London/New York (ENI). The Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement in Britain has welcomed the results of a world Anglican meeting which discussed a rift over homosexuality as "a process involving further discussion". Elsewhere the decision by the Anglican leaders to temporarily exclude the US and Canadian Anglican churches from the Anglican Consultative Council was widely seen as a victory for traditionalists. [380 words, ENI-05-0130]

German Methodists elect first woman bishop

Bielefeld, Germany (ENI). The Rev. Rosemarie Wenner, 49, has become the first woman to be elected bishop of the United Methodist Church in Germany and the denomination's first female bishop outside the United States. At the same time, the Old Catholic Church in Germany ordained Alexandra Caspari as its first woman priest on 26 February at a ceremony in Karlsruhe. The Old Catholic Church was founded after the First Vatican Council in 1870 declared papal infallibility. [341 words, ENI-05-0128]

Most US teens believe in God, survey finds

Oxford (ENI). Most US teenagers believe in God and attend conventional congregations but at the same time have difficulty expressing how religious faith impacts their lives, according to a new survey funded by the Lilly Endowment. The National Study of Youth and Religion, produced by researchers at the University of North Carolina, concluded that "religion really does matter" to teenagers even though their religious knowledge is "meagre, nebulous and often fallacious". [405 words, ENI-05-0129]

25 February 2005

London (ENI). Leaders of the worldwide Anglican Communion have agreed to temporarily isolate the US and Canadian churches from a key denominational body following a rift over the issue of homosexuality. The leaders of 35 of the communion's 38 autonomous provinces asked the North American churches to "voluntarily withdraw" from the Anglican Consultative Council, the main coordinating body of the 78-million communion, for at least three years. [541 words, ENI-05-0126]

Nigeria's doctors' strike leaves Christian hospitals inundated

Jos, Nigeria (ENI). Constant strikes by Nigerian doctors this year are said to have claimed the lives of more than 20 000 patients and have placed a massive burden on Christian hospitals across the country which have been overwhelmed with patients. Deaths recorded in government hospitals country-wide by the National Association of Resident Doctors have shown that the mortuaries at the four public hospitals in Abuja, Nigeria's federal capital, are packed full of dead bodies with space for no more. [545 words, ENI-05-0125]

Clergy warns of corruption as it queries Malawi president's new party

Blantyre (ENI). Clerics in Malawi say they are surprised about President Bingu wa Mutharika's announcement that he will soon launch a new political party after ditching the United Democratic Front that ushered him into power. The 4 February announcement that President Mutharika would form the Democratic Progressive Party came at the same time the UDF suspended the president, saying he had violated the party's code, and had chosen to disregard its guidelines and constitution. [405 words, ENI-05-0127]

24 February 2005

Jerusalem/New York (ENI). Both the Israeli government and US Jewish organizations have criticised the World Council of Churches for urging its member churches to consider economic measures opposing Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. "We are very troubled by this decision," Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mark Regev told Ecumenical News International. "We don't see this sort of one-sided decision as being at all helpful and constructive ... when Israel has decided to pull out of Gaza and take down the settlements, and take down settlements in part of the West Bank." [491 words, ENI-05-0124]

Pope hospitalised again as new book is published

Rome (ENI). Pope John Paul II said to be suffering from flu was rushed to hospital, the day after a new book of meditations by the pontiff went on sale in Rome. "The Holy Father had a relapse of the flu syndrome with which he had been affected in the preceding weeks," said Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls after the Pope failed to appear for a scheduled public engagement. "For that reason, the Pope was taken to the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic for the appropriate specialised care and further tests." [474 words, ENI-05-0123]

Churches urge action after El Salvador Lutheran university attacked

Geneva/Vancouver (ENI). Lutheran churches have called on the El Salvador government to ensure the physical protection of the Salvadoran Lutheran University, after the killing of a security guard in an attack reminiscent of political violence church communities endured in the 1980s. "We deplore this vicious act against the university," Bishop Mark S. Hanson, president of the Lutheran World Federation, wrote in a letter to El Salvador's President Elias Antonio Saca. [365 words, ENI-05-0118]

