Jerusalem (ENI). The Lutheran leader in the Holy Land, Bishop Munib Younan, says if world leaders cannot succeed in negotiating peace in Israel and Palestinian areas then church leaders should join with Jewish and Islamic leaders in assuming responsibility for this task. "If world leaders and politicians cannot make this dream a reality, and if they cannot get out of their narrow national interests and see the human suffering and hear the prayers of both," said Younan, "then the Church locally and globally must more proactively assume its responsibility with people of good conscience and courage from Judaism and Islam." He was speaking at the opening service of the council of the Lutheran World Federation being held in Jerusalem and Bethlehem, 31 August to 6 September. [580 words, ENI-05-0654]

Outraged Kenyan church leaders fear law on religion

Nairobi (ENI). Kenyan church leaders have entrenching Sharia or Islamic law, and which are scheduled to be voted on in a referendum later this year. The leaders, speaking under The Kenya Church, a grouping of traditional Protestant churches and Pentecostal denominations also expressed outrage at what they see is a government attempt to foist Christian courts on them. [385 words, ENI-05-0655]

30 August 2005

Jerusalem (ENI). Israel's chief rabbis have issued a ruling banning the destruction of synagogues in the Gaza Strip which the government had planned to blow up before Israel withdraws from the coastal strip as early as next month. The chief rabbinical council, headed by chief rabbis Shlomo Amar and Yona Metzger, said in a 25 August ruling that the destruction of synagogues in the Gaza Strip could set a dangerous precedent for synagogues abroad. The council said Jewish law forbids the destruction of vacated synagogues, as such an action could influence Jews around the world to abandon their own synagogues. [432 words, ENI-05-0651]

Anti-mining Filipino church worker killed by motorcycle gunman

Manila, 30 August (ENI). A Protestant pastor who led an anti-mining campaign and who was an activist calling for radical government reforms has died after being shot in Puerto Princesa on the Philippines island of Palawan. The Rev. Raul Domingo, a 35-year-old pastor of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines, who also chaired the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), a militant organization calling for government reform in Palawan, south of Manila, died on 20 August. [410 words, ENI-05-0652]

Lutheran leaders praise Jordan's role in Middle East peace process

Bethlehem (ENI). Leaders of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) on a visit to Jordan, have praised King Abdullah II and his government for their key role and significant contribution to the Middle East peace process. The Lutheran leaders on 29 August strongly welcomed as Christians the November 2004 "Amman Message" which the king addressed to all Muslims worldwide, affirming peace, tolerance, justice and sanctity of human life as basic tenets of the Islamic faith, Lutheran World International reported from Amman. [457 words, ENI-05-0653]

29 August 2005

Blantyre (ENI). Faith-based organizations in Malawi with funding from the British-based aid agency Oxfam have united to fight for debt cancellation and trade justice for one of the world's poorest nations. The grouping called Forum of Faith Communities for Debt Cancellation and Trade Justice comprises the Malawi Council of Churches, the Episcopal Conference of Malawi, the Evangelical Association of Malawi, the Muslim Association of Malawi and the Qadria Muslim Association of Malawi. [401 words, ENI-05-0649]

Sectarian attacks in Northern Ireland continue say communities

Dublin (ENI). Sectarian attacks in Northern Ireland show no sign of abating despite a recent declaration by the Irish Republican Army that it will lay down its arms and it has not stopped both Roman Catholic and Protestant communities reporting attacks. The leader of the (Anglican) Church of Ireland, Archbishop Robin Eames, said in a statement there was "no justification or excuse" for the daily attacks. "Innocent people and families are facing danger to their lives simply because of their religion or political identity. Protestants and Roman Catholics must reject and condemn all attacks made under the guise of Loyalism [from the Protestant side] or republicanism [from the Catholic community]," he said. [461 words, ENI-05-0650]

26 August 2005

Stockholm (ENI). Archbishop Karl Gustav Hammar, Sweden's Lutheran leader, has announced he will step down in the middle of 2006 at the age of 63, stating personal reasons for his early resignation. "It is my overall life situation that has motivated me to take this step," said Archbishop Hammar in a statement. "This has been a process over a long period of time." He told the media: "I have thought very deeply about what led me to this decision." [529 words, ENI-05-0647]

Malawi Christian and Islamic grouping lobbies for debt cancellation

Blantyre (ENI). Faith-based organizations in Malawi with funding from the British-based aid agency Oxfam have united to fight debt cancellation and trade justice for one of the world's poorest nations. The grouping called Forum of Faith Communities for Debt Cancellation and Trade Justice comprises the Malawi Council of Churches, the Episcopal Conference of Malawi, the Evangelical Association of Malawi, the Muslim Association of Malawi and the Qadria Muslim Association of Malawi. [402 words, ENI-05-0649]

