New Delhi (ENI). Indian church leaders have joined the widespread condemnation of the three bomb blasts in New Delhi that have resulted in the deaths of more than 60 people and injured more than 200 in the run up to Hindu and Muslim festivals. "This is a most inhuman act targeting innocent people," stated Bishop D. K. Sahu, general secretary of the National Council of Churches in India, a grouping of 29 Orthodox and Protestant Churches. [371 words, ENI-05-0826]

Christians protest against US-Japan military deal on Okinawa

Tokyo (ENI). Christian groups have joined Okinawa Governor Keiichi Inamine and environmentalists in opposing the building of a US heliport as part of a relocation plan for US forces stationed in Japan's southernmost prefecture, which is an archipelago. The heliport plan was struck as part of an agreement to close a widely contested US Marine Corps air station in a densely populated part of Okinawa and move its functions to another base on the same island. The US has about 50 000 troops in Japan, with their main combat strength in Okinawa. [497 words, ENI-05-0837]

Dresden's baroque church restored 60 years after being flattened

Bielefeld, Germany (ENI). A church in Dresden, Germany, called the finest baroque building north of the Alps that was almost destroyed in an air-raid on the city in the closing months of the Second World War in 1945 has been rededicated after 60 years. "This church is a sign that we are able to live in reconciliation after guilt has been admitted," said Lutheran Bishop Jochen Bohl, at the rededication service of the Frauenkirche - the Church of our Lady - attended by 1700 people, including German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and his expected successor Angela Merkel as well as top political and church leaders from abroad. [416 words, ENI-05-0827]

Swedish Lutheran church to bless same-sex couples

Stockholm (ENI). The (Lutheran) Church of Sweden has agreed to establish a blessing in churches for same-sex couples who have signed a civil partnership agreement. The decision came at a meeting of the denomination's highest decision-making body, the Church Assembly. Although Sweden does not permit same-sex marriage it recognises civil partnerships, where couples enjoy many, but not all, of the rights of a civil marriage. [333 words, ENI-05-0825]

Mikhail Gorbachev wins Greek Orthodox human rights award

New York (ENI). Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev has been honoured by the Greek Orthodox church in America for his humanitarian and human rights work, receiving the Athenagoras Human Rights Award. The award was established in 1986 in memory of Patriarch Athenagoras, who served as Archbishop of the Americas for 18 years before being elected Ecumenical Patriarch in 1948. [251 words, ENI-05-0828]

28 October 2005

Rome (ENI). Roman Catholic and Jewish leaders have been marking the 40th anniversary of a Vatican document which Pope Benedict XVI said had opened a new era in relations between Catholics and the Jewish people. "The declaration has been the occasion of greater mutual understanding and respect, cooperation and, often, friendship between Catholics and Jews," Pope Benedict said in a message to mark the anniversary of the "Nostra Aetate" document agreed by the Second Vatican Council on 28 October 1965. [475 words, ENI-05-0823]

Withdrawal of Bush nominee renews debate on religion and politics

New York (ENI). The withdrawal of President George Bush's nominee for the US Supreme Court has reopened a debate about what critics claim is the disproportionate influence of the "religious right" on the president's administration. Harriet Miers, the White House counsel, announced her withdrawal as a Supreme Court nominee on 27 October. It was accepted by Bush, whose presidential victory in 2004 was put down by many commentators to the mobilisation of evangelical Christian voters. Bush had invoked Miers' religious faith to justify her nomination in the face of criticism that she had no judicial experience. But some conservatives had soured on the proposal because of conflicting signals about her position on issues such as abortion and gay rights. [381 words, ENI-05-0822]

Kenyan church leaders warn of threats against journalists

Nairobi (ENI). Church leaders and media experts in Kenya are warning politicians not to stir up supporters against the media, following attacks and threats against journalists covering a constitutional referendum in this east African country. "This is uncalled for and unnecessary. It is a violation of the right of Kenyans to get information," said the Rev. Wellington Sanga, the conference secretary of the Methodist Church of Kenya. Church leaders are backing efforts by the media to educate Kenyans before the 21 November referendum on a new constitution but have censured politicians on both sides of the debate for using misinformation, distortions, bribery, false promises and threats. [360 words, ENI-05-0821]

Governments need to be monitored, says S. African deputy president

Geneva (ENI). Governments need to be held to account even when they adopt the agenda of organizations that have campaigned for change, says South African Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka. "Governments need to be monitored," Mlambo-Ngcuka told a news conference in Geneva to coincide with the 150th anniversary celebrations of the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) which has its world headquarters in the Swiss city. "Civil society does not become irrelevant because you have a sympathetic government," noted Mlambo-Ngcuka, a member of the YWCA of South Africa since her early teens, and youth director for the World YWCA in Geneva from 1984 to 1989. [380 words, ENI-05-0824]