UK church pans anti-Springer Christian activists for charity action

London (ENI). Evangelical Christians who persuaded a cancer charity not to accept "tainted money" from the controversial show, "Jerry Springer - the Opera", have been criticised by Sheila Maxey, moderator of the United Reformed Church, one of Britain's main religious denominations. "It is a central tenet of Christian faith that we should respect those with whom we disagree - even when our disagreements are fundamental," Maxey said in a statement. "To brand those with whom we disagree as somehow 'unclean' is a dangerous step down the road towards a society marked by intolerance and injustice." [409 words, ENI-05-0120]

Buenos Aires to host Latin American church council assembly

Quito (ENI). The Latin American Council of Churches (CLAI), a grouping of more than 150 Protestant, Evangelical, Anglican and Orthodox denominations, is to hold its next general assembly, scheduled for 2007, in Buenos Aires in Argentina. Assemblies of the council, which groups churches in Latin America and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean usually take place every six years. [286 words, ENI-05-0122]

Help cause of poor, Manila bishop stresses in Lent message

Manila (ENI). The Lent season - traditionally a season of sacrifice, penance and fasting for Roman Catholics - must focus on helping the cause of the poor, Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales has said. "For some, sacrifice begins slowly as an attitude of the heart, and then as a willingness to do better, or just yielding to the prompting to give a little bit more for the cause of the poor," he said in his statement at the start of Lent. [272 words, ENI-05-0121]

Thrifty Dutch Calvinists have pricey tastes in cars, survey finds

Amsterdam (ENI). Dutch Reformed Christians have the reputation of being frugal, but not when comes to buying a car, the results of a newspaper survey suggest. "In some places, squares outside churches belonging to conservative Reformed denominations are mostly filled with sports cars in the upper price range," notes the daily Reformed newspaper, the Reformatorisch Dagblad. "The sober church interiors are sometimes in stark contrast to the gleaming four-wheelers in the car park." [385 words, ENI-05-0119]

23 February 2005

Nairobi (ENI). Minority Christian groups in Eritrea are facing arbitrary arrests and detention, say reports reaching Nairobi about the country in the horn of Africa. "Many have been persecuted. They have been arrested at worship, weddings and other functions," a source at the Association of Evangelicals of Africa told Ecumenical News International in Nairobi. [390 words, ENI-05-0116]

Rebel Kenyan bishop faces axing from Lutheran body

Stockholm (ENI). Leaders of the Lutheran World Federation are recommending the removal of Kenyan Bishop Walter E. Obare Omwanza as an advisor to its main governing body after he consecrated a bishop for a breakaway Lutheran grouping in Sweden, opposed to women priests and same-sex marriage. "This action by Bishop Obare, together with those who assisted him, must be considered as inappropriate interference in the life of a sister church, with negative consequences for the unity of the LWF as a communion of churches as a whole," the Lutheran federation's executive committee said. [458 words, ENI-05-0115]

Russian church mulls setting up Orthodox TV channel

Moscow (ENI). In an undertaking that could never have been talked about during Soviet Communist Party rule, the Russian Orthodox Church is considering setting up a general television channel in Russia, a senior church official has said. "Already the volume of Orthodox programming is enough to fill the airtime of a major cable or satellite channel," the Rev. Vsevolod Chaplin, deputy chairman of the external relations department of the church's Moscow Patriarchate this month told the Russian daily newspaper Kommersant. He said having a broadcasting medium espousing the values of Orthodoxy was on the horizon. [435 words, ENI-05-0117]

Norwegian leaves Lutheran theology school after Catholic conversion

Stockholm (ENI). A former Lutheran professor at the Institute for Ecumenical Research in Strasbourg, France, who converted to Roman Catholicism, has resigned from his post at the Lutheran School of Mission and Theology in Stavanger, Norway. After his conversion astounded his colleagues two years ago, dogmatics' professor Ola Tjørhom, 51, was allowed to continue as professor of systematic theology and ecumenical theology at the Stavanger school. The faculty leadership later decided he should be moved to the less contentious field of the theory of science. At the beginning of 2005, however, Tjørhom decided to leave his post after reaching an agreement with his faculty. [440 words, ENI-05-0114]