25 August 2005

Bielefeld, Germany (ENI). Leaders of Seventh-day Adventist churches in Germany and Austria have 60 years after the end of the Second World War drafted a declaration saying they "deeply regret" participation in or support of Nazi activities. "The declaration originally published shortly before 8 May has now been translated into English and sent to the Adventist churches in the United States," Holger Teubert, spokesperson of the south German church, told Ecumenical News International. [366 words, ENI-05-0645]

Christian Council, Presbyterians opposed to Nigeria in Islamic bank

Lagos (ENI). The Presbyterian Church of Nigeria has been joined by the Christian Council of Nigeria (CCN), a grouping of denominations, in urging Nigeria's government to immediately suspend its membership of the Islamic Development Bank. The Rev. Rogers Uwadi, CCN president, said that the 15 June decision of the federal government to make Nigeria a member of the Islamic Development Bank could trigger religious tension in the country. [378 words, ENI-05-0644]

No let up for aid agencies as Darfur conflict lingers unresolved

Nyala, Darfur, Sudan (ENI). More than two million people live in camps, facing an uncertain future in Darfur, a massive area in the west of Africa's largest country. It is a crisis largely induced by human beings that is seldom in the headlines and aid agencies in Darfur long for more international support. UN High Commission for Refugees chief Antonio Guterres this week held talks with leaders of the Riad displaced people's camp near Geneina, capital of the west Darfur region. But despite his arrival, issues of personal security and food for people in the region remain critical. And now even locusts are said to be threatening. [769 words, ENI-05-0646]

Taizé founder buried after service led by Catholic cardinal

Paris (ENI). The funeral of Brother Roger, the founder of the ecumenical Taizé community in the Burgundy region of France, who was killed at the age of 90, was attended by about 12 000 people from many Christian denominations. The service was led by a cardinal from the Vatican. Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, at the Vatican, led the service at the Church of the Resurrection, at the Taizé centre in the Burgundy region of eastern France, near the town of Mâcon. [625 words, ENI-05-0643]

24 August 2005

New York (ENI). Christian leaders seen representing both conservative and liberal constituencies have lambasted broadcaster the Rev. Pat Robertson for calling for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Robertson's call "is appalling to the point of disbelief", the general secretary of the US National Council of Churches Robert Edgar said following Robertson's statement, delivered on the Christian Broadcast Network. [406 words, ENI-05-0640]

Israeli court rules army can destroy Gaza synagogues

Jerusalem (ENI). Israel's highest court has ruled that the army can destroy synagogues in the Gaza Strip and that everything moveable should be taken from them. The decision by the High Court of Justice was in response to appeals by settler rabbis to bar the government's planned destruction of synagogues in territory to be handed over to the Palestinians in Gaza and the northern West Bank as early as September. [423 words, ENI-05-0642]

African church grouping streamlines itself

Nairobi (ENI). The All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC), representing about 100 million Christians in Africa, says it is transforming itself into a strategic body, away from a desk-bound one, to play a catalytic role for its members. The Nairobi-based body has 174 member churches, regional councils and national councils in 39 countries as members. "The major reason behind the restructuring is to have a streamlined and cohesive ecumenical body," the Rev. Mvume Dandala, the general secretary of the Africa-wide church grouping told Ecumenical News International in Nairobi. [324 words, ENI-05-0641]

23 August 2005

Sofia (ENI). Christian leaders in Europe and the United States have called for the release from prison of an archbishop jailed under laws on religion in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The jailing of Archbishop Jovan by Macedonian authorities using only his secular names of Zoran Vraniskovski is among a series of incidents provoking tensions between the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Macedonian Orthodox Church. The Macedonian church broke from the Serbian church in 1967, and is not recognised by most Orthodox denominations. [381 words, ENI-05-0637]

Food aid destined for Zimbabwe is still stuck in South Africa

Harare (ENI). At least 37 tonnes of food aid sent by the South African Council of Churches (SACC) to benefit victims of Zimbabwe's internationally condemned "clean-up" operation are still in South Africa due to Zimbabwe government red tape that has held up the shipment for more than two weeks. The aid includes staples such as white maize, sugar beans and cooking oil. "All the paperwork has been submitted. We are waiting," said Ron Steele, spokesperson for the SACC, which responded to the plight of more than 700 000 Zimbabweans. [298 words, ENI-05-0639]

