Olubunmi Okogie, is backing Nigeria's National Judicial Commission in its quest to have the constitution amended to remove a clause that offers the president, governors and their deputies immunity from prosecution for criminal offences and corrupt practices. The call came after the recent indictment of some governors and public officers by Nigeria's anti-corruption agency. At the same time, police reports said some officials protected by the immunity clause in the constitution were responsible for the escalation of religious and ethnic violence in the country. [266 words, ENI-04-0309]

19 May 2004

New York (ENI). World Council of Churches' general secretary Sam Kobia voiced serious concern over the escalating violence in Iraq and the US occupation of the country during a meeting with his United Nations counterpart, Kofi Annan. Kobia, in his first meeting with UN secretary-general Annan at the UN headquarters in New York on 17 May, characterised the situation in Iraq as "critical", saying US policy was a mistake and was resulting in an "escalation of violence". [338 words, ENI-04-0306]

Jewish council cuts ties with Church of Sweden after products' boycott

Stockholm (ENI). The Jewish Central Council in Sweden has decided to break off all contacts with the (Lutheran) Church of Sweden due to a consumer boycott of goods from territories under Israeli occupation, advocated by Archbishop K.G. Hammar. The campaign by Hammar, the Lutheran church's senior bishop, is called "Hopp" (hope) and has the backing of 12 organizations that want the European Union to re-negotiate its trade agreement with Israel. In a letter to the archbishop, the Jewish Central Council stated their indignation at the "one-sided standpoint" expressed by the "Hopp" campaign. [452 words, ENI-04-0308]

Pope celebrates his 84th birthday with a new book on his life

Rome (ENI). Pope John Paul II has marked his 84th birthday with the publication of a book about his life in Krakow during Poland's Communist regime in the two decades preceding his election as Pope in 1978. The Vatican also published the programme for the Pope's forthcoming visit to Switzerland scheduled for 5-6 June, triggering tributes in the Italian press to the pontiff's determination to restart his international pilgrimages despite failing health. But an open letter calling on the Pope to stand down and signed by more than 40 Roman Catholic priests and lay people in Switzerland was denounced as "disgusting and disloyal" by Bishop Kurt Koch of Basel. [346 words, ENI-04-0307]

18 May 2004

Warsaw (ENI). Roman Catholic leaders in Bosnia-Herzegovina have welcomed the nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize, with Muslim and Orthodox support, of Bishop Franjo Komarica, who was placed under house arrest for opposing the wartime policy of ethnic cleansing by Bosnian Serbs. "At a time when Bosnians feel forgotten alongside events in Kosovo and Iraq, this initiative will draw the attention of people of goodwill to our country's unresolved problems," said Mato Zovkic, vicar-general of the Catholic church's Bosnian archdiocese. "That it was conceived by an ethnically mixed group, with backing from all communities, is a significant ecumenical development." [389 words, ENI-04-00302]

Tensions over sexuality spill over for Methodists in United States

Pittsburgh (ENI). Gay couples in the US state of Massachusetts began exchanging marriage vows on Monday, making the US one of a few countries where homosexuals can legally wed, but the issue of homosexuality remains deeply divisive for the nation's churches. "Marriage is necessarily monogamous and heterosexual," US Orthodox church leaders said in a statement about the court ruling that allowed the same-sex marriages. "Today, however, this divine purpose is increasingly questioned, challenged or denied, even within some faith communities, as social and political pressures work to normalise, legalise and even sanctify same-sex unions." [569 words, ENI-04-0304]

Polish church resists gay campaigners whose march sparks clash

Warsaw (ENI). An emerging movement of gays and lesbians in Poland is sparking tensions in the predominant Roman Catholic Church after the country's first march for homosexual rights in Krakow was marked by violent clashes. The 1500-strong rally on 7 May, organized by Poland's Campaign against Homophobia, was halted by police in Krakow's Main Square after being attacked by counter-demonstrators chanting "Murderers!" and "Blasphemers!" [388 words, ENI-04-0303]

Nearly two-thirds in US use Internet for religious reasons

New York (ENI). The link between spirituality and the Internet among Americans is no fluke, a recent survey indicates. Some 82 million Americans - nearly two-thirds of the 128 million "on-line" users in the United States - are now using the Internet for religious, faith or spiritual reasons, the Pew Internet & American Life Project has concluded. The report suggests that the Internet is having an impact on US religious and spiritual life, said the authors of the study, entitled "Faith Online". [494 words, ENI-04-0305]