22 February 2005

Jerusalem (ENI). The Vatican's envoy to Israel has held a special Mass at the Galilee town of Maghar where dozens of Christian homes were torched and shops looted in rioting by Druze-Arabs last week. "From now on the Pope as well as myself, the authorities of all the Christian churches worldwide and all the world will fix a watchful eye on Maghar to check the dignity and safety of the Christians," Archbishop Pietro Sambi told thousands of Christians, including several bishops, who attended the service. [414 words, ENI-05-0110]

Indian Christians plan demonstration after anti-church violence

New Delhi (ENI). Christian groups in India plan to march on the country's parliament on Thursday in protest against the killing of two pastors and half a dozen attacks on church targets in recent weeks. "It looks like we are facing a new cycle of violence," said Church of North India Bishop D. K Sahu, general secretary of the National Council of Churches in India, which groups 29 Orthodox and Protestant Churches. [390 words, ENI-05-0113]

Swiss-born Catholic theologian wins 2005 Niwano Peace Prize

Geneva (ENI). Dr Hans Kueng, 76, a Swiss-born Roman Catholic theologian who heads the Global Ethic Foundation in Switzerland and Germany, is to receive this year's Niwano Peace Prize, the foundation that gives the award said. The prize is awarded each year by the Japan-based Niwano Peace Foundation to an individual or organization contributing significantly to world peace by promoting inter-religious cooperation. Bishop Gunnar Staalsett of Oslo, a member of the Nobel Peace Prize committee and the chair of the international Niwano Peace Prize committee, said: "His scholarly contributions as well as his strategic mind have moved both religious leaders and ordinary people to build bridges for common service to humanity." [581 words, ENI-05-0112]

World Council of Churches adopts consensus decision-making method

Geneva (ENI). After several years of experimentation, the main governing body of the World Council of Churches, the body uniting most non-Roman Catholic Christians, has formally adopted a consensus method of decision-making for all WCC bodies. "This decision to adopt the consensus method marks a new culture altogether in the World Council," the church grouping's general secretary the Rev. Samuel Kobia told journalists. [341 words, ENI-05-0111]

Lutherans chide African Union and global bodies on Liberia

Abuja, Nigeria (ENI). World Lutheran leaders have urged the African Union and other international organizations to take the lead in resettling people driven from their homes by bloody conflicts in the West African country of Liberia. Lutheran World Federation president, Bishop Mark Hanson, and the general secretary of the Geneva-based grouping, the Rev. Ishmael Noko, made the calls during a visit to member churches in Nigeria, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. [486 words, ENI-05-0109]

21 February 2005

Geneva (ENI). The World Council of Churches on Monday urged its members to consider economic measures to oppose Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory and praised the action of a US denomination that has started a process of selective divestment from companies linked to the occupation. "Multinational corporations have been involved in the demolition of Palestinian homes," the WCC's main governing body said in a statement. They "are involved in the construction of settlements and settlement infrastructure on occupied territory, in building a dividing wall which is also largely inside occupied territory, and in other violations of international law". [441 words, ENI-05-0104]

World churches urged to aid Iraqi Christians

Geneva (ENI). The main governing body of the World Council of Churches has welcomed the January poll in Iraq but warned that efforts were needed by churches around the world to assist thousands of Iraqi Christians who have fled their country. "The embrace of a democratic process is a vote for a new Iraq, one freed both from dictatorship and from occupation," the WCC central committee said. [402 words, ENI-05-0106]

Anglican leaders meet to debate division on gay bishop consecration

London (ENI). The leader of the US Episcopal (Anglican) Church, Bishop Frank Griswold, invoked the Holy Spirit's approval of "new ways" ahead of a meeting that was to open at which leaders of the 78-million Anglican Communion will discuss a rift about homosexuality. "What attitudes and opinions and notions of truth are we perhaps being called to set aside? ... Are we perhaps being invited in new ways?" Griswold said in a sermon at St Anne's Cathedral, Belfast. [350 words, ENI-05-0107]

Mugabe turns 81 with only priests daring to criticise him

London (ENI). Robert Gabriel Mugabe turned 81 on Monday. At an age most men would be playing with their great-grandchildren, the president of Zimbabwe is leading his country into a general election on 31 March. He has promised to use every resource at his disposal to wipe out the opposition Movement for Democratic Change political party. Human rights organizations note that Zimbabwe has cracked down on a free press and it has stopped non-governmental organizations distributing food aid. But some opponents say Mugabe knows he can never wipe out the opposition he most fears - the Christian Church. [756 words, ENI-05-0108]