Irish church leaders pay tribute to UK's Mo Mowlam

Dublin (ENI). Political and religious leaders have paid tribute to Marjorie Mowlam, known as Mo Mowlam, the former British cabinet minister in charge of Northern Ireland, for her role in the Irish peace process. She died on 19 August aged 55. Mowlam was British Prime Minister Tony Blair's first appointee to the office of Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom but borders the Republic of Ireland. [383 words, ENI-05-0638]

22 August 2005

Jerusalem (ENI). The Greek Orthodox Church in the Holy Land has elected a new patriarch to replace its deposed spiritual leader patriarch Irineos who was dismissed over a land scandal that angered the church's local parishioners and embarrassed its leadership. The church's Holy Synod voted 14 to 0 to elect Metropolitan Theofilos, a Greek-born cleric, as the new patriarch. The election throws into fresh doubt the fate of Irineos, who has refused to accept a decision earlier this year by his bishops and the leader's of the world's Orthodox churches to dismiss him over controversial property deals in Jerusalem's Old City. [401 words, ENI-05-0636]

Blasts signal growing fundamentalism, says Bangladeshi Christian

New Delhi (ENI). An unprecedented series of simultaneous bomb blasts in Bangladesh last week that killed two people and injured about 100 is a "clear indication of a growing Islamic fundamentalism in our country," according to a Bangladeshi church leader. "It's unbelievable that 63 of our 64 districts witnessed explosions without police and intelligence officials having a single clue," said Augustine Dipak Karmakar, general secretary of the Church of Bangladesh. Speaking to Ecumenical News International during a visit to New Delhi for a South Asian church meeting, Karmakar said the bomb blasts showed that the fundamentalists "are getting stronger and stronger". [396 words, ENI-05-0634]

Burundi church leader hails election of former rebel as president

Nairobi (ENI). The general secretary of the Burundi National Council of Churches, Bishop Nzeyimana Noe has welcomed the election of former rebel leader, Pierre Nkurunziza, as the tiny East African country's president. At the same time he has cautioned the forces of the National Liberation-FNL, a rebel group that is still fighting in the country, where 12 years of ethnic war between the majority Hutu and traditionally dominant minority Tutsis has killed more than 300 000 people. [387 words, ENI-05-0635]

19 August 2005

Cologne (ENI). Pope Benedict XVI, visiting a synagogue in Germany described as an "historic event" by a Jewish leader, has warned of a rising wave of anti-Semitism. "Today, sadly, we are witnessing the rise of new signs of anti-Semitism and various forms of a general hostility towards foreigners," the Pope told members of Germany's oldest Jewish community at Roonstrasse Synagogue in Cologne. [567 words, ENI-05-0633]

Israeli troops storm settlers holed up in synagogues

Jerusalem (ENI). Hundreds of Israeli troops stormed synagogues in Jewish settlements in the southern Gaza Strip to remove ultranationalist protesters resisting Israel's withdrawal after a 38-year occupation of the coastal strip that partly borders Egypt. In the most violent incident, settlers turned a synagogue in the settlement of Kfar Darom into a fortress, surrounding the building and its rooftop with barbed wire. At first they waved Israeli flags and sang patriotic songs from the rooftop but when troops arrived to evacuate them the protesters pelted them with light-bulbs filled with paint, sand, eggs and acid. [452 words, ENI-05-0631]

Muslim associations denounce UK plan to curb extremists groups

London (ENI). British government plans to deport or exclude from Britain some fundamentalist clerics and ban Islamist organizations regarded as extreme has brought together some moderate and radical Islamic groups in opposing the proposed measures. In early August Prime Minister Tony Blair outlined a plan for dealing with Muslim extremism by deporting or excluding firebrand clerics, closing mosques judged to be centres of political activism and banning groups that fall foul of the new regulations. [384 words, ENI-05-0632]

Nigerian Anglican, Catholic bishops urge churches: Refocus on youth

Jos (ENI). Bishops of the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches in Nigeria say youths need more attention from the Church and the government as an investment in the future. Archbishop Ignatius Ayau Kaigama of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Jos and Bishop Emmanuel Egbunu, Anglican Bishop of Lokoja, called the attention of the Nigerian churches and the government to the plight of young people in interviews with Ecumenical News International on International Youth Day. [327 words, ENI-05-0630]

19 August 2005

Cologne (ENI). Pope Benedict XVI, visiting a synagogue in Germany described as an "historic event" by a Jewish leader, has warned of a rising wave of anti-Semitism. "Today, sadly, we are witnessing the rise of new signs of anti-Semitism and various forms of a general hostility towards foreigners," the Pope told members of Germany's oldest Jewish community at Roonstrasse Synagogue in Cologne. [567 words, ENI-05-0633]