New Orthodox patriarch in Jerusalem demands recognition from Israel

Jerusalem (ENI). The newly appointed Greek Orthodox Patriarch for the Holy Land has petitioned Israel's highest court to force the government to recognise his new appointment unconditionally. In his petition, Patriarch Theophilos III accused the Israeli government of trying to force him to uphold controversial land deals that led to the ousting of his predecessor in return for recognition by the Jewish state. Under a tradition dating back centuries, a new Greek patriarch in Jerusalem has to be confirmed by the rulers of the Holy Land, in this case Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and Jordan. [342 words, ENI-05-0820]

27 October 2005

Jos (ENI). Roman Catholic and Anglican leaders in Nigeria are warning the government is unable to respond adequately to disasters such as a plane crash on 22 October that claimed the lives of all 117 people on board the aircraft. "The delay in tracing the crashed aircraft and the conflicting reports on its whereabouts and other issues were pointers to the fact that all is not well with our preparedness to respond to crisis situations in this country," said Roman Catholic Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Jos in central Nigeria. [318 words, ENI-05-0817]

Closure of 'anti-Orthodox' exhibition prompts censorship claim

Warsaw (ENI). Poland's minority Orthodox church has welcomed the closure of an exhibition at the country's oldest Orthodox monastery after exhibition organisers were accused of presenting the building's history from an anti-Orthodox viewpoint. [346 words, ENI-05-0819]

Israeli settlers feted by evangelical Christians in Jerusalem

Jerusalem (ENI). Evangelical Christians reached out to Israeli settlers evacuated from the Gaza Strip during their annual Feast of the Tabernacles conference in Jerusalem. About 150 Israeli settlers received a standing ovation from 5000 Christians attending the week-long conference sponsored by the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem (ICEJ). [313 words, ENI-05-0816]

Bulgaria bars leader of Unification Church

Sofia (ENI). Bulgaria has banned Sun Myung Moon, the Korean leader of the Unification Church known for its "mass weddings", from entering the country for a planned visit. "The Ministry of Interior finds the presence of Sun Myung Moon in Bulgaria undesirable," the ministry noted in a press release, the Sofia News Agency reported. Reports that Moon, aged 85, was to make a one-day visit to the eastern European country led to a flurry of protests from Christian groups and from a nationalist party represented in the Bulgarian parliament. [296 words, ENI-05-0818]

26 October 2005

New York (ENI). The announcement that 2000 US troops have died in the war in Iraq is a cause for anger says the head of the National Council of Churches (USA), a grouping of mainly Protestant and Orthodox churches and organizations. "The death of any one of these brave volunteers is a cause for pain and sadness," NCC General Secretary Robert Edgar said about the milestone. But the event was also "cause for anger", he said in urging prayer that the war will end. [290 words, ENI-05-0814]

Plans for university interfaith prayer space criticized

Montreal (ENI). An interfaith experiment in sharing worship space on a Canadian campus has been put on hold following a dispute about the display of Christian symbols. According to the office of the Roman Catholic archbishop in Quebec City, Cardinal Marc Ouellet, a trial programme where Muslim students met to pray in the Catholic chapel of Laval University each Friday ran into problems when Muslim students requested that Christian symbols such as the cross be covered or removed. [344 words, ENI-05-0815]

French presidential contenders spar at Protestant centenary

Paris (ENI). French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin and interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy who are seen as rivals for becoming the country's next president, used the centenary of the Protestant Federation of France (FPF) to flex their muscles at one another. The two politicians were among the guests of honour at a reception to mark the Protestant federation's centenary, which was founded in 1905 several weeks before a law instituting the official separation of churches from the state. [484 words, ENI-05-0812]

Britain's first black archbishop chooses to feed the multitude

London (ENI). John Sentamu, Britain's first black archbishop, has chosen to offer refreshment to the whole congregation, instead of providing a hot meal for a few notables, following his enthronement that will take place at York Minister on 30 November. The Anglican archbishop's spokesperson noted: "It is the tradition to provide a lunch or dinner for a few invited guests after an enthronement. The archbishop wanted to continue this tradition of providing hospitality, but to extend it to everybody rather than the select few." [259 words, ENI-05-0813]

25 October 2005

New Delhi (ENI). Relief workers have described their task in the earthquake stricken area of Pakistan as "one of the toughest relief operations the world has ever known" and rescuers have warned of a ticking time bomb due to a lack of sanitation facilities there. The complete lack of hygiene and the amount of untreated excreta could set such a bomb off, Bill Fellows a water and sanitation expert with UNICEF, told ACT International, the Geneva-based global grouping of church relief organizations, speaking in Balakot, Pakistan. [450 words, ENI-05-0811]

Philippine religious leaders get embroiled in political wrangling

Manila (ENI). Religious leaders in the Philippines are getting embroiled in political wrangling in their predominantly Roman Catholic country, where politicians manoeuvring for power often seek the blessing of bishops and popular evangelists. Catholic Archbishop Ricardo Vidal of Cebu in central Philippines, for example, has dissociated himself from reports that he joined calls for a snap presidential election, which would cut the term of embattled President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. [286 words, ENI-05-0808]