WCC asks churches to commemorate Armenian genocide

Geneva (ENI). Churches around the world are being asked to commemorate on Sunday 24 April the 90th anniversary of the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Armenians in the Ottoman empire in what has been called genocide. The proposal came at a meeting of the main governing body of the Geneva-based World Council of Churches. [315 words, ENI-05-0105]

18 February 2005

Nairobi, 18 February (ENI)-Anglican bishops in Kenya have urged foreign donors to review a potential freeze on aid to the East African nation because of corruption, saying it would adversely affect the majority of the country's 32 million people. On 10 February, the European Union warned in a statement that its aid to Kenya was in jeopardy and said that institutions created to fight corruption had been impeded in their operations. [352 words, ENI-05-0103]

World churches back steps to save Pacific from submersion

Geneva (ENI). World church leaders have heard from their counterparts in the Pacific that for them climate change is not a theoretical issue, but it is a matter of life and death. Responding to rising sea levels threatening to permanently submerge hundreds of Pacific islands, the main governing body of the World Council of Churches endorsed a series of steps to reverse disastrous effects of global warming. [366 words, ENI-05-0102]

Bush's faith plan undermined by White House, says former official

New York (ENI). A former official of a White House multi-billion-dollar programme to expand the role of faith-based groups in social service work has criticised the administration of President George W. Bush for not sufficiently supporting the initiative. "Sadly, four years later these promises remain unfulfilled in spirit and in fact," said David Kuo who until December 2003 held the position of deputy director of the White House Office of Faith-based and Community Initiatives. [337 words, ENI-05-0101]

17 February 2005

New York (ENI). An international Jewish human rights group is calling on the Presbyterian Church (USA) to suspend plans for a selective divestment of investments from companies that profit from the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. The Simon Wiesenthal Center, headquartered in Los Angeles, said in a letter to Clifton Kirkpatrick, the denomination's stated clerk, or chief executive, that recent good-faith actions taken by Israel to improve relations with the Palestinians warranted a suspension of the divestment proposal. [270 words, ENI-05-0100]

Children seen as likely victims of asylum politics

London (ENI). Bob Reitemeier and his staff at one of Britain's biggest children's societies know about the misery of refugee children who literally have no idea of where they are. "We've talked to children who had no idea they were in Britain," says Reitemeier, chief executive of the Children's Society, which is linked to the (Anglican) Church of England. "There's nothing in the accommodation centres [where the children have been placed] to say they're in Britain. It's not humane, it's not the right way to go about this." [445 words, ENI-05-0097]

Churches' anti-violence plan to focus on Europe, Pacific, Caribbean

Geneva (ENI). The World Council of Churches (WCC) is to focus the final three years of its 10-year Decade to Overcome Violence campaign on Europe, the Pacific Islands and the Caribbean. The campaign was launched in 2001 to support and coordinate the efforts of WCC member churches to work together to promote peace, justice and reconciliation. [285 words, ENI-05-0098]

World church governing body steers safe course on sexuality debate

Geneva (ENI). Sex and religion can be an explosive mix, but those expecting fireworks when the World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee took up the topic of human sexuality were sorely disappointed. Instead, in what was dubbed an "ecumenical conversation" was what one Orthodox leader described as "a small step in demonstrating that we can have safer, non-threatening dialogue". [558 words, ENI-0099]

16 February 2005

Tokyo (ENI). An interfaith service in Kyoto Cathedral was one of many events to mark the coming into force of the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement signed in 1997 in the Japanese city that bears its name and which aims to slow global warming. "If we do not change our lifestyle soon we, the people of the Pacific, will suffer the most" churches noted in a call to prayer. "The rising sea-levels, the increasing number of cyclones, the droughts, the pollution in our air, the increased extreme weather conditions - we can already feel it." [459 words, ENI-05-0096]