Israeli troops storm settlers holed up in synagogues

Jerusalem (ENI). Hundreds of Israeli troops stormed synagogues in Jewish settlements in the southern Gaza Strip to remove ultranationalist protesters resisting Israel's withdrawal after a 38-year occupation of the coastal strip that partly borders Egypt. In the most violent incident, settlers turned a synagogue in the settlement of Kfar Darom into a fortress, surrounding the building and its rooftop with barbed wire. At first they waved Israeli flags and sang patriotic songs from the rooftop but when troops arrived to evacuate them the protesters pelted them with light-bulbs filled with paint, sand, eggs and acid. [452 words, ENI-05-0631]

Muslim associations denounce UK plan to curb extremists groups

London (ENI). British government plans to deport or exclude from Britain some fundamentalist clerics and ban Islamist organizations regarded as extreme has brought together some moderate and radical Islamic groups in opposing the proposed measures. In early August Prime Minister Tony Blair outlined a plan for dealing with Muslim extremism by deporting or excluding firebrand clerics, closing mosques judged to be centres of political activism and banning groups that fall foul of the new regulations. [384 words, ENI-05-0632]

Nigerian Anglican Catholic bishops urge churches Refocus on youth

Jos, Nigeria (ENI). Bishops of the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches in Nigeria say youths need more attention from the Church and the government as an investment in the future. Archbishop Ignatius Ayau Kaigama of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Jos and Bishop Emmanuel Egbunu, Anglican Bishop of Lokoja, called the attention of the Nigerian churches and the government to the plight of young people in interviews with Ecumenical News International on International Youth Day. [327 words, 630]

18 August 2005

Cologne (ENI). Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Germany on 18 August to address more than 400 000 young people at the 20th World Youth Days meeting for his first visit to the country of his birth since he was elected as pontiff in April. "I thank God who has enabled me to begin my pastoral visits outside Italy with this visit to the nation of my birth," the Pope told the crowd after dignitaries met him, including German President Horst Koehler and Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. [549 words, ENI-05-0627]

Zimbabwe churches form body to help demolition victims

Harare (ENI). Church groups in Zimbabwe have formed a coalition to help victims of a clean-up drive that left hundreds of thousands homeless and drew condemnation from the United Nations and international aid organizations. "Churches have formed a broad-based ecumenical body in the aftermath of the clean-up operation," the Rev. Charles Muchechetere of the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe told Ecumenical News International. The alliance comprises EFZ the Zimbabwe Council of Churches and the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference. [425 words, ENI-05-0629]

US Lutherans take step towards full communion with Methodists

New York (ENI). The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has moved closer to a full communion agreement with the United Methodist Church. In one of several actions taken during the denomination's August assembly, delegates voted 877 to 60 to begin an "interim Eucharistic sharing" agreement with the United Methodists, who approved the pact in April 2004. [371 words, ENI-05-0628]

17 August 2005

Cologne (ENI). The death of the 90-year-old founder of the Taizé Community in Burgundy, France, Brother Roger has stunned world Christian leaders from many denominations who deplored his killing at the hands of a woman wielding a knife. Brother Roger Schutz, the son of a Swiss Protestant pastor, was killed as he prayed during a gathering of 2500 young pilgrims at the community's Burgundy centre. Police said they had arrested a 36-year-old Romanian woman, thought to be mentally disturbed. [597 words, ENI-05-0625]

Sudanese church leaders in Kenya fear taunts of militant Islamists

Nairobi (ENI). Some Sudanese Church leaders exiled in Kenya have expressed concern over the circulation of pamphlets from militant Islamic groups calling for a "jihad" [Holy War] against Sudan's southerners who are mainly Christians or followers of traditional African religions. The fears are mounting as Salva Kiir Mayardit prepares to become the First Vice President of Sudan and the President of South Sudan, following the death of Dr John Garang de Mabior on 30 July in a helicopter crash. [383 words, ENI-05-0626]

Church leader Bob Edgar wants Bush to meet US soldiers' families

New York (ENI). The general secretary of the US National Council of Churches is urging President George W. Bush to meet a group of families of soldiers killed in the war in Iraq who are holding a vigil outside the American leader's Crawford, Texas ranch. "I think the president has an obligation to meet the families," said Robert Edgar in an interview following his own 12 August visit to Crawford. Edgar and a small group of US fellow religious leaders were invited to the vigil site by mothers who have lost family members in the war and conducted a prayer service there. [370 words, ENI-05-0624]

16 August 2005

New Delhi (ENI). Churches in Sri Lanka have joined in the condemnation of the assassination of their country's foreign minister Lakshman Kadirgamar and expressed apprehension about the impact of the killing on a fragile peace process. Kadirgamar, a Tamil Christian educated as a lawyer at Oxford University, was given a state funeral in Colombo on 15 August. He was shot dead by a sniper firing a sophisticated rifle from a neighbouring residence 300 metres away on the night of 12 August. [493 words, ENI-05-0620]