Christian leaders warn unity movement could be halted in its tracks

New York (ENI). International church leaders meeting in New York have declared that the movement for Christian unity will prosper in the future only if it becomes less tied to institutional structures and becomes more inclusive. Institutional ecumenism "is in stagnation. The challenge is, how can we go beyond institutional ecumenism and make it a healing reality," Catholicos Aram I of the Armenian Apostolic Church and moderator of the World Council of Churches central committee, said at a symposium. [434 words, ENI-05-0809]

Freedom of religion is key issue at 'European' conference in Turkey

Sofia (ENI). The question of freedom of religion dominated a conference in Turkey between the Orthodox church and a grouping of mainly Christian democrat and conservative parties in the European Parliament. The European Union on 3 October opened talks with Turkey about possible membership of the currently 25-nation EU, and an issue relating to joining that was raised the Istanbul conference was Turkey's treatment of religious matters. [374 words, ENI-05-0810]

24 October 2005

Sofia (ENI). The Bulgarian Orthodox Church has held a special service to pray for the release of a group of Bulgarian nurses facing the death sentence after a Libyan court found them guilty of deliberately infecting hundreds of children with HIV. The nurses, who have pleaded their innocence, have been in custody for more than six years. In May 2004, a Libyan court sentenced them, along with a similarly accused Palestinian doctor, to death by firing squad. The outcome of an appeal by the nurses is to be announced in mid-November. [372 words, ENI-05-0805]

Nigeria's president prays for plane crash victims, deceased wife

Abuja (ENI). President Olusegun Obasanjo on 23 October led top public officials who visited him at his presidential villa in Abuja, in prayers for the repose of the souls of the 117 passengers who died in a plane crash that occurred the day before. At the same time Obasanjo was grieving with his family for the death of his wife Stella Obasanjo in a hospital in Spain on 23 October. [292 words, ENI-05-0807]

Sentence for Afghan journalists concerns US religious freedom body

New York (ENI). US advocates of religious freedom have raised concerns about a two-year prison sentence meted out to an Afghan journalist convicted by a court in his country for blasphemy against Islam. Journalist Ali Mohaqiq Nasab, editor of Haqooq-i-Zan ("Women's Rights"), was sentenced on 22 October for articles that upheld notions of equality between the sexes and questioned the need for harsh punishments - such as death by stoning - against Muslims who convert to other religions. [313 words, ENI-05-0803]

Pro Israeli evangelical groups label divestment call anti-Semitic

Jerusalem (ENI). Pro-Israeli evangelical Christians have denounced efforts by some Protestant groups in the United States to divest from companies associated with Israel by calling the move anti-Semitic and say they will fight it by increasing investment there. The International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem, which runs an annual week-long conference in Jerusalem in support of Israel, said it would set up a trade office in Israel to encourage Christian investment in the Jewish state. [387 words, ENI-05-0806]

Sunday marathon in Nairobi upsets Kenyan church leaders

Nairobi (ENI). About 12 000 runners took part in the Nairobi International Marathon on 23 October but the race drew the wrath of Christians upset at reduced congregations due to what they said was a clash with normal Sunday services. "Less than half of the worshippers made it to church. This is unfortunate," the Rev. Peter Karanja, provost of the Anglican All Saints Cathedral in Nairobi, told Ecumenical News International. [390 words, ENI-05-0804]

21 October 2005

Warsaw (ENI). The Roman Catholic Franciscan order in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina has demanded an apology from United Nations' war crimes prosecutor Carla Del Ponte after she accused members of harbouring a general wanted for war crimes. "We have been deeply injured by these undeserved claims," the order's five provinces said in a joint letter. "Although we are ready to forgive you, our love for truth entitles us to expect a public apology." [358 words, ENI-05-0799]

S Africa to commemorate fallen in fight for and against apartheid

London (ENI). Inspired by its Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu, South Africa is to take the unique step of commemorating soldiers who died in the forces supporting its former white-dominated apartheid regime as well as those who fought for liberation armies. At the end of a London conference on African publishing, the chairperson of the National Heritage Council of South Africa, historian and academic Luli Callinicos told Ecumenical News International: "There's a committee of historians who've been discussing this and soldiers from the South African Defence Force - the apartheid army - are being recognised. They too were victims of apartheid." [497 words, ENI-05-0801]

European church bodies urge EU to boost migrants' rights

Geneva (ENI). Church agencies in Europe are urging European Union countries to ratify a key United Nations agreement on the rights of migrants as part of a strategy to combat human trafficking. "While migrants are moving in increasing numbers and across bigger distances, their legal status is still the subject of hugely diverging national legislation. This leads to enormous problems, among which trafficking and new forms of slavery are only the most dramatic," the agencies said in a submission to the EU. [365 words, 05-0800]

Malawi's parliament debates Satanism

Lilongwe (ENI). Malawi's parliament has momentarily shelved recent political bickering to debate Satanism which legislator Getrude Mkandawire said is becoming rampant in a country where 80 per cent of the population are Christians. "Devil worshippers believe that for true worship, blood has to be shed. They get involved in satanic rituals which involve killing, hurting a close friend or relative and this has brought about suffering and misery to people in this country," said Mkandawire. [331 words, ENI-05-0802]