17 May 2004

Blantyre (ENI). The Church of Central Africa Presbyterian, Malawi's second largest denomination, has taken a key role in influencing the postponement of national elections by one week after noting numerous anomalies and raising fears of vote rigging. "The date of Malawi's elections is to be shifted or postponed to no later than May 25," said Judge Healey Potani in Malawi's High Court, after opposition groups complained about irregularities leading up to voting. [400 words, ENI-04-0299]

Christian doctor to head regional government in India

New Delhi (ENI). Yeduguri Samuel Rajasekhara Reddy, a member of the Church of South India, has been sworn in as chief minister of the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh after winning a landslide victory in a regional election on 11 May. A doctor by profession, 55-year-old Reddy led the National Indian Congress party and its allies to clinch 226 of the 294 seats in the Andhra Pradesh legislature, while the outgoing ruling alliance of the Telugu Desam party and the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won only 49 seats. [394 words, ENI-04-0300]

Christian group campaigns in Israel against Sharon's plan

Jerusalem (ENI). American and British Christians have toured Israel encouraging citizens and politicians to do away with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's "disengagement plan" from Palestinian areas. The visit of groups normally seen as pro-Israeli came as Sharon was pledging to press ahead with his proposals to withdraw troops from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank. This was despite having had the plan rejected on 2 May in a referendum held by Sharon's own ruling Likud party. The leader of the Washington-based Christian's Israeli Public Action Campaign, Richard Hellman, and Peter Teasdale, from the recently formed United Kingdom counterpart of the same name, warned Israelis not to support Sharon. [468 words, ENI-04-0301]

14 May 2004

Sofia (ENI). The Greek government has signed a decree approving the appointment of bishops by the (Orthodox) Church of Greece to dioceses in northern Greece which are at the centre of a dispute with the Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. The ratification of the appointments by the Greek government was against the wishes of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and could not be halted by a diplomatic shuttle between Athens and Istanbul by Greece's religious affairs minister, Mariette Giannakou. [445 words, ENI-04-0298]

Stress higher for church employees in Sweden than for others

Stockholm (ENI). Church employees in Sweden appear to experience more psycho-social problems due to conditions at work than other workers, the Swedish Work Environment Authority has found. "I'm receiving more and more reports about conflicts in parishes," Britt-Marie Kjolsrud, an inspector at the authority, told Kyrkans Tidning, a newspaper published by the Church of Sweden. Many complaints from church workers related to bullying, stress and exhaustion, she noted. [368 words, ENI-04-0296]

Kaunda implores Malawi clergy to change views on condoms

Blantyre (ENI). Former Zambian president Kenneth Kaunda has pleaded with clergy in Malawi to change their negative attitude towards the use of condoms if the war against the HIV/AIDS scourge is to yield positive results. Kaunda, Zambia's first president, who has embarked on a crusade to fight the pandemic since being ousted in 1991, made his plea in Blantyre when launching the Bakili Muluzi Aids Foundation, named after Malawi's president. [267 words, ENI-04-0297]

Computer training in Kenya helps 'liberate' those who are blind

Nairobi (ENI). Simon Olaki, a teacher at an Anglican high school, left his home in Soroti, eastern Uganda for Kenya, to attend a five-week computer training course for blind persons, tickled deep down by the curiosity of how to use a computer keyboard. "I only used to be able to get to computers and touch the keyboard," he told Ecumenical News International at the end of the course held in Jumuia Training Centre near Nairobi. "I was so curious, I would ask secretaries how it works. They were never able to give me a definite answer, but I think now I have it." [684 words, ENI-04-0295]

13 May 2004

New Delhi (ENI). Churches in India have hailed the defeat of the National Democratic Alliance government led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at a general election in the world's largest democracy. Results showed that millions of India's poor rural people forsook Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's Hindus-first message despite an economic boom and moved their support to the secularism of the India National Congress party, led by Sonia Gandhi, the Italian-born widow of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. [547 words, ENI-04-0294]

