Jerusalem (ENI). The Lutheran Bishop for the Holy Land has urged the kidnappers of four Christian aid workers in Iraq to show mercy by freeing them, saying they belong to a group working for peace and to alleviate the suffering of Palestinians in areas under Israeli occupation. Bishop Munib Younan, a Palestinian, issued the plea after four members of the pacifist group Christian Peacemaker Teams were abducted by an Iraqi insurgent group calling itself the Swords of Righteousness brigades. [376 words, ENI-05-0920]

Zimbabwe church grouping says Mugabe's senate poll a 'scandal'

Bulawayo (ENI). A coalition of Zimbabwean Christian groups has denounced as "irrelevant" and "a scandal in the eyes of God" last weekend's polls to elect members to a controversial new senate. Less than 20 per cent of Zimbabwe's registered electorate voted on 26 November to elect a new upper house of parliament after President Robert Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF party pushed through constitutional changes to create a bicameral legislature. The opposition Movement for Democratic Change party was, however, divided on whether to boycott the poll. [440 words, ENI-05-0917]

Ugandan-born former judge is Britain's first black archbishop

London (ENI). Thirty-one years after he sought sanctuary in Britain from the Ugandan dictatorship of Idi Amin, John Sentamu has been formally inaugurated as the 97th Archbishop of York before a congregation of more than 2500 people. Church experts said the service on 30 November was one of the most colourful in the 800-year history of York Minster, reputed to be Britain's finest gothic cathedral. Medieval ritual was combined with the exuberance of ululating, Ugandan drummers and dancers wearing multi-coloured head-dresses. [312 words, ENI-05-0918]

Vatican ruling on gays in priesthood both lauded and decried in US

Oxford, Ohio (ENI). The Vatican's first major policy statement under Pope Benedict XVI reiterating that gay men should not become priests under any circumstance has drawn applause from some Catholics while others are mourning the arrival of the document. While groups urging tolerance on the issue of homosexuals in the church argue there is no link between sexual orientation and paedophilia, both sides responded to the directive through the filter of North America's recent history of sexual abuse by its priests and child abuse. [400 words, ENI-05-0919]

Israel and Greek Orthodox church at loggerheads over patriarch

Jerusalem (ENI). Israel and the Greek Orthodox church in the Holy Land are embroiled in a court battle about the enthronement of a new patriarch to replace a predecessor dismissed over controversial land deals to investors linked to ultranationalist Jewish groups. Patriarch Theophilos III had been enthroned in a solemn ceremony on 22 November at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem attended by Greek political and religious leaders, including Greek President Karolos Papoulias, despite Israeli opposition. Israel has called the enthronement "a serious impropriety". [347 words, ENI-05-0916]

29 November 2005

Rome (ENI). A long-awaited Vatican statement says that persons with "deep seated homosexual tendencies" should not under any circumstances become priests. "The Church cannot admit to the seminary or to holy orders these persons," states the document published and signed by Polish Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education which is responsible for seminaries. [459 words, ENI-05-0913]

Court acquits anti-homosexual Swedish pastor on hate charges

Stockholm (ENI). Sweden's supreme court has acquitted Pentecostal pastor Ake Green of engaging in a hate speech during a verbal attack on homosexuals, made in a sermon that had landed him with a one-month prison sentence. "This means we can continue to speak the way we have, and therefore it feels very good that they have ruled in a way that our way of preaching should not be infringed upon," he told the Swedish national broadcaster after his acquittal. Green also told journalists he was now free to continue preaching as before. [369 words, ENI-05-0912]

French publishers start legal action to curb unofficial catechism

Paris (ENI). Three French religious publishers have announced the start of legal action to halt the sale of an unofficial version of the "Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church" which is undercutting their own version. The authorised version retails for 18 euros but is facing strong competition from the unofficial version which is printed in France and is mainly being sold on Web sites for 7 euros under the imprint of the "Editions catholiques de Benin". [371 words, ENI-05-0911]