20 October 2005

Srinagar, India (ENI). Christian organizations in India working in the quake-affected Kashmir region under Indian control have been struggling to reach inaccessible villages on high mountain slopes while those in Pakistan desperately need more aid. In the Pakistan-controlled part of disputed Kashmir, international organizations said more aid is needed to avert a second wave of deaths. Regional authorities in Pakistan had almost doubled the estimated death toll to 79 000. [538 words, ENI-05-0798]

Shooting disturbs Ramadan, Succoth overlap in Holy Land

Jerusalem (ENI). Palestinians have observed the Muslim holy month of Ramadan with a festive air, marred though by the shadow of fresh tension with Israel after a deadly shooting attack near Bethlehem. In Gaza, Palestinians marked the first Ramadan free of Israeli occupation for 38 years by flooding the streets of Gaza City after nightfall on each day of the Muslim holy month to celebrate the breaking of the fast by eating traditional Ramadan sweets and pancakes. [450 words, ENI-05-0797]

Slovak cleric urges churches to study popularity of 'reality' TV

Warsaw (ENI). No-holds-barred television "reality" television programmes draw mass audiences around the world while religious leaders often deprecate what they see as the broadcasting of immorality for blatant commercial gain. But the head of a mainly-Protestant church grouping in once-communist Slovakia says churches should try and work out why such shows are fashionable before they call for them to be banned. [383 words, ENI-05-0796]

19 October 2005

Manila (ENI). Some Philippine church and human rights groups says they fear "creeping martial law" in their country after police fired water cannons during a recent prayer procession in which an ageing former vice-president and three Catholic bishops were at the front. The marchers were demanding the government to make a full response to allegations that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo helped rig national elections in 2004. [414 words, ENI-05-0795]

Kenyan churches seek postponement of constitution referendum

Nairobi (ENI). Despite backing a massive civic education campaign, Kenya's National Christian Council has called for a six month postponement of a scheduled 21 November referendum on the constitution, citing voter confusion of what it is about. During campaigning there have been riots, the arrests of journalists and politicians, gunshots fired and fist-fights among legislators. [379 words, ENI-05-0792]

Focus on food crisis not impeachment, urge Malawi clerics

Lilongwe (ENI). Malawi parliamentarians have stepped up a drive to impeach President Bingu wa Mutharika, but some clerics in the central African country say tackling a looming food crisis is the urgent task. The opposition-dominated parliament on 18 October adopted the first laws which will enable impeachment procedures to proceed. [329 words, ENI-05-0793]

Male-female separation at Jerusalem's Western Wall expands

Jerusalem (ENI). Partitions separating male and female worshippers at Jerusalem's Western Wall have been erected, to the dismay of many women as well as members of non-Orthodox Jewish denominations who have sought more access for female worshippers at the Jewish shrine. Partitions have long been in place alongside the wall to separate men and women worshippers in accord with the custom of Orthodox Judaism. But in early October, partitions with signs saying "Men" and "Women" were also erected in the plaza near the wall where men and women have always intermingled freely. [261 words, ENI-05-0794]

18 October 2005

Baramulla, India (ENI). Agencies trying to bring relief supplies to survivors of the earthquake that has wreaked death and devastation in Kashmir, are being warned they risk getting caught in separatist violence following the death of an Indian state government minister. The quake in the Kashmir region, disputed between India and Pakistan, may have stunned the world but it appears to have had little effect on militancy in the Indian-controlled region where secessionists have carried out several attacks since it struck on 8 October. [444 words, ENI-05-0789]

US-born bishop warned Don't incite Zambians to demonstrate

Ndola, Zambia (ENI). US-born Roman Catholic Bishop Paul Duffy of Mongu in Zambia has triggered the wrath of the nation's interior minister, Bates Namuyamba, by saying if needs be he is prepared to lead peaceful demonstrations against the government. Zambia's The Post newspaper reported that the 73-year-old Duffy played a key role in campaigning against former president Frederick Chiluba's unsuccessful bid to change the constitution to allow him run for a third term in office. [384 words, ENI-05-0790]

French religion faces new future 100 years after church-state-law

Evian, France (ENI). One hundred years after the official separation of church and state in France, the country's secular stance faces new challenges due to shifts in the religious landscape, says a top Protestant leader. Protestants - a tiny minority in traditionally-Roman Catholic France who were historically persecuted - welcomed the separation of church and state in 1905 because it allowed them to exist "on equal terms with Catholicism", the head of the Reformed Church of France, the Rev. Marcel Manoel, told church leaders from around the world gathered in Evian, on Lake Geneva. [573 words, ENI-05-0791]

Israelis avert palm problem with Egyptians during Succoth feast

Jerusalem (ENI). Religious Israelis breathed a sign of relief on the eve of the Jewish harvest festival of Succoth after a shortage of palm fronds almost caused a diplomatic spat with Egypt, but was resolved at the last minute. During Succoth, known also as the Feast of the Tabernacles, religious Jews observe the biblical commandment from Leviticus 23:40 "And you shall take of yourselves on the first day [of Succoth] the fruit of a goodly tree, a palm branch, the myrtle branch and the willow of the brook and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days." [387 words, ENI-05-0788]