Support trade campaign for people, WCC's Kobia urges church leaders

Geneva (ENI). Global churches and their members have been urged to join the Trade for People Campaign to promote commercial rules that prioritise human rights, says the Rev. Samuel Kobia, general secretary of the World Council of Churches. "Specifically we call for trade rules and practices which ensure the right to food; access to water, education, health care and information; and the regulation of transnational corporations so we can have trade for people and not people for trade," said Kobia. [374 words, ENI-05-0095]

Churches challenged by shifting demographics, says Kobia

Geneva (ENI). Christianity is undergoing a shift from the northern to the southern hemispheres, with a marked growth in informal Christianity represented by mega-churches, the Rev. Samuel Kobia, general secretary of the World Council of Churches has said. Christianity's centre of gravity is undergoing a demographic shift from North to South, simultaneously with marked growth in the 'informal sector' of Christianity represented by mega-churches and other expressions of post-denominationalism, including a 'spirituality' not tied to traditional institutions," noted Kobia, in an address to the main governing body of the Geneva-based WCC. [399 words, ENI-05-0091]

Church Holy Land project aims to help both Israelis and Palestinians

Geneva (ENI). Strengthening the Christian communities in the Palestinian occupied territories will improve the chances for peace in the Middle East, a Danish church leader who has been instrumental in such efforts says. "It is important for Israel that the Christian communities in Palestine be supported because historically they have been the reconcilers," the Rev. Anders Gadegaard told a media briefing on the World Council of Churches' Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel. [603 words, ENI-05-0094]

WCC member churches receive warning on future contributions

Geneva (ENI). The main governing body of the World Council of Churches, which in recent years has experienced financial stringencies, has been told expenditure has been brought under control, although income continues to decline. "We have stabilised the Council," said the Rev. Anders Gadegaard, vice-moderator of the WCC finance committee. Still, he warned, "We have to manage the Council with less income." Gadegaard was presenting a preliminary financial report for 2004 to the church grouping's governing body. [486 words, ENI-05-0093]

Church leaders remember tsunami victims and praise shared efforts

Geneva (ENI). Church leaders from around the world have offered prayers for the victims of the 26 December tsunami that claimed the lives of 280 000 people in 12 countries, and they praised unlikely cooperative efforts to aid survivors. "Inside a bullet-riddled building in rebel territory in northern Sri Lanka, representatives of the country's government and Tamil Tiger rebels are sitting together and planning the distribution of relief aid to tsunami victims," said the Rev. Hermen Shastri of the Council of Churches in Malaysia at the prayer service. [287 words, ENI-05-0092]

15 February 2005

Geneva, 15 February (ENI)-The Lebanese moderator of the World Council of Churches says the assassination of his country's former prime minister Rafik Hariri and 10 others was "a tragedy of far-reaching consequences" aimed at the whole of his nation and highlighted the need for trust among people. Aram, moderator of the WCC's main governing body, its central committee, said he believed the assassination was not aimed so much at Hariri, a billionaire business magnate, but at the whole nation and it underlined the dire necessity for healing and reconciliation in Lebanon. [561 words, ENI-05-0088]

Israeli police patrol Galilee village after inter-communal riots

Jerusalem (ENI). Israeli police were patrolling the Galilee village of Maghar after a weekend of rioting between Druze-Arab and Christian-Arab villagers which led to several Christian families fleeing their homes in fear of their lives. But the most senior representative of the Roman Catholic Church in the Holy Land was quoted by the newspaper Haaretz saying Israel had abandoned its responsibility for the security of the Catholic community. [457 words, ENI-05-0086]

Help Christians reconstruct Iraq, urges Middle East church leader

Geneva (ENI). A top church leader from the Middle East has urged the international community to help members of Iraq's Christian community take part in the reconstruction of that country after the US-led invasion. "In Iraq, we had many difficulties, all the churches, including my church," said Catholicos Aram I of the Armenian Apostolic Church, in an apparent reference to troubles facing Christians since the invasion in 2003. [399 words, ENI-05-0089]

WCC is united with World Bank, IMF in poverty fight, not on method

Geneva (ENI). The World Council of Churches, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund are all committed to eradicating poverty but they have sharp differences in understanding and resolving it, the general secretary of the WCC, Dr Samuel Kobia has said. "The World Bank's mission statement calls 'for a world free of poverty' through growth. The IMF is committed to poverty alleviation through financial stability and growth," said Kobia in Geneva. "The WCC has always emphasised that poverty eradication can be achieved only by addressing injustice and inequality and the roots of this lie in the present unjust economic order." [439 words, ENI-05-0090]