Christians shelter after latest bout of inter-communal violence in Nigeria

Kano, Nigeria (ENI). Thousands of people, mainly Christians, in the northern Nigerian city of Kano have been sheltering in police and army barracks after two days of inter-communal rioting in the city. The violence had erupted two days earlier after Muslim leaders organized a protest march against what they said was persecution in central Nigeria. There hundreds of Muslims were killed last week in the town of Yelwa by a predominantly Christian ethnic group. [355 words, ENI-04-0293]

Catholic school challenges Zimbabwe closure orders

Geneva (ENI). A Roman Catholic school in Zimbabwe has thwarted a directive by the education minister to shut down 45 private schools through a successful court challenge to the closure of schools he accused of charging exorbitant fees. Minister Aeneas Chigwedere ordered the closure of the non-government schools, whose pupils are 90 per cent black, accusing school authorities of racism. But the Catholic-run Hartmann House in Harare, filed an urgent application in the High Court challenging its closure and Justice Susan Mavangira ordered the re-opening of the school, declaring the minister's directive as "null and void". [470 words, ENI-04-0291]

Serbia celebrations are largest Orthodox gathering in region since 1960s

Sofia, Bulgaria (ENI). Celebrations in Serbia and Montenegro of a series of events, including the completion of the external work of the St Sava Cathedral, have assembled the region's largest gathering of Orthodox Church leaders in four decades. The celebrations, from 8 to 11 May, marked the 200 years since the First Serbian Uprising, against the rule of the-then Ottoman Empire, and the completion of external work on St Sava Cathedral - a project started in 1894 that has been disrupted by wars and other upheavals. [328 words, ENI-04-0291]

12 May 2004

New York (ENI). The questions are as old as life itself: "Why is there evil, why is there suffering, why is there adversity in the world?" The answers to the questions posed by Jewish scholar Jon Levenson, who teaches at Harvard Divinity School, were, as always, difficult to come by. But Levenson, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and Christian and Muslim scholars and writers who addressed the subject of evil and its contemporary manifestations at the 35th national conference of the Trinity Institute did so in the hope that an interfaith dialogue could help the contemporary world "name evil" and perhaps act on it. [622 words, ENI-04-0288]

60 years on, all denominations invited to Canada's ecumenical table

Vancouver (ENI). The Canadian Council of Churches which celebrates its diamond jubilee on 13 May was founded as "a kind of Protestant lobby". But now it brings together diverse denominations including Anglican, Roman Catholic, Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, says its president, Professor Richard Schneider. "Instead of trying to plot the perfect church, we are coming to the table as we are," said Schneider, from the Orthodox Church in America's Archdiocese of Canada. He is the first Orthodox to be president of the council. [400 words, ENI-04-0289]

Israel shifts police officer accused of affair with Orthodox official's wife

Jerusalem (ENI). Israel has taken disciplinary action against a police officer for allegedly having an affair with the wife of a senior official in the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of the Holy Land. The officer has been transferred out of east Jerusalem and told by his seniors that they had wanted to fire him from the force. The Israeli government apparently feared that the incident, first reported on 4 May on Israel Radio, would damage sensitive relations with the Greek Orthodox Church, which is the owner of important land holdings including the site of the Israeli parliament. [328 words, ENI-04-0290]

11 May 2004

Port-au-Prince (ENI). The churches of Haiti face an enormous task of building reconciliation and educating the people of the Caribbean nation in democracy, church leaders here report. "The church has played an important role in providing education and health care to the Haitian people, but we shouldn't stop there," Edouard Paultre, the general secretary of the Protestant Federation of Haiti, told Ecumenical News International. "We have to change minds. We have to help construct a society where conflicts can be resolved peacefully." [736 words, ENI-04-0284]

Christians decry expulsion order against Dutch priest in Kashmir

New Delhi (ENI). Christian and civil affairs groups are demanding the Indian government rescind an expulsion order against a Dutch Roman Catholic priest, the Rev. Jim Borst, who has worked in the troubled Kashmir region and in other parts of India since 1963. A member of the Mill Hill congregation, Borst arrived in northern India's Jammu and Kashmir state four decades ago. He was asked by the Foreigners Registration office at the end of April to leave the country. Church officials said his visa expired in November and it refused to extend it. [491 words, ENI-04-0285]