Woman's ordination marks Lutheran assembly in India

New Delhi (ENI). Fourteen years after India's Northern Evangelical Lutheran Church (NELC) had its first woman pastor, 42-year-old Lucia Tudu has become the second woman to be ordained in the denomination based in the north-east of the country. "I am really happy now as I have been waiting for this moment for years," Tudu told Ecumenical News International after her ordination during the triannual assembly of the United Evangelical Lutheran Church of India. [205 words, ENI-05-0915]

Africa needs AIDS drugs now, WCC leader to tell Swiss parliament

Geneva (ENI). As 8000 candles are lit, the Kenyan-born general secretary of the World Council of Churches, the Rev. Samuel Kobia, will petition the Swiss parliament in Bern on World AIDS Day to grant Africa better access to drugs to fight HIV. Kobia will be among church representatives presenting a petition on 1 December signed by 25 000 people calling on the Swiss government, the pharmaceutical industry and churches to make a far greater effort to ensure Africans access to anti-retroviral treatments. [348 words, ENI-05-0914]

28 November 2005

Montreal (ENI). One of the world's top spiritual leaders has issued a warning about climate change as representatives from more than 180 nations gather for a United Nations' conference in Montreal on global warming. "Climate change is more than an issue of environmental preservation," said Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomeos I who is seen by many as the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians. "Insofar as human induced, it is a profoundly moral and spiritual problem." [395 words, ENI-05-0907]

Orthodox monks on Mount Athos trade blows in latest siege

Sofia (ENI). Violent punches have been traded in the latest attempt to evict from Greece's Mount Athos a group of Orthodox Christian monks who are bitterly opposed to reconciliation with the Roman Catholic Church. A spokesperson for the Esphigmenou Monastery said workmen and rival monks tried to knock down the monastic community's offices at Karyes on Mount Athos is a spiritual centre of the Orthodox church in north-eastern Greece. Women and female animals are banned from the centre. [335 words, ENI-05-0909]

Canadian churches see chance for lasting solution with aborigines

Vancouver (ENI). Church leaders in Canada say a supreme court ruling about compensation to aboriginal students who suffered abuse at residential schools operated on behalf of the government, offers a chance for a lasting solution to the issue. The court ruling was followed by the government issuing a sweeping plan to improve lives of Canadian aborigines. Canada pledged US$4.3 billion in a deal with Indian and northern Inuit communities to help alleviate the poverty and disease that has plagued their neglected reserves for more than a century and help narrow the gap with the rest of the population. [416 words, ENI-05-0908]

Speak out against gender violence, East African churches urged

Nairobi (ENI). Churches in East Africa are being urged to speak out against violence against women and children, as momentum gains in a global campaign against gender-based violence. "As churches we have to speak out and make sure this does not continue," said the Rev. Fred Nyabera, executive director of the Fellowship of Christian Councils and Churches in the Great Lakes Region and Horn of Africa. "We also need to hold offenders accountable." [370 words, ENI-05-0910]

25 November 2005

Medan, Indonesia (ENI). Religious leaders in Indonesia are campaigning to urge Muslims not to join extremist forces believed responsible for a series of well-publicised suicide bombings in the country. Such acts, the leaders say, are "too random" and are based on heretical teachings and interpretations of Islamic theology. [411 words, ENI-05-0904] Patriarch's enthronement in Jerusalem leaves Israel in quandary

Jerusalem (ENI). The Greek Orthodox church in the Holy Land has enthroned a new patriarch to replace Irineos, who was deposed by his bishops after a scandal about the sale and leasing of church land to investors linked to ultranationalist Jewish groups, but Israel is in a quandary over whether to grant him recognition. Greek President Karolos Papoulias, at the head of a delegation of political and church officials from Greece, hailed the enthronement of Patriarch Theophilos III as "a new beginning" for the church. [400 words, ENI-05-0903]

Philippines bishops seek prayer days to deal with national crises

Manila (ENI). In Zimbabwe, clerics sought national prayer to guide them through calamities; now Catholic bishops in the Philippines are seeking divine help in delivering their country from a protracted crisis over governance and from threats of terrorism and a bird flu pandemic. The outgoing president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, Archbishop Fernando Capalla of Davao, has declared the period from 5 to 7 December to be "days of national prayer, penance and fasting in the hope that these will renew the heart of every one of us". [370 words, ENI-05-0905]