17 October 2005

Tokyo (ENI). Christian leaders in Japan have protested against a new visit by Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to a Tokyo war shrine, an act that raised the wrath of China and Korea due to the fact that it houses the remains of convicted war criminals. "Prime Minister Koizumi has trampled on our wishes for Japan to stand firm in its respect for pacifism, the people's sovereignty, and the basic human rights clearly stated in the constitution based on our country's repentance of its past sins of the war of aggression against Asian countries," said the Rev. Seiji Suga, from the National Christian Council in Japan. [480 words, ENI-05-0786]

Increased arms flow into Somalia and piracy worries church group

Nairobi (ENI). An East African church grouping has raised serious concerns about an increasing arms flow and militarization in Somalia, where four ships, two of which were delivering relief aid, have been hijacked in the last three months. Three of the ships have been released, but the Rev. Fred Nyabera, director of the Fellowship of Christian Councils and Churches in the Great Lakes Region and Horn of Africa, told Ecumenical News International this was a disquieting trend. [391 words, ENI-05-0787]

It's hand's up for consensus as WCC majority rule goes out

Geneva (ENI). Holding blue and orange cards, delegates at the 9th World Council of Churches (WCC) assembly gathering at Porto Alegre in February will wave goodbye to old-style parliamentary majority votes. This will be the first meeting of the highest decision making body of the world's largest grouping of churches to use the new method of voting that was agreed upon unanimously in February at the yearly meeting of the WCC central committee, its main governing body. [800 words, ENI-05-0785]

14 October 2005

Dublin (ENI). Remarks comparing Northern Ireland unionists to Nazis by Roman Catholic priest, the Rev. Alec Reid, who in September acted as an independent witness to the Irish Republican Army's disarmament process, have triggered a storm. Reid was speaking at a meeting about the process of disarmament known as decommissioning in Northern Ireland's Fitzroy Presbyterian Church near Belfast. [386 words, ENI-05-0784]

Naming of 'evangelical' to US Supreme Court is hotly debated

Oxford, Ohio (ENI). The nomination of Harriet E. Miers as a Supreme Court judge has sparked debate in the United States about whether if confirmed as a judge she will move the country's highest court in a more conservative direction. Miers, aged 60, is White House counsel and a close aide to President George Bush, whose presidential victory in 2004 was put down by many commentators to the mobilisation of evangelical Christian voters. [406 words, ENI-05-0783]

Venezuela's Chavez plans to expel US evangelical group

New York (ENI). Venezuela President Hugo Chavez says he intends to expel a US evangelical Christian mission organization that he has deemed to be imperialistic. Chavez accused New Tribes Mission USA, a Florida-based organization that is said to have about 160 missionaries in Venezuela, of "imperialist infiltration" and exploitation and suggested it has ties with the US Central Intelligence Agency. [336 words, ENI-05-0781]

S African church must denounce apartheid to re-enter alliance

Evian, France (ENI). A South African church has been told it must publicly recognise that its support for apartheid was heretical before it can be readmitted into the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) from which it was suspended in 1982. The Dutch Reformed Church - Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk or NHK - had been excluded from the global Reformed alliance because of its theological and biblical backing for the system under which South Africa was governed from 1948 until the early 1990s. In the year the church was suspended South African anti-apartheid activist the Rev. Alan Boesak, a Reformed cleric, became WARC president. [391 words, ENI-05-0782]

'No joint assembly' in 2010 for Lutheran and Reformed Protestants

Evian, France (ENI). Leaders of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches which groups 75 million Protestants worldwide have said it seems impossible to hold their next global assembly with the Lutheran World Federation, as they had hoped. "We learned with a deep sense of disappointment that the Lutheran World Federation, while affirming their willingness to consider ecumenical gatherings in the future, decided to proceed on their own with an assembly in Stuttgart in 2010," alliance president the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick told WARC's executive committee meeting in Evian. [466 words, ENI-05-0779]

Two Reformed church groupings to start talks on closer ties

Evian, France (ENI). Two groupings of reformed churches around the world are to explore increasing ties say leaders of the two organizations. The main governing body of the Geneva-based World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) agreed on 14 October to start talks to strengthen links with the Reformed Ecumenical Council (REC), which has it headquarters in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in the United States. [369 words, ENI-05-0780]

13 October 2005

Lilongwe (ENI). Malawi's Council of Churches, grouping 22 denominations, has urged President Bingu wa Mutharika to declare the central African country to be in a state of national disaster in order to entice more international food aid to address a hunger crisis that is already claiming lives. Council chairperson the Rev. Matiya Nkhoma of the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian said from Malawi's capital, that church leaders held an urgent meeting in Lilongwe to try to find ways of ending problems dogging the country ranging from political instability to a looming chronic food shortage. [417 words, ENI-05-0778]