German manual with no place for Jesus at Christmas draws flak

Bielefeld (ENI). A handbook produced by the German government for newly-arrived immigrants which refers to Santa Claus in its description of the Christmas festival but fails to mention Jesus is causing consternation among Christians. "Presents, trees, candles, and the legend of Santa Claus are the focus of the explanation of Christmas, but there is not a word about the birth of Christ," said Hermann Kues, a member of parliament for the opposition Christian Democrats and a party spokesperson on church affairs. [237 words, ENI-04-0286]

Now 'The Passion of the Christ' pulls in Kenyan crowds

Nairobi (ENI). Mel Gibson's box office hit movie "The Passion of the Christ", depicting the last hours of Jesus, has generated controversy in Africa as elsewhere, and it has also been showing to full houses in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, for the last four weeks. Many church leaders have encouraged Christians to watch the film since it opened on 8 April, but others have objected to the gruesome violence depicted, saying that it is suitable for adults only. [432 words, ENI-04-0287]

10 May 2004

New York (ENI). US church and human rights groups have condemned the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by military personnel. The acts have prompted outrage throughout the world and caused US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to issue a formal apology during testimony before US congressional investigators on 7 May. "The common cause that all countries should share in the 'war against terror' is overtaken by Iraqi prisoners being taunted by US soldiers in a moment of moral bankruptcy," the US National Council of Churches said. [384 words, ENI-04-0280]

Orthodox urge prayers to save Bulgarians sentenced to death in Libya

Sofia (ENI). The Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church has urged national prayers for the lives of five Bulgarian nurses sentenced to death by a Libyan court after being found guilty of deliberately infecting more than 400 Libyan children with the HIV virus. The verdict, announced by a court in the Libyan capital of Benghazi on 6 May, has sent shock waves through Bulgaria, and is to be subject to an appeal. A Palestinian doctor was also found guilty and sentenced to death. [445 words, ENI-04-0283]

Elections are acid test for Philippine churches' influence on politics

Manila (ENI). Whatever the outcome of Monday's hotly contested national and local elections in the Philippines, they will be seen as an acid test for the influence of the country's churches in the political landscape of this Roman Catholic, Southeast Asian nation. Exit polls that are not always accurate showed current President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo likely to win a six-year term from the 43 million registered voters, beating her closest rival movie star Fernando Poe Junior. The election day was marred, however, with almost 30 people killed in election related violence among the 84 million population. [514 words, ENI-04-0281]

EU leader tells Christians in Germany democracy is antidote to terrorism

Stuttgart (ENI). The president of the European Commission, Romano Prodi, has told a 10 000-strong Christian gathering in Stuttgart that Europe must not turn itself into a fortress because of fears of terrorism. "The answer to terrorism is not to be found in war, which on the contrary intensifies it. It is rather to be found in democracy, in the sturdiness of institutions that can drain the residue of hate in which terrorism develops," Prodi told the gathering. The meeting, called "Together for Europe", brought together representatives of more than 170 Protestant, Roman Catholic, Anglican and Orthodox movements from all over Europe. [454 words, ENI-04-0282]

7 May 2004

Warsaw (ENI). Plans by the Hare Krishna movement to build its biggest European temple in Moscow are causing consternation among Orthodox Christians in Russia. "The Krishnas should be able to build their temple here, but not something immense like this", said Moscow patriarchate spokesman, Viktor Malukin. "It should reflect the principle of proportionality, as well as the place of the Krishna sect in the general ecclesiastical and cultural context of this region". "This is a problem between the Moscow government and the Krishnas, which the Orthodox church isn't party to," Malukin told Ecumenical News International. "But one can understand the protests of Orthodox faithful - of the simple believers and citizens who live in this city." [483 words, ENI-04-0278]

Franciscan monks were first to bring beer to S. America

Quito, Ecuador (ENI). A vibrant collection of paintings and magnificent artwork, period clothing and ornately carved furniture is hosted at the San Francisco Museum in the heart of colonial Quito, located at the oldest and largest monastery in Latin America. But the ancient walls of the monastery also house a peculiar set of painted wooden trays and barrels: the trays where the ingredients were mixed and the barrels used to ferment the product of the first brewery in South America. [726 words, ENI-04-0279]