Nigerian president urges African churches: Play part in governance

Abuja (ENI). Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo has urged African church leaders to become key players in the process of achieving good governance in the continent. "The Church must be a critical partner in the on-going efforts at strengthening the structures of democratic governance, and bringing about sustained development in an environment of justice, equity, and fairness," Obasanjo told leaders at a meeting of the Nairobi-based All Africa Conference of Churches. [396 words, ENI 05-0621]

US Lutherans reject plan to allow gay clergy

New York (ENI). The assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has voted to maintain its ban on sexually active homosexual clergy, rejecting a proposal to allow those in committed relationships to serve as ministers. By a vote of 503-490, assembly delegates of the 5-million strong denomination, meeting in Orlando, Florida, rejected a measure developed by a three-year-old church task force that would have permitted ordinations of gays and lesbians only if candidates were in "life-long, committed and faithful same-sex relationships". [352 words, ENI-05-0619]

Nun protests Da Vinci Code's filming at English cathedral

London (ENI). A Roman Catholic nun, Sister Mary Michael, has led a prayer vigil outside England's Lincoln Cathedral in protest at the filming there of "The Da Vinci Code" and has accused the dean and those responsible for the Anglican building of the sin of buying pardons. The film's producers are reported to have donated 100 000 British pounds (US$180 000) for the facility after Anglican church officials at Westminster Abbey in London refused permission. [434 words, ENI-05-0623]

15 August 2005

Jerusalem (ENI). Tens of thousands of settlers and supporters used the Tisha B'Av day, one of the most holy days on the Jewish calendar, to pray for a last minute reprieve from Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's disengagement plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip. Tisha B'Av is the Jewish day of mourning for the destruction of the two Biblical temples and the capture of Jerusalem by the Romans more than 2000 years ago. This year it fell on 14 August and it heralded the start of Sharon's plan to withdraw 9000 settlers from Gaza and end 38 years of Israeli occupation. [466 words, ENI-05-0615]

Sikhs, Christians hail apology for Sikh carnage; urge speedy justice

New Delhi (ENI). Christian activists have welcomed an apology by Indian Prime Minister Man Mohan Singh to the Sikh community for the 1984 massacre of Sikhs, but they have also called for speedy justice and compensation to the victims. "I have no hesitation in apologising not only to the Sikh community but the whole nation because what took place in 1984 is the negation of the concept of nationhood and what's enshrined in our Constitution," said Prime Minister Singh in the Indian parliament. [462 words, ENI-05-0617]

S African church leaders say Pretoria gives pledge on Zimbabwe loan

Cape Town (ENI). Zimbabwe authorities have been delaying the entry of church relief aid into their country as South African church leaders say the government in Pretoria has pledged it will not enter a loan agreement with its troubled neighbour in an irresponsible manner. Trucks with relief supplies for tens of thousands of people displaced in a Zimbabwe government demolition campaign of housing in very poor areas encountered delays from officials at the border with South Africa. [446 words, ENI-05-0618]

Afro-Anglican conference rues exclusion of N. American Anglicans

Vancouver, Canada (ENI). Participants at the Third Afro-Anglicanism Conference, held in Toronto, expressed regret that the Anglican Church of Canada (ACC) and the Episcopal Church in the United States of America are being denied participation in the international Anglican Consultative Council. "We decry this act of marginalisation and request that the provinces [church regions] have full access and participation in this forum," they said after the conference. [424 words, ENI-05-0617]

12 August 2005

New Delhi (ENI). Following the murder of two workers belonging to a church group in Bangladesh, Christians in the Muslim majority nation say the killing shows "our vulnerability". "We are free under the law to preach our faith. But, in reality we do not have much freedom," lamented Sunil Adhikari, director, Christian Life Bangladesh. [383 words, ENI-05-0613]

School body in US state of Kansas downgrades evolution teaching

New York (ENI). The education board of the US state of Kansas has tentatively approved new guidelines supported by some Christians that encourage public school teachers to teach a variety of theories about the origins of life, downgrading the centrality of the theory of evolution. On a 6-4 vote on 10 August, the Kansas Board of Education approved a draft of new standards that call for teachers to explore a variety of theories about the biological origins of life. [291 words, ENI-05-0612]