Baptist leader hails Japan court ruling on visits to war shrine

Tokyo (ENI). The leader of one of Japan's largest Protestant groups has welcomed a recent high court ruling declaring that contentious visits by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to a controversial war shrine in Tokyo are unconstitutional. The Rev. Hitoshi Taira, chairman of the Japan Baptist Convention, said the decision by the Osaka High Court regarding the visits by Koizumi to the Yasukuni Shrine, was "epoch-making and just". [482 words, ENI-05-0777]

Secular Israelis irked by ultra-Orthodox Jews public phone clamp

Jerusalem (ENI). Ultra-Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem's strictly religious Mea Shearim locality have angered secular Israelis by locking their public telephones during the Jewish Sabbath, reportedly to stop Christian tourists having long chats there on the holy days. The ultra-Orthodox Jews have been putting locks on public telephones over the Sabbath, from Friday sunset until Saturday sunset, to prevent people violating the weekly holiday by talking on the telephone, the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported on 12 October. [374 words, ENI-05-0776]

12 October 2005

Baramulla, India (ENI). It was supposed to be a great day of celebration for the minuscule Roman Catholic church in India's troubled Kashmir region. But moments before the festivities for the centenary of the founding of the first Catholic mission in Kashmir were to begin, the deadliest earthquake the area has known struck. More than 2000 guests and parents of the children of St Joseph's School, including top army officials, who had gathered at the school ground in Baramulla, were gripped by fear as the earth began trembling under their feet at 9:30 a.m. on 8 October. It was just minutes before the centenary celebration was to be inaugurated by state governor S. K. Sinha. [394 words, ENI-05-0773]

Ugandan bishop backs arrest warrants for Lord's Army rebels

Nairobi (ENI). Northern Uganda Anglican Bishop Nelson Onono-Onweng is backing the issuing of arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court for five leaders of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebel group, despite the apprehension of some that this could jeopardise peace mediation. "We go by it," Bishop Onono-Onweng told Ecumenical News International from Gulu. "We had opposed it earlier because peace talks were going on, but that is over." [396 words, ENI-05-0774]

Don't ban gay priests, urges Irish Catholic archbishop

Dublin (ENI). The Roman Catholic archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, has said that being gay should not prevent a man becoming a Catholic priest. "You don't write off a candidate for the priesthood simply because he is a gay man," Archbishop Martin is quoted saying in a recent issue of the British Catholic magazine, The Tablet. [299 words, ENI-05-0775]

Church shrugs off Satanist tag and grows in southern Africa

Harare (ENI). Ten years ago members of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG) were accused of being Satanists in Zambia, but now like other Pentecostal groups the church is growing rapidly in southern Africa, sometimes to the numerical detriment of established denominations. In the mid-1990s worshippers in Zimbabwe, Zambia and South Africa often sneaked into the denomination's sanctuaries, due to fears of being branded Satanists, prejudices they say were maliciously perpetrated by persons who saw them as rivals. [487 words, ENI-05-0772]

11 October 2005

Blantyre (ENI). Muslims in Malawi are trying to get President Bingu wa Mutharika to stop making utterances that the southern African nation is a Christian country, saying such remarks can trigger religious tensions. The Muslim Association of Malawi has called on Mutharika to clarify his position on the separation of religion and state. The association's secretary general Imran Shareef told The UDF News, a publication owned by the former ruling United Democratic Front, that Muslims are concerned with public utterances made by Mutharika in which he has declared Malawi is a Christian nation. [382 words, ENI-05-0769]

Ex-premier's protest fuels storm over Dutch church's Israel stance

Utrecht (ENI). Former Dutch prime minister Dries van Agt has reacted angrily to criticism of a church-sponsored trip to the Middle East as being a crusade. His protest was a new salvo in an ongoing war of words within the Protestant Church in the Netherlands over its stance on Israel. [407 words, ENI-05-0770]

Reformed church alliance says blueprint to boost links to members

Evian, France (ENI). A new slimmed-down structure for the World Alliance of Reformed Churches representing 75 million Christians worldwide will reduce costs, but more importantly, say leaders, increase involvement by its members. "We have tried to build a structure which gives a much better ownership out there in the churches," said alliance president, the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick as the changes were agreed by the grouping's executive committee in Evian, France. [319 words, ENI-5-0771]

10 October 2005

Baramulla, India (ENI). Religious groups from around the globe have mobilised their resources to aid victims of the South Asia earthquake that has claimed more than 20 000 lives leaving hundreds of thousands of people without homes. Christian emergency response organizations like Action by Churches Together sprang into action after the 8 October quake. Charities including Muslim Aid, Islamic Relief, Kashmir International Relief Fund and Muslim Hands, which have strong support in Britain, quickly mobilised their communities to engage in appeals for the homeless or injured. [484 words, ENI-05-0768]

Six faith groups in Britain warn against legalising assisted dying

London (ENI). Leaders of six British faith communities have expressed grave concern at possible steps to legalise assisted dying for the terminally ill, in advance of a debate on the issue in the House of Lords, the upper house of the British parliament. "The so-called 'right to die' will inexorably become the duty to die and potentially economic pressure and convenience will come to dominate decision making," representatives of the Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh faiths said before the debate. [368 words, ENI-05-0767]