Japanese Noh drama lifts mask on Nagasaki bombing

Tokyo (ENI). A Roman Catholic church and school that were atom-bombed in the city of Nagasaki in 1945 have staged a new Japanese classical Noh drama called "The Holy Mother of Nagasaki". The Noh drama featured Mary incarnated as a female believer and bomb survivor who recounts how she helped and comforted those hurt by the atomic bombing on 9 August 1945 by US warplanes of what was one of Japan's most Christian cities. [454 words, ENI-05-0906]

23 November 2005

Jerusalem (ENI). Israel's chief rabbi Yona Metzger has laid a wreath at a memorial to victims of the Armenian genocide after meeting with the head of the Armenian church and other officials in the Armenian capital of Yerevan. "One cannot do without tears when recalling what happened to Armenians in Turkey," the Armenian news agencies quoted Metzger as saying when laying the wreath. [352 words, ENI-05-0901]

Churches urge reconciliation after bitter poll vote in Kenya

Nairobi (ENI). Church leaders in Kenya say the government must promote national reconciliation after the rejection of a proposed new constitution in a fiercely contested referendum that split the ruling cabinet and the country. "Kenyans have decided," Anglican Bishop Julius Kalu of Mombasa told Ecumenical News International from the coastal city after the announcement of the results of the referendum. "But their rejection of the constitution does not mean they do not want new laws. The government must re-start the process as soon as possible." [404 words, ENI-05-0902]

22 November 2005

Colombo (ENI). The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Sri Lanka has criticised the call by Tamil rebels for a boycott of the country's presidential poll and what it says were voting irregularities in government-controlled areas. "We regret that a section of the population was unable to exercise their franchise," said the Catholic bishops in a letter to president Mahinda Rajapakse who assumed office after winning the presidential poll by a slender margin. [420 words, ENI-05-0900]

Christians should 'flood' Holy Land says Church of Scotland head

Jerusalem (ENI). The head of the (Presbyterian) Church of Scotland has urged Christians to fight Israel's internationally-condemned West Bank barrier by flooding into Bethlehem to strengthen the local Palestinian population. The Rev. David Lacy told Ecumenical News International that Christians should see "the oppressive" concrete wall near Bethlehem for themselves so they can better understand the suffering of the local Palestinian population. [458 words, ENI-05-0897]

Independent Christian growth tests 'patriotic' China churches

Beijing (ENI). US President George W. Bush was probably told about the irony when he worshipped at a state-approved "patriotic" church during his Sunday stay in Beijing. Bush appealed for China to grant greater religious and political freedom to its citizens during his 20 November visit. The birth of the state-approved churches dates back to the end of the 1940s when one group of Chinese church leaders was convinced that Christianity had precipitated a series of imperialistic onslaughts against China. Those leaders later on came to constitute the Three Self Patriotic Movement. [581 words, ENI-05-0899]

Economic woes also hit finances of German churches

Bielefeld, Germany (ENI). Germany's first woman chancellor Angela Merkel has been elected, pledging to revive an economy whose sluggish performance has also hit the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), an umbrella for most of the country's Protestants. A recent meeting of the EKD synod was told revenues from church tax have been falling in recent years. Income from the system according to which registered church members pay about 9 per cent of their income tax to fund the church, is closely linked to the performance of the German economy, Klaus Winterhoff, a member of the EKD's governing council, noted. [277 words, ENI-05-0898]

21 November 2005

Nairobi (ENI). Churches in Kenya have urged citizens of the East African country to return their "daggers into their sheaths" and to peacefully accept the results of a fiercely contested constitutional referendum that has split the ruling cabinet and the country. A number of church leaders in the country where 78 per cent of the 33 million people are Christians had called for a postponement of the referendum saying more time was needed to hone the complex document. [496 words, ENI-05-0894]