Tourists gazing at Pope's house torment tenant; now to be museum

Altoetting, Germany (ENI). Only four months into his pontificate the house where Pope Benedict XVI was born in Marktl am Inn, Bavaria, has become hot property as a tourist attraction. Tourists converge daily on the little Bavarian town to look at the house. Some pray in front of it, but others will ring the doorbell and try to enter. Yet it is not the Pope's house. It's the private residence of Claudia Dandl, a 39- year-old mother of two who is a physiotherapist. She has had to disconnect the doorbell. And to give peace to herself and her children she wants to sell the house as soon as she can. [371 words, ENI-05-0614]

11 August 2005

Bauchi, Nigeria (ENI). The Human Rights Committee of Nigeria's lower legislative chamber, the House of Representatives, says that more than a million people have been displaced due to religious conflicts that have engulfed the country in the past five years. Abdul Oroh, deputy chairperson of the committee made the disclosure to journalists in the city of Bauchi, northern Nigeria, when members of the body visited refugee camps housing displaced persons in the states of Plateau, Bauchi, and Nasarawa. [456 words, ENI-05-0611]

Kenyan church leaders differ over 'no' vote in referendum

Nairobi (ENI). The Roman Catholic archbishop of Nairobi Raphael Ndingi Mwana a' Nzeki is at loggerheads with the Kenya Church, a grouping of traditional Protestant and evangelical churches, on their call for a "no" vote in a referendum on a draft constitution expected in November. "Vote according to your conscience - yes or no - do not abstain. Then await the outcome," said Ndingi while addressing journalists in Nairobi. "This will be in the public interest and a display of patriotism." [364 words, ENI-05-0609]

Direct sign language training for church ministry to start in UK

London (ENI). The first training course for the Christian ministry in Britain to be delivered directly in British Sign Language (BSL) for deaf participants is due to start in January 2006. The one-year pilot course for up to 12 people is a joint initiative by the University of Chester in north-west England and a committee of the Archbishop's Council of the Church of England. Instruction will be by lecturers from the UK-based Signs of God organization which trains interpreters to work in Christian settings and provides them with teaching resources. [345 words, ENI-05-0610]

10 August 2005

New Delhi (ENI). At the same time the world remembered the dropping of the first atomic bombs as an act of war in Japan 60 years ago, Indian church activists vowed to oppose proliferation of nuclear weapons, which the world's second largest nation now possesses. "No more Hiroshima! No more Nagasaki! No more Pokhran [where India tests its nuclear weapons]!" the delegates said in their pledge on 8 August, the date Nagasaki became the second city to be attacked with a nuclear bomb. The meeting was organized by the National Council of Churches in India which focussed on emerging nuclear giants in southern Asia. [469 words, ENI-05-0607]

Kenyan churches oppose holding of big marathon on a Sunday

Nairobi (ENI). A group of Kenyan churches is opposing a bank-sponsored marathon run. And while that may sound like a sacrilege in the land that mass produces marathon runners, the churches are complaining the race, scheduled to be held on a Sunday, interferes with freedom of worship. The marathon is the first in a worldwide series of races sponsored by the Standard Charter, due to be staged on Sunday 23 October. It will raise funds for the visually impaired. The race will be held on later Sundays in Singapore, Mumbai and Hong Kong and is being dubbed "The Greatest Race on Earth". [432 words, ENI-05-0608]

Former US president, Nobel Laureate, teaches Sunday school

Plains, Georgia (ENI). Flanked by Secret Service agents and greeted by the flash of cameras, Jimmy Carter enters the sanctuary of Maranatha Baptist Church and beams a familiar, well-photographed grin. "Any visitors?" he deadpans. The 250 visitors roar with laughter. The former US president and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate is also the most famous Sunday School teacher in America. [502 words, ENI-05-0606]

9 August 2005

Lima (ENI). The Peruvian Bishops' Conference has defended the actions of two Roman Catholic bishops from northern Peru accused of inciting recent anti-mining protests that have left one person dead and more than 20 injured. "The presence of the bishops in this place and in the midst of this difficult situation does not correspond to political interests but to an interest in fostering peace and dialogue," Bishop Jose Hugo Garaycoa Hawkins, head of the Bishops' Conference said in a statement. [435 words, ENI-05-0603]

S. African prison at odds with Muslim employee over headscarf

Johannesburg (ENI). The South African government has sparked a row with Islamic authorities in the country by suspending a prison social worker who insists on wearing a headscarf to work. The Muslim Judicial Council, a body which represents Muslims in the country, says it will take the case of social worker Fairouz Adams all the way to South Africa's highest judicial authority, the Constitutional Court, if necessary. [414 words, ENI-05-0605]