6 May 2004

Bangkok (ENI). Communist Laos, where Christians continue to face persecution, is the focus of this year's celebration on 23 May of Asia Sunday, which was started to commemorate the founding of the Christian Conference of Asia in 1973. "Every year, Asia Sunday focuses on a theme and on a country in Asia. This year's theme is 'Serving together beyond boundaries', and the focus is on Laos," Hong Kong-based CCA general secretary Dr Ahn Jae Woong announced. [331 words, ENI-04-0277]

5 May 2004

Geneva (ENI). The first reports of government-backed atrocities against civilians in western Sudan's Darfur region began filtering out just over one year ago. The massive displacement caused by people fleeing their homes is now "one of the world's worst humanitarian crises", says James Morris, executive director of the UN's World Food Programme. "This is a very, very serious humanitarian crisis," Morris said at a London news conference on Tuesday. "In Darfur about a million people in the most violent way have been driven from their homes. About half of them are now in camps, and half of them are still wandering around in the hills and who knows where." [710 words, ENI-04-0274]

Orthodox in Finland commit to worldwide cooperation for social action

Geneva (ENI). Orthodox Christian social and humanitarian organizations from around the world have agreed to develop a global network to strengthen cooperation and work against poverty and injustice. Participants agreed to work towards the formation of a new association of Orthodox diakonia (social service) during the first international conference of Orthodox social and humanitarian organizations held in the New Valamo Monastery, Finland from 30 April to 5 May. [384 words, ENI-04-0275]

Botswana churches urged to use professionals to educate youth on AIDS

Gaborone (ENI). Churches should use professionals in various disciplines to guide and help young people develop healthy lifestyles, the Rev. Jonny Kgwarapi of the Apostolic Faith Mission has told a gathering in Ghanzi district in the north-western part of Botswana. Kgwarapi, speaking at a commemoration of the month for youth against HIV/AIDS at the end of April, described social workers, nurses, doctors and others as the professionals who could boost the nation's fight against the scourge of the AIDS pandemic. [332 words, ENI-04-0276]

4 May 2004

Sofia, Bulgaria (ENI). Greek government leaders has been drawn into a dispute between Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomeos I of Constantinople, spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians, and the (Orthodox) Church of Greece. A delegation of four bishops from Patriarch Bartholomeos met Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis to present their side in the dispute. They arrived in Greece from Istanbul for talks apparently aimed at preventing a permanent split between the patriarchate and Greece's Orthodox Church. [580 words, ENI-04-0273]

Father of slain Arab urges Palestinian leaders: Stop violent incitement

Jerusalem (ENI). A prominent Arab Christian lawyer, whose son was gunned down by Palestinians who said they killed him in the name of the Quran, has appealed to the Palestinian Authority and Muslim leaders to stop all incitement to violence. Elias Khoury, a Greek Orthodox Christian, was reacting to the news this week that Israeli police had arrested three young Palestinians who confessed to murdering his son George, a university student, after they had mistaken him for a Jew. [549 words, ENI-04-0272]

Avoid 'we know better' approach, Australian aid director tells government

Melbourne (ENI). The national director of the relief and development arm of the National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA), Caesar D'Mello, has said the country should ensure it has good policies and intentions when it intervenes in the affairs of other nations. "We need to foster a relationship that minimises dependency and enables maximum local responsibility," said D'Mello, national director of Christian World Service, announcing a series of consultations on foreign policy in the Pacific, to be held in July by the NCCA. [369 words, ENI-04-0271]

3 May 2004

Cincinnati, Ohio (ENI). The small Cincinnati suburb of Batavia with modest homes and a Protestant heritage is awash with yellow ribbons symbolising a vigil for the safe return of native son Keith "Matt" Maupin. US civil rights leader, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, has helped build an international, inter-religious coalition, including American-Islamic leaders, to negotiate his release. [501 words, ENI-04-0269]

Zimbabwe church leaders at odds over land reform programme

Geneva (ENI). Church leaders in Zimbabwe are divided over whether to give total support to the controversial land reform programme of President Robert Mugabe. The Rev. Andrew Wutawunashe, immediate past president of the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe, has urged the Zimbabwe government to press ahead with the programme so as "empower the poor". But Bishop Levee Kadenge of the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe said it would be difficult for church leaders to give the government "our total support on the land reform programme". [519 words, ENI 04-0270]

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