World Council of Churches pledges support for south Sudan's peace

Nairobi (ENI). The World Council of Churches will offer support to Sudanese churches to bring peace to their country following a long-running civil war in the south, the global church grouping's general secretary, the Rev. Samuel Kobia, has pledged. "The churches together will contribute much more to the political and economic development in the whole of Sudan," Kobia told a meeting of Sudanese church leaders in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi. [345 words, ENI-05-0765]

Church groups call on Arroyo to probe Philippines killings

Manila (ENI). Church and development groups from around the world are calling on Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to investigate the killings of more than 30 human rights activists, including clergy members, in the course of this year. "We are deeply concerned at the killings of 34 activists in the Philippines so far in the year 2005," the groups said in letters to President Arroyo and to army chief of staff Lt. Gen. Generoso S. Senga, released by the Geneva-based Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance. [415 words, 05-0766]

7 October 2005

Jerusalem (ENI). An internationally-condemned barrier of barbed-wire fences and concrete walls that Israel is building through Arab areas of Jerusalem is causing hardship to thousands of Arab residents as well as undermining its role as a major city, a leading Israeli think tank has found in a recent study. [365 words, ENI-05-0762]

Reformed alliance president tells how economic justice can be had

Evian (ENI). The fabric of the world is being ripped apart by an economic system that makes a mockery of the biblical promise that all people are created in the image of God and should be treated with dignity and respect, says the president of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC), the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick. He was speaking at the yearly meeting of the WARC executive, the main governing body of the alliance of 75 million Christians from churches in 107 countries, taking place in the French town of Evian on Lake Geneva. [552 words, ENI-05-0761]

World Alliance of Reformed Churches' leaders issue financial warning

Evian (ENI). Leaders of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) have warned that unless the grouping representing 75 million Christians takes dramatic steps to find new financial resources it will have no future. The warnings came during the yearly meeting of WARC's executive committee, its main governing body meeting in Evian, on the banks of Lake Geneva, until 15 October. [323 words, ENI-05-0764]

Church bank says its loans are at forefront of anti-poverty fight

Utrecht (ENI). Thirty years after its launch, a church-backed international development bank says it has become a world leader in providing resources for small loans for poor people to set up in business. The Netherlands-based Oikocredit agency announced it had approved record funding in the first nine months of the year for what is called the microfinance sector, which among other things offers small microcredit loans to cash-strapped borrowers. [386 words, ENI-05-0763]

6 October 2005

New Delhi (ENI). Church leaders from different denominations have denounced the firing by police on student protesters in northeast India's Meghalaya state that claimed 10 lives and injured more than a dozen students last week, and they want a judicial inquiry into it. "We are shocked by this. Firing on unarmed [school] students is outrageous," said the Rev. Ngul Khan Pau, general secretary of the Council of Baptist Churches in North East India. "All those students belong to our [Baptist] church," Pau told Ecumenical News International. [385 words, ENI-05-0757]

World Council of Churches' leader concerned over Ethiopia tensions

Nairobi (ENI). The head of the World Council of Churches (WCC), the Rev. Samuel Kobia, says after visiting Ethiopia that tensions in the Horn of Africa country over disputed parliamentary elections are disturbing. "The Ethiopia situation is very worrying, particularly due to the very sharp differences between ruling and opposition parties over the results," WCC general secretary Kobia told journalists in Nairobi after his trip there. "I was very concerned that dialogue between the government side and opposition parties had stopped." [424 words, ENI-05-0759]

East Germany's Stasi 'spied' on future Pope Benedict XVI

Warsaw (ENI). East Germany's communist secret police, known as the Stasi, spied on the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger three decades before he became Pope Benedict XVI. "Long before his nomination as prefect of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, State Security Ministry agents kept watch on him," the Bild am Sonntag weekly newspaper reported, referring to Ratzinger as the Vatican's doctrinal watchdog before he became Pope. "One of them later wrote with concern that, as Congregation prefect, he would have an influence on the growth of anti-communist attitudes in the Catholic Church, especially in Latin America." [382 words, ENI-05-0758]

Europe's theology faculties to mull 'pluralistic' Europe challenge

Geneva (ENI). Theological faculties and institutions from all over Europe are to meet in the Austrian city of Graz in 2006 to focus on the theme, "The challenges of theology in a pluralistic Europe". "Theological studies and continuing education are burning issues with regard to the complex process of European integration," said Professor Viorel Ionita, study secretary of the Conference of European Churches, in an invitation letter to the event. [247 words, ENI-05-0760]

5 October 2005

Warsaw (ENI). The head of one of Turkey's largest churches has appealed on behalf of local Christians for the country's admission to the European Union, after promised membership negotiations came close to cancellation amid disputes between EU governments. "Turkey's aspiration to join the EU is an opportunity for East-West reconciliation," the Armenian Apostolic Patriarch of Constantinople, Mesrob II, said in a letter to EU ministers and parliamentarians. [452 words, ENI-05-0753]