Zambian Catholics urged to guard against 'abuse' of Eucharist

Lusaka (ENI). The Vatican Ambassador to Zambia Orlando Antonini has said Christians cannot live without the Eucharist while defending the rules of the Roman Catholic Church surrounding the rite commemorating the last supper of Jesus with his disciples. His statement followed recent campaigning by some prominent non-Catholic Christians in Zambia for Catholics to allow sharing of the Eucharist, considered the most defining ritual of Christianity, one that both unites and divides those in the faith. [339 words, ENI-05-0604]

8 August 2005

New Delhi (ENI). A prominent church leader from Nepal says that restoration of fundamental rights and democracy "holds the key to religious freedom" in the Hindu kingdom living in a state of emergency under an absolute monarch. "Without democracy and fundamental freedom, we never think of religious freedom in Nepal," Kalai Bahadur Rokaya, the founder general secretary of the National Christian Council of Nepal told a meeting in New Delhi. [404 words, ENI-05-0602]

Palestinians look carefully at who will be next Orthodox patriarch

Jerusalem (ENI). Palestinian Christians are vetting potential candidates to replace Irineos I as Greek Orthodox patriarch for the Holy Land in an election to be held later in August. A group called the National Christian Coalition, whose members carried out protests against the ousted Irineos over allegations that he leased church land in Jerusalem's Old City to Jewish investors, said it has met with several of the candidates. [384 words, ENI-05-0601]

Catholics deny bending rules after Austrian priest fathers child

Warsaw (ENI). Austria's Roman Catholic church has denied modifying its rules on clerical celibacy after a priest was allowed to resume his parish ministry after fathering an illegitimate child. "He had to promise his bishop he would in future live the celibate life of a Catholic priest. Once he'd done this, he could return to pastoral duties," said Erich Leitenberger, spokesman for Austria's Catholic Bishops' Conference. "But this is a purely personal arrangement, affecting a single priest. It has no repercussions for our church's general situation." [394 words, ENI-05-0600]

5 August 2005

Jerusalem (ENI). Jewish leaders have joined Israeli officials in condemning the killing of four Israeli-Arabs by a newly religious settler, an army deserter who went on a shooting rampage on a bus in a Muslim, Christian and Druze town. "This is nothing less than a shameful act of terror that should be universally condemned without reservation by people everywhere," said Rabbi Marvin Hier from the Simon Wiesenthal Center after the 4 August shooting. [380 words, ENI-05-0598]

African churches join north and south Sudan leaders in peace plea

Khartoum (ENI). At the leadership level there is unity in Sudan on pleas to stay on the path to peace. Both Sudanese President Omar al Bashir and Salva Kiir, John Garang's successor and new southern leader, are calling for peace and reconciliation after bloody clashes in several parts of Sudan. Christian leaders echoed this call ahead of Garang's funeral in the southern capital of Juba on the River Nile. [754 words, ENI-05-0595]

Japan atomic bombings, World War II end commemorated

Tokyo (ENI). On 6 August 1945 the first atomic bomb exploded over the Japanese City of Hiroshima. Two days after that another A-bomb was dropped on the nearby city of Nagasaki, Japan's most Christianised city. The Japanese emperor surrendered a few days later on 15 August and the Second World War ended. The anniversary is a date on which peace activists all over the world plead that the bombings never happen again. [789 words, ENI-05-0598]

Churches in India's Orissa state come together to fight attacks

New Delhi (ENI). Churches in India's eastern Orissa state have launched a joint forum to promote unity due to frequent acts of anti-Christian violence in recent years. "This is a must for us," said Roman Catholic Archbishop Raphael Cheenath, president of the All Orissa Christian Churches Federation, which approved a charter at a meeting of leaders of different church denominations in July. [404 words, ENI-05-0597]

Christians and Muslims show compatibility in Syria

Damascus (ENI). Atop the historic Omayyad Mosque in Damascus is the Jesus minaret which honours the founder of Christianity. Inside the great mosque is the Shrine of St John the Baptist. It is a small, beautiful jewel of a church which is said to contain the head of St John who is revered by both Islam and Christianity. [870 words, ENI-05-0596]

4 August 2005

Nairobi (ENI). A delegation of African church leaders which visited Sudan after the death John Garang, the Sudanese vice-president and former rebel killed in a helicopter crash, has warned of a looming humanitarian crisis in Africa's biggest country. Church leaders have pleaded for all Sudanese to stay on the peace path laid down recently after decades of civil war, and appealed on 4 August after their visit to Sudan for support, as violence left at least 130 people dead and hundreds injured. [475 words, ENI-05-0593]