Lutheran membership climbs in world, Africa, but not South Africa

Geneva (ENI). The number of Lutherans worldwide increased by 5.4 per cent in 2004 to almost 70 million, much of this growth in Africa, says the Geneva-based Lutheran World Federation. But while Lutheran churches throughout most of the African continent registered an increase in membership, several churches in South Africa experienced a decline, the Lutheran church grouping has noted. [556 words, ENI-05-0087]

14 February 2005

Stockholm (ENI). A Swedish Pentecostal pastor sentenced to a prison term after describing homosexuals as "a cancerous tumour in the body of society" has had his conviction overturned by an appeal court. The court of appeal in the Swedish town of Joenkoping ruled that the views of the pastor, the Rev. Ake Green, did not constitute a crime under anti-hate legislation which bans incitement against homosexuals as well as against racial, religious or national groups. [383 words, ENI-05-0083]

Dresden in Germany remembers bombing 60 years ago

Bielefeld (ENI). The city of Dresden has marked the 60th anniversary of the allied firebombing in the Second World War in which 35 000 civilians are estimated to have died and the historic city centre was reduced to rubble. At a memorial service at the city's Frauenkirche, or Church of Our Lady, clergy from Coventry cathedral in England presented a cross made from medieval nails rescued from the roof of the cathedral after it was destroyed by German bombing in 1940. "We will work together for peace in the future," said the Rev. John Irvine, dean of the English cathedral, as he presented the cross to Dresden's Lutheran Bishop Jochen Bohl in the crypt of the Frauenkirche. [315 words, ENI-05-0085]

Zimbabweans pray for peace as election nears

Geneva (ENI). Zimbabwean church leaders have called on their compatriots to shun violence and pray for peace ahead of parliamentary elections to be held in March. "We have had enough fighting in Zimbabwe," Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe president Bishop Trevor Manhanga told more than 2000 people attending an interdenominational prayer for peace in Harare. Addressing worshippers who included several politicians, Christian leaders lamented the violence which characterised Zimbabwe's elections in 2000 and 2002. [333 words, ENI-05-0084]

11 February 2005

By Cedric Pulford London (ENI). Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, has won qualified support from an Evangelical Christian movement as well as the public for the announcement he is to wed his long-time companion, Camilla Parker Bowles. The one-million-member Evangelical Alliance, which says it promotes Biblical truth in contemporary society, described the planned marriage as a "serious move to put their relationship on a more moral footing". Charles and Parker Bowles will be married on 8 April in a civil ceremony, followed by a service of prayer and dedication led by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams. [449 words, ENI-05-0082]

Zimbabwe government minister says Tutu is a 'sellout'

Geneva (ENI). A senior Zimbabwean politician has castigated Nobel peace laureate and retired South African Anglican archbishop Desmond Tutu as a "sellout" and "embittered little man" following remarks by the cleric in the media about the Zimbabwean government. Tutu was quoted in the South African Sunday Independent newspaper as suggesting Zimbabwe was making a mockery of the attempts of African nations to improve governance and defend democracy as the continent tries to secure aid from richer countries. In a reaction to Tutu's remarks, Didymus Mutasa, a government minister and top-ranking official, denounced Tutu as a "vassal" of imperialism. [344 words, ENI-05-0081]

9 February 2005

Oxford, Ohio (ENI). The Salvation Army is one of the world's 10 most enduring institutions of the 20th and 21st centuries, according to a newly-released international study involving prominent US academics. "Few organizations are more prominent and respected than the Salvation Army," the report by global strategy and technology consulting company Booz Allen Hamilton noted. The company wanted to discover why some institutions endured for decades, or even centuries, while others disappeared. [389 words, ENI-05-0076]

Churches in Sudan challenged on future work after civil war

Nairobi (ENI). A meeting of Sudanese Christian leaders in Nairobi has ended with a warning that churches risk being marginalised if they cannot draw up a clear strategy after an agreement by the Sudanese government and rebels to end a two-decade-long civil war. "Sudan is at the most dangerous stage now," said the Rev. Mvume Dandala, general secretary of the Nairobi-based All Africa Conference of Churches, which hosted the two-day meeting. "The churches must unite to fortify the peace." [426 words. ENI-05-0077]