Ian Paisley deplores Protestant threats to desecrate Catholic graves

Dublin (ENI). The Rev. Ian Paisley, founder of the Free Presbyterian Church and leader of the mainly Protestant-backed Democratic Unionist Party - which has the largest parliamentary representation from Northern Ireland - has condemned a threat by pro-British protestant paramilitaries to desecrate Roman Catholic graves. Paisley, who has in the past faced accusations of making inflammatory remarks against Catholics, was speaking at St Louis's Catholic primary school in Ballymena, county Antrim, which was targeted by sectarian arsonists in August. [293 words, ENI-05-0754]

Detention of refugees a growing problem says church group

Geneva, 5 October (ENI)--Governments from both developed and developing nations are increasingly using arbitrary detention to punish and deter refugees and asylum seekers, a World Council of Churches' group has told the UN agency dealing with displaced persons. "The freedom to seek asylum is seriously undermined by the threat of arbitrary detention," the WCC group said on 5 October in a statement it had made to a meeting of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. [372 words, ENI-05-0755]

Multi-million dollar Anglican church centre for Qatar

London (ENI). Construction is due to start early in 2006 on a four-million pounds sterling (US$7 million) Anglican church centre in the State of Qatar, the first purpose-built church construction in the Middle Eastern state since the coming of Islam. "Qatar is an extremely important country in the Middle East and building this centre sends an unmistakable message about dialogue and understanding between Christians and Muslims," said the Nicosia-based Anglican bishop in Cyprus and the Gulf, Clive Handford. [271 words, ENI-05-0756]

4 October 2005

Jerusalem (ENI). Jews in Israel and around the world have begun celebrating the Jewish New Year holiday, which marks the start of Judaism's annual period of atonement. This year, the start of Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year holiday, coincided with the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan during which Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset. The Jewish and Muslim holiday period only coincides three times every century. [524 words, ENI-05-0750]

Nigeria's National Ecumenical Centre dedicated despite 'fraudsters'

Abuja (ENI). Nigeria's National Ecumenical Centre, which cost 2.6 billion naira (US$20 million) to build, has been dedicated in the country's capital city at a service attended by President Olusegun Obasanjo who said "fraudsters" had failed to derail the project. The president condemned those whom he said made false pledges to the fundraiser for the centre, and said a lot of work still needed to be done to get the centre into a desired state. [395 words, ENI-05-0751]

Evangelicals outstrip a once rising home-grown Filipino Church

Manila (ENI). More and more Filipinos in this majority Roman Catholic nation are joining evangelical and charismatic groups, generating tension with a home-grown Filipino church, says the author of a new book. "The evangelicals, who started only in the 1970s, now account for 2.8 per cent of the population (87 million)," writes Ross S. Tipon in his new book, "The Power and the Glory: The Cult of Manalo," a reference to Felix Manalo, the founder of the home-grown Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ). [316 words, ENI-05-0752]

3 October 2005

Harare (ENI). Zimbabwe's traditional chiefs have backed a recent decision by local Apostolic and Zionist churches to ban polygamy to counter the spread of HIV/AIDS, which kills 2000 people every week in this southern African country of 12.7 million people. "The ban will certainly work in that the figures of new HIV infections will be reduced with time," Chief Fortune Charumbira, president of the Zimbabwe Council of Chiefs, was quoted saying by the government-owned Sunday Mail newspaper. [413 words, ENI-05-0747]

Israeli president to meet Pope Benedict in November

Jerusalem (ENI). Israel's President Moshe Katsav will become the first Israeli head of state to meet the Pope during an official visit to the Vatican in November that will highlight reconciliation efforts between the Roman Catholic Church and the Jewish people after centuries of hostility. "The visit is of great symbolic value," said Mark Regev, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson. "We have every reason to believe that the new pope is building on the foundation that the previous pope already built." [348 words, ENI-05-0748]

Global church leaders want to talk to UN chief about poverty

New York (ENI). The heads of seven church groupings from around the world are seeking to meet United Nations' Secretary General Kofi Annan to discuss continued UN action to cut the rate of global poverty. After a week of meetings in New York and Washington, DC, the ecumenical leaders in a letter also suggested that the UN organize an international gathering to explore the possibility of forming a peacekeeping force in Iraq. [355 words, ENI-05-0746]

Row between cardinal and Cuban envoy fails to deter festival

Geneva (ENI). A statement by a Havana envoy to the Vatican upset a fragile peace between the Roman Catholic Church and Cuba's rulers. But it failed to stop thousands of faithful taking to the streets to celebrate the Caridad del Cobre, or the Feast of the Virgin, an important occasion on the Caribbean island's religious calendar. About 50 processions took place around the island, as the virgin statue was carried to the small chapel of Our Lady of Regla, on the outskirts of Havana City, where Cardinal Jaime Ortega led a Mass. Other processions drew worshippers in eight of the 11 Catholic dioceses on the island. [414 words, ENI-05-0749]

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