Allan Boesak questions stand of South Africa's ANC on racism

Cape Town (ENI). Anti-apartheid cleric and former World Alliance of Reformed Churches president Allan Boesak has censured South Africa's ruling African National Congress for not taking action against a black adviser to Cape Town's mayor who has publicly made racist remarks about mixed-race people. If anyone made derogatory comments about black people like those made by media adviser Blackman Ngoro about "coloured people", he would have been lynched Boesak, the former anti-apartheid activist, who was once an ANC leader and is of mixed-race, told newspapers. [368 words, ENI-05-0592]

Ukrainian Catholics defy Orthodox threats over Kiev move

Warsaw (ENI). The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church says it will move its headquarters on 21 August from the western city of Lviv to a new cathedral in Kiev, despite repeated Orthodox warnings that the reorganization will damage inter-church ties. "Our synod took this decision in October 2004 according to its canons - it wasn't approved by the Pope," said Hlib Lonchyna, the church's Vatican representative. [390 words, ENI-05-0594]

3 August 2005

New York (ENI). The Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America is to leave the National Council of Churches (USA) saying it is unhappy with policies and statements other member denominations of the grouping have made over the issue of homosexuality. Metropolitan Philip Saliba, the denomination's senior cleric, made the decision to leave the NCC during its convention in Dearborn, Michigan. [468 words, ENI-05-0589]

Weekly Christian newspaper ceases publication in Zambia

Lusaka (ENI). The only Christian newspaper in Zambia, the National Mirror, published as a joint venture between the Roman Catholic Church and other main denominations in Zambia has ceased production apparently due to financial difficulties. The National Mirror, a weekly newspaper founded in 1972, came to the fore as a paper prepared to carry news critical of the single party rule under Zambia's founding president Kenneth Kaunda, who in 1991 became the first post-colonial African leader to lose power through the ballot box. [385 words, ENI-05-0590]

Philippine church leaders trace governance crisis to bent values

Manila (ENI). Many Filipinos are saddened that while their country boasts itself as the only Christian nation in Southeast Asia, it has long suffered from a crisis in leadership and governance. Church leaders trace this to a corruption of traditional and Christian values. "It's time to return to traditional and Christian values and rebuild our culture and character," said Deborah Madrid, principal of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines' Baguio Educational Center, a school for pre-school, elementary and high school students. [503 words, ENI-05-0591]

2 August 2005

New Delhi (ENI). Churches and church-backed groups in India have launched a massive feeding programme in Mumbai - India's financial capital - following the worst floods in a century. The Churches Auxiliary for Social Action, a member of Geneva-based Action by Churches Together, has opened feeding centres in several of the poorest areas of Mumbai following the torrential rains in the city formerly known as Bombay. [408 words, ENI-05-0587]

Nigerian Christians lament conference shunning their problems

Abuja (ENI). President Olusegun Obasanjo has presented to Nigeria's National Assembly a report on the National Political Reform Conference but church leaders are lamenting there was no resolution at the recently concluded talks on the persecution of Christians in northern Nigeria. President Obasanjo made his address on 26 July, two days after he was presented with the conference report by Justice Niki Tobi, the conference chairman. The judge told the president that conference delegates had during deliberations made 187 recommendations with "unanimity and consensus". [433 words, ENI-0588]

Polish church reports vocations' upsurge after Pope's death

Warsaw (ENI). Poland's Roman Catholic Church is reporting a sharp rise in priesthood vocations since the 2 April death of Pope John Paul II, with seminary applications doubling in some dioceses. At the same time the country's 800 000-member minority Orthodox church also reported an increase in vocations in mid-July, with three candidates competing for each place at the church's Warsaw seminary, according to its rector, Jerzy Tofiluk. [396 words, ENI-05-0586]

1 August 2005

Nairobi (ENI). Church and political leaders are urging Sudanese to stay on the peace path after the death in a plane crash of John Garang de Mabior, the guerrilla leader who steered the Sudan People's Liberation Movement into a government of national unity with the dominant Arab-Islamic government of Sudan after 21 years of civil war. "The death of Dr Garang may have serious implications for Sudan at this time of transition. Dr Garang was very instrumental in the peace process in Sudan, which was finally signed in 2004," said Mvume Dandala, general secretary of the Nairobi-based All Africa Conference of Churches. [540 words, ENI-05-0584]

Jewish groups vilify Disciples for demand to tear down Israeli wall

Jerusalem (ENI). Jewish leaders have lambasted a major American Protestant denomination for demanding Israel tear down a barrier it has built in the Palestinian inhabited West Bank to stop suicide bombers. More than 3000 members of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) overwhelmingly endorsed a resolution calling for Israel to tear down the controversial barrier that it has built in the West Bank. The decision followed a similar resolution by the United Church of Christ. [339 words, ENI-05-0585]

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