8 February 2005

Athens (ENI). Orthodox Christian leaders in Greece have said a well-orchestrated attack against the church is behind a series of allegations against senior clerics. "A heavy climate is still being created by those who engage in revelations of scandals that are sometimes true and sometimes concocted," said Archbishop Christodoulos, the church's leader. "What purpose does this daily dragging through the mud serve?" The church has been thrown into turmoil over accusations that suspected criminals were helped by an alleged trial-fixing ring composed of judges and churchmen. The church's holy synod, or top governing body, set up a three-person committee to look into the allegations. [284 words, ENI-05-0074]

Worship resumes in troubled Zimbabwe Anglican parish

Geneva (ENI). An Anglican parish in a Zimbabwean township has held its first service since December last year when church members boycotted church services in protest at the suspension of their resident priest. The service at St Francis of Assisi church in Glen Norah township, Harare, was led by Paul Gwese whose suspension had been lifted. Gwese was suspended by Harare's Anglican bishop, Nolbert Kunonga, after the priest allowed opposition lawmaker Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga to make a donation during a thanksgiving service on 16 December. [300 words, ENI-05-0075]

7 February 2005

New York (ENI). The 2004 presidential vote in the United States produced increased polarisation between and within religious communities, according to a new survey on the US religious landscape and the election. "Both President [George] Bush and Senator [John] Kerry benefited from strong support among key religious constituencies," said John Green, director of the Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at the University of Akron, in the US state of Ohio, which conducted the survey. The results of the Bliss Institute survey were released at the same time as leaders of the US Democratic Party, worried their party is losing elections by ignoring voters who profess religious faith, are trying to find ways to appeal to such electors. [456 words, ENI-05-0071]

Europe's churches plan 'pilgrimage' to promote unity

Geneva/Paris (ENI). European Protestant, Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches have announced plans for a "pilgrimage" of joint European gatherings linking key religious sites of the three Christian traditions. The first meeting would take place in Rome in January 2006 and could be followed a year later by a gathering in the German city of Wittenberg, seen as the birthplace of the Protestant Reformation in 1517. The events would culminate in Sibiu, in mainly-Orthodox Romania, in September 2007 with a European Ecumenical Assembly bringing together 3000 delegates from Europe's main denominations. [323 words, ENI-05-0073]

Do not judge pupils by exam grades, says Kenyan priest

Nairobi (ENI). Some church leaders and education groups in Kenya are warning that a stress on examination results to gauge pupils' ability is eroding the benefits of free primary school education introduced in 2003. "There is more emphasis on acquiring good grades at the expense of other useful skills in life," said the Rev. Emmanuel Ngugi, priest in charge of the Roman Catholic Holy Family Basilica in Nairobi. The criticisms follow the announcement in January by the education ministry that 340 000 of the 650 000 pupils who sat the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education will not find places in secondary school. [271 words, ENI-05-0072]

4 February 2005

By Hobbs Gama Blantyre, Malawi, 4 February (ENI)--Religious groups in Malawi are hoping and praying the finance ministers of the seven leading world economies who were to meet in London will come up with a package to deal with the debt burden affecting their country. "Most donors are discouraged by our current level of debt," said the Rev. Josse Kuppens of Faith Communities for Debt Cancellation, a Malawi action group. Malawi is one of Africa's poorest countries, owing US$3 billion in foreign debt, and with a level of domestic debt estimated to total US$12 million. [346 words, ENI-05-0068]

Former Dutch Protestant theology institute to train imams

Amsterdam (ENI). A former bastion of Protestant theology in the Netherlands has become the country's first institute of higher education to be granted government funding to train imams for the country's Muslim community. The Free University of Amsterdam has announced it is to receive 1.5 million euros (US$1.95 million) from the education ministry to help fund a master's degree course for imams. "The course is to prepare students so they can set to work in careers that require theological formation, such as pastoral care in the armed forces, the health sector, judicial institutions and mosques," the university said. [327 words, ENI-05-0069]