Anglican bishop disowns attack on Archbishop of Canterbury

London (ENI). A senior Anglican bishop has dissociated himself from the publication of a letter attributed to him and 16 other bishops from around the world that challenged the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, about his stance on the issue of homosexual clergy. The letter published on the Global South Anglican Web site on 16 November demanded Williams take action against "unrepented sexual immorality" in the church, the ordination of homosexuals in North America, and allowing celibate clergy in England to enter into same-sex civil partnerships. [334 words, ENI-05-0893]

Church-State debate brews in Norway ahead of commission report Oslo (ENI). Mixing of Church and State is an anathema in countries like France and the United States, but in Norway it is a topic of strong debate as a government-appointed commission is preparing to present its conclusions on the matter in early 2006. Since the Lutheran-led reformation in 1537, Norway's dominant church - the (Lutheran) Church of Norway - has had the reigning king as its formal head. [349 words, ENI-05-0896]

Tributes flow for Asian Christian leader Feliciano Carino

Hong Kong (ENI). Dr Feliciano Carino, a Christian leader from the Philippines who was general secretary of the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) from 1996 to 2000, died on 17 November in Hong Kong, aged 70. Dr Prawate Khid-arn, the current general secretary of Christian conference, described Carino as a man with great intellect and an ability to articulate his case. [372 words, ENI-05-0895]

18 November 2005

Colombo (ENI). Christian leaders in Sri Lanka say newly-elected president Mahinda Rajapakse must take steps to promote peace in this island nation with deep ethnic divisions and which suffered massive upheavals from the 26 December Asian tsunami. "The result is certainly not what many Christians had hoped for," said the Rev. Damian Fernando, a Roman Catholic priest who is director of Caritas Sri Lanka. Rajapakse narrowly defeated his principal opponent, former prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. [405 words, ENI-05-0889]

Jews most targeted by religious hate crimes in US, says report

Oxford, Ohio (ENI). Jews remained by far the greatest target of religious-based hate crimes in the United States in 2004, according to a recently-released report by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The FBI recorded 1374 incidents of religion-oriented hate crimes during the year, and 954 of those were directed at Jews. [287 words, ENI-05-0890]

European Union report criticises religious rights in Turkey

Warsaw (ENI). The European Commission has criticised Turkey for infringing Christians' religious rights, a month after the country began talks with the aim of joining the 25-nation European Union. "In practice, non-Muslim religious communities continue to encounter significant problems: they face restricted property rights and interference in managing their foundations, and they are not allowed to train clergy," the commission said in its 2005 report on Turkey's progress towards joining the EU. [329 words, ENI-05-0891]

ENI Malawi correspondent Hobbs Gama succumbs to illness

Blantyre (ENI). Ecumenical News International correspondent Hobbs Gama has lost a three year battle with illness and has died aged 39. Relatives said Gama died on 24 October and was laid to rest the following day near Blantyre, Malawi's commercial capital. Yohane Reynord, Gama's nephew, told Ecumenical News International his uncle had suffered from recurring bouts of malaria and pneumonia over the past three years. [509 words, ENI-05-0892]

17 November 2005

London (ENI). Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, is facing a confrontation with nearly half of the leaders of the worldwide Anglican Communion who are up in arms over what they say is his stance on the issue of homosexual clergy. A total of 17 of the 38 primates, or leading bishops, in the 77 million strong Anglican communion issued a letter sent to Williams attacking his personal ability to lead the communion and demanding he take action against "unrepented sexual immorality" in the church. [431 words, ENI-05-0888]

Vatican unity head tells World Council of Churches divisions loom

Geneva (ENI). The Vatican's top official for church unity has called to a stepping up of theological talks for unity against a background of rifts on issues such as sexual ethics which he suggested are setting back the cause of Christian union. "The Catholic Church sees and rejoices in the progress made in the ecumenical pilgrimage in the last century," said Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. Speaking on 17 November at the Geneva headquarters of the World Council of Churches, he warned, however, of an "ecumenical crisis" because a "fully common vision" is lacking. [610 words, ENI-05-0885]

WCC leader looks to new ways of working with Catholic Church

Geneva (ENI). The growth of charismatic, Pentecostal and evangelical Christian groups is challenging the World Council of Churches and the Roman Catholic Church to find new ways of working with such movements, a top WCC official has said. "I wonder whether the WCC and the Roman Catholic Church ... should not assume the particular responsibility of bringing the various expressions of Christianity together within the framework of a global forum," said the moderator of the WCC central committee, Catholicos Aram I of the Armenian Apostolic Church. [445 words, ENI-05-0887]

Czech officials say they will appeal Prague cathedral ruling

Warsaw (ENI). The Czech Republic's Roman Catholic church has welcomed a court decision confirming its ownership of Prague cathedral after a 16-year legal dispute. "This ruling is a victory for justice, a sign that Czech courts have started working properly," the church's leader, Cardinal Miloslav Vlk, told the Daily Monitor newspaper. "It's a clear response to those who claimed, using communist vocabulary, that the cathedral belongs to all the people, and to the nonsensical claim that the Church stood to purloin the national heritage." [320 words, ENI-05-0886]

Churches want Mandela, Tutu, Maathai to help stem Africa strife

Nairobi (ENI). Faith based organizations from the United States and Africa are to announce 10 to15 names to be part of an Eminent Persons Ecumenical Programme for Africa, who will employ their moral authority to stem the widespread conflict in the continent. In the pool of 25 for selection are names like the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, former South African president Nelson Mandela, Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and Kenyan environmental and ecological campaigner Professor Wangari Maathai. [332 words, ENI-05-0884]

16 November 2005

Colombo (ENI). Sri Lanka is preparing for presidential elections, but church leaders are fretting about what happens after the poll on the island which has deep ethnic divisions and has suffered massive upheavals from the 26 December Asian tsunami. "This is one of the most polarised elections ever in our history," said the Rev. Kingsley Perera, chairperson of the National Christian Council of Sri Lanka, which groups 8 Protestant denominations. "We do not know which way the results could go." [445 words, ENI-05-0879]

Queen Elizabeth extols Christian role at time of rapid change

London (ENI). Queen Elizabeth II extolled the unique role of the Christian Church in the search for meaning in the modern world when she opened the (Anglican) Church of England's general synod in London. The 79-year-old monarch, speaking in her role as the Church of England's supreme governor, gave a robust reaffirmation of her faith to some 450 bishops, clergy and laity attending the two-day session of the denomination's parliament, in its first meeting of a five-year term. [402 words, ENI-05-0883]

Church of Scotland head scathing on Israeli barrier

Jerusalem (ENI). The moderator of the (Presbyterian) Church of Scotland the Rev. David Lacy was scathingly critical of Israel's controversial West Bank barrier after viewing a section near Bethlehem during a visit to the Holy Land. Lacy viewed the barrier during a two-week visit to the Holy Land aimed at showing solidarity with the Christian population in the land of Jesus' birth as well as visiting the Church of Scotland's projects there. Christians are a dwindling group who make up less than 2 per cent of the Holy Land's population. [457 words, ENI-05-0882]

Former Zambian VP Pastor Mumba issues president new challenge

Ndola, Zambia (ENI). Former Zambian vice-president and television evangelist Nevers Mumba, who was ousted from the ruling Movement for Multiparty Democracy in 2004, says he has a "spiritual dream" and has launched a new party to challenge President Levy Mwanawasa in elections scheduled for 2006. The national chairman of Pastor Mumba's Reform Party, John Ziba, a former special aide to Mwanawasa, said the party had been formally registered. [305 words, ENI-05-0881]

Pope backs Bulgaria's EU entry say legislators

Sofia (ENI). Representatives of a political party in Bulgaria's governing coalition say that Pope Benedict XVI has, in an audience at the Vatican with some of its representatives, given his backing to their country's accession to the European Union. The Web site of the National Movement Simeon II, one of the parties in Bulgaria's ruling tripartite coalition, reports that party representatives had an audience with the Pope on 9 November. [252 words, ENI-05-0880]

15 November 2005

New Delhi (ENI). Church leaders in Pakistan have denounced an arson attack on churches and Christian settlements in the rural town of Sangla Hill town in the Punjab province of Pakistan. "The ferocity of the attacks has left us stunned," leaders of the Roman Catholic Church, the Church of Pakistan, the Presbyterian church, the Salvation Army and the National Council of Churches in Pakistan lamented in a letter submitted to President Pervez Musharraf. [428 words, ENI-05-0878]

Zimbabweans seek divine intervention to end country's woes

Harare (ENI). This year Zimbabweans have been confronted with unemployment at 80 per cent, inflation soaring to 411 per cent, fuel supplies drying up, tens of thousands of poor people having their houses torn down by the police and freedom of expression whittled away. So it may not seem surprising that thousands of citizens from all over the country converged on the Harare International Conference Centre in the capital at the weekend for a prayer meeting to end their woes. [453 words, ENI-05-876]

Ensure access to water, churches urge governments

Machakos, Kenya (ENI). A group of church agencies is urging governments to put in place regulations and standards for water provision to ensure that groups driven by profit maximisation do not lock out poor communities by commercialising water access. "If we are letting the government off the hook, and allowing non-government actors to take control of the resources, then we are paving way for privatisation," said Stein Villumstad of Norwegian Church Aid, at the end of a five-day international meeting on "Water for Life" in Machakos, in eastern Kenya. [345 words, ENI-05-0877]

US school boards weigh evolution and intelligent design teaching

New York (ENI). A controversy about the teaching of "intelligent design" which centres around the idea that the universe is created by a higher power, not referred to specifically as God, is gripping school boards in the United States. The board of education in the state of Kansas has approved new standards for the teaching of biology that downplay the Darwinian theory of evolution. The 6 to 4 vote was seen as a victory for advocates of the "intelligent design" theory. [374 words, ENI-05-0874]

Archaeologists digging in Israel make Goliath Holy Land finding

Jerusalem (ENI). Archaeologists are excited about recent discoveries from excavations in Israel, which date from the biblical period and provide an insight into life in the Holy Land some 3000 years ago. Among the finds is an inscription with a name remarkably similar to that of "Goliath", the biblical giant slain by David. The discovery may provide the first extra-biblical evidence that the story of Goliath has some historical basis. [434 words, ENI-05-0875]

14 November 2005

Hong Kong (ENI). Hong Kong church leaders have rejected a government proposal on constitutional reform which they say is unjust and they are calling for Christians to march against the proposal in early December in a fight for universal suffrage. "To respect the Hong Kong people's yearning for universal suffrage, we demand the government withdraw the proposal immediately and instead offer another proposal...," leaders from Methodist, Congregational and Roman Catholic churches said. [510 words, ENI-05-0869]

Now it's a fight to curb infectious diseases after Pakistan quake

New Delhi (ENI). Infectious diseases are spreading fast among Pakistani earthquake victims camped in tent villages. Church relief workers have launched emergency preventive measures to curb the new killer that has already claimed hundreds of lives. "Water and sanitation is very crucial at this point," Anne Angeltveit, coordinator of the Norwegian Church Aid relief team in Pakistan told Ecumenical News International by telephone. Angeltveit said from the tent village run by Action by Churches Together member Church World Service in Balakot that "with the spread of water borne diseases, our target is to provide clean water and to make the camps as hygienic as possible". [443 words, ENI-05-0870]

Christians in Japan join in urging police to release Buddhist leader

Tokyo (ENI). Christian and other religious peace groups in Japan are urging the police in Okinawa to release a Buddhist leader who was arrested in October during a protest against US military bases in the southwestern part of Japan. "The police's act of arresting holy priest Kizu can be considered as an unjust act of violating freedom of religion," said the Christian Peace Network, the largest interdenominational network of church groups and Christian peace activists in the country. [407 words, ENI-05-0871]

Christian leader says faiths need to work together

Geneva (ENI). Inter-religious dialogue and cooperation are now becoming priorities for the World Council of Churches, its general secretary, the Rev. Samuel Kobia, has told an international meeting on inter-faith tolerance. "That which we can do together, we should not do separately," Kobia said, opening the gathering at the Geneva headquarters of the WCC, which groups 347 churches, mainly from Protestant, Anglican and Orthodox traditions. [331 words, ENI-05-0872]

Christian 'revival' sweeps Nigeria's police force in southwest

Lagos (ENI). Nigerian evangelists say that a revival fire is sweeping the ranks of the police force in Africa's most populous nation as thousands of law enforcement officers are casting aside their weapons and surrendering their lives to Jesus. This they say has resulted in the establishment of the Police Christian Fellowship in Nigeria. [497 words, ENI-05-0873]

11 November 2005

New York (ENI). Pentecostal and Protestant groups in Venezuela want the Venezuelan government to investigate allegations made by President Hugo Chavez about a US-based missionary group before the government expels the group. In October, Chavez announced he wanted to expel New Tribes Mission USA from Venezuela, alleging that the Florida-based organization was an example of "imperialist infiltration" and that it had ties with the US Central Intelligence Agency. The group rejects the allegations and leaders of the Evangelical Council and Pentecostal Evangelical Federation of Venezuela are seeking a meeting with Chavez to discuss the allegations. [375 words, ENI-05-0866]

Zimbabwe churches step up fight against AIDS

Harare (ENI). Christian leaders in Zimbabwe have launched a new HIV/AIDS policy for churches in the southern African country of 12.7 million people, where the pandemic kills an average of 2 000 people every week. "This decision to launch an AIDS policy indicates that the Church is a true partner in the fight against HIV and AIDS," said the Rev. Murombedzi Kuchera, chairperson of the National AIDS Council board, at a ceremony in Harare to launch the policy. He said the Church should no longer be viewed as a body that takes a back seat in the struggle against the pandemic. [363 words, ENI-05-0865]

Bulgaria mulls compulsory religious instruction for schools

Sofia (ENI). Bulgaria, until 16 years ago an officially atheist and communist country, is considering making religious instruction in high schools mandatory. At a meeting with the parliamentary committee on human rights and religious affairs, education minister Daniel Vulchev agreed to commission public opinion surveys on whether the teaching of religion should be introduced in schools. [217 words, ENI-05-0867]

Church group urges EU to increase support for refugees

Geneva (ENI). A European church group working with refugees and migrants has urged the European Union to boost programmes to help the EU's 25 member nations resettle refugees from outside Europe. "It is time for an ambitious EU resettlement programme," said Doris Peschke, general secretary of the Churches' Commission for Migrants in Europe. "Most of the world's refugees find themselves outside Europe, often in deplorable conditions and without any perspectives for their future lives." [297 words, ENI-05-0868]

US Armenian bishop named president elect of national church council

New York (ENI). Vicken Aykazian, a Turkish-born bishop of the Armenian Church of America, has been named the president elect of the US National Council of Churches, the country's biggest church grouping. The NCC president elect becomes the council president after a two-year term. The current president elect, Michael Livingstone, will become the new president of the council in January, succeeding Thomas L. Hoyt Jr. [264 words, ENI-05-0864]

10 November 2005

New Delhi (ENI). Roman Catholics in India are celebrating a judgement by the high court in the southern state of Kerala overruling a decision by the local bar council to deny enrolment as lawyers to nuns and priests. "The honourable high court has corrected an anomaly which debarred priests and religious women from bringing justice to the poor and the marginalised," said Sister Mary Scaria, secretary of the Delhi Catholic archdiocesan justice and peace commission, and herself a lawyer. In its ruling, the high court upheld the appeal of two nuns and a priest against the decision by the bar council which said they were ineligible for registration because they were already full-time professionals. [383 words, ENI-05-0862]

Church activists plan to hold their leaders to HIV/AIDS promises

Montreal (ENI). Activists from church and faith-backed organizations preparing for a world conference on HIV and AIDS plan to call on government and religious leaders to keep their promises for action to halt the spread of the disease that is a pandemic in some countries. "Faith-based organizations will be strategic about advocacy," says Linda Hartke, of the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance based in Geneva. "We are making sure they are prepared to take advantage of the unique opportunity offered to meet with their minister of health, the head of a pharmaceutical company, or the executive director of the Global Fund." The 16th International AIDS Conference, to be held in Toronto from 13 to 18 August 2006 is expected to draw more than 15 000 participants from the health, government, and corporate sectors and from the 400 faith-based organizations. [366 words, ENI-05-0861]

Livingstone's great grandson bound for Victoria Falls anniversary

London (ENI). Dr David Livingstone Wilson will see a re-enactment in Zambia of the 150th anniversary of the day his great grandfather David Livingstone became the first European known to witness the spectacular Victoria Falls. A pageant depicting the medical missionary's sighting on 16 November 1855 of the Zambesi River plunging 110 metres forms part of the year-long celebrations marking the centenary of the tourist city of Livingstone, built five kilometres from the Falls which straddle Zambia and Zimbabwe. Wilson, who is flying to Zambia with his wife Ada, will also view the new Livingstone gallery at the refurbished city museum where the story of his famous forebear's life and that of his African friends, some of whom stayed with him until his death in 1873, is depicted in photographs and artefacts, including clothing worn by the missionary-explorer. [447 words, ENI-05-0863]

9 November 2005

Paris (ENI). Religious leaders in France have appealed for calm in the face of unrest gripping the country which has led the government to declare a state of emergency, allowing curfews to be imposed in towns hit by the violence. One Muslim group, the Union of Islamic Organizations of France, has issued a fatwa, or religious ruling, prohibiting "any Muslim to take part in any action linked to indiscriminate violence against public or private property". [451 words, ENI-05-0859]

US report cites China, N Korea, Saudi Arabia for religious concern

New York (ENI). Eight nations - including China, North Korea, Saudi Arabia and Sudan - have been re-designated as "countries of particular concern" in the US State Department's annual report of international religious freedom. The report released on 8 November also named Burma, Eritrea, Iran and Vietnam as countries of concern. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told reporters that during the past year, some governments "have modified laws and policies, improved enforcement or taken other concrete steps to increase and demonstrate respect for religious freedom". [353 words, ENI-05-0858]

Zambian Catholic bishops and women scorn hounding of US cleric

Ndola (ENI). Zambia Episcopal Conference president Archbishop Telesphore Mpundu and the National Council of Catholic Women have both condemned the harassment of the Bishop of Mongu, Paul Duffy, for his criticism of the government over its constitution making process. Duffy had said that in late September his passport and other documents were seized by an immigration officer in Mongu in western Zambia following the appearance of an article in The Post newspaper that he was prepared to lead a peaceful demonstration to demand the setting up of a constituent assembly to scrutinise a draft constitution. [391 words, ENI 05-0860]

9 November 2005

New Delhi (ENI). A non-profit, Christian-owned pharmaceutical factory in India has launched production of cheaper AIDS treatment drugs that can prolong the lives of the burgeoning number of HIV positive people in the world's second most populous country. The Comprehensive Medical Services India, the pharmaceutical unit of the Inter-Church Service Association, released the first batch of the anti-retro-viral drugs in Chennai in the presence of church health workers including Dr Jane Masiga of the Ecumenical Pharmaceutical Network. [426 words, ENI-05-0854]

Churches mediate in Nigeria's Ogoniland oil dispute

Abuja (ENI). The Ogoni community in southern Nigeria and the Shell oil company have started talks mediated by a Roman Catholic priest aimed at resolving a conflict about petroleum exploitation in the oil-rich Niger Delta region. The local unit of the oil company ceased operations in Ogoniland in 1993 after widespread protests from the local Ogoni people demanding an increased share of oil profits and protesting at environmental damage in the area. [423 words, ENI-05-0855]

Lack of water hinders poverty fight says African church leader

Machakos, Kenya (ENI). The head of the All Africa Conference of Churches is urging churches to make the right of access to water a core part of their work, against a background of diminishing global supplies of fresh water for human consumption. "Lack of water is as destructive as poverty, and indeed it is true that poverty cannot be rolled back if the scarcity of water is not resolved," said