Graft permeates all society say Latin American church leaders

Quito (ENI). The publication of a report naming Argentina and Ecuador among the nations with the world's highest perceived levels of corruption in politics has prompted church leaders in those countries to denounce graft and sleaze which they say are infiltrating all of society. "Corruption is present from the attempt to suborn the traffic police officer to avoid a fine, to attempts to bribe the customs official," said the Rev. Juan Schvindt, executive secretary of the Evangelical Church of the River Plate in Argentina. Still, he noted, corruption in countries such as Argentina could not be separated from a global network of political and economic ties. [442 words, ENI-05-0070]

3 February 2005

London (ENI). Nelson Mandela, the world's most famous former prisoner, on has called on leaders of the developed world to set free the millions in poorer countries who are "trapped in the prison of poverty". The 86-year-old former South African president was addressing a rally in London's Trafalgar Square called by the Make Poverty History campaign, which is supported by aid agencies, campaigns, trade unions and faith groups. "Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural," he declared. "It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings." [408 words, ENI-05-0067]

Church group urges US to step up involvement in Middle East

Jerusalem (ENI). A group of US church leaders visiting the Middle East has urged President George W. Bush and his administration to take determined action to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The 11-member delegation from the US National Council of Churches (NCC) said greater US pressure was urgently needed to prevent a further deterioration of violence. "The delegation has come to the conclusion that this is one of the more pessimistic and darkest times that we have seen, even for those of us who have been here during more violent times," said the NCC general secretary, the Rev. Robert Edgar. [381 words, ENI-05-0066]

2 February 2005

Colombo (ENI). Church leaders in Sri Lanka have deplored reported attempts by some Christian evangelists to proselytise among victims of the tsunami in the island nation that led to the death of an estimated 40 000 people. "We are really concerned about such reports," said the Rev. Jayasiri Peiris, general secretary of the National Christian Council of Sri Lanka. "Inter-faith relations are very important and no one should misuse or strain these relations." Churches in Sri Lanka experienced a series of attacks last year following claims by some Buddhists that Christians had offered money and employment to non-Christians as a means of persuading them to accept the Christian faith. [337 words, ENI-05-0064]

Records show rise in numbers of Filipino priests leaving vocation

Manila (ENI). Increasing numbers of Roman Catholic priests in the Philippines are leaving the priesthood for married life, newly published records of the country's Catholic bishops' conference have indicated. "The common reason priests give in asking for dispensation is that they want peace of mind in having their own family, and this is only normal since priests are also human," said Archbishop Oscar Cruz, the head of a church tribunal that handles requests for dispensation from the ministry. [330 words, ENI-05-0065]

1 February 2005

Nairobi (ENI). Refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) residing in Kenya have the international community to pressure the government and rebels in their country to re-open peace talks. "We feel forgotten," said Pascal Cikambasi, a Congolese refugee who organized the peace prayers in Nairobi at which the call was made. "The war is growing every day, but we don't understand why we are fighting." [377 words, ENI-05-0062]

Zimbabwe vice-president at prayer meeting urges calm in election run-up

Geneva (ENI). Zimbabwean vice-president Joyce Mujuru, a member of the Salvation Army, speaking at a prayer meeting has urged citizens to shun violence in the run-up to parliamentary elections due in March. From today onwards there should be no violence but peaceful campaigning until election day," Mujuru had told the prayer meeting in Harare on 23 January attended by more than 6000 women from various Christian denominations. Human rights and election observer groups have reported that recent elections in Zimbabwe have been marred by violence and intimidation, perpetrated mostly by supporters of the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF), to which Mujuru also belongs. [389 words, ENI-05-0061]

English parish helps Nigerians in Thai jail

London (ENI). The constancy of an English parish which has supported two Nigerian women in a Thai jail has been rewarded with the news that the second and last of the two is expected to be freed. For more than 10 years the Anglican parish of Dry Drayton, in Cambridgeshire, sent birthday and Christmas cards, letters, small gifts and money to Philomena Balogun and Cordelia Edinbus. They were arrested in 1990 and convicted of trying to smuggle heroin back to Nigeria. Balogun was released a year ago and Edinbus has been invited to apply for a Thai royal pardon, said David Gosling, the former priest in charge at Dry Drayton. [310 words, ENI-05-0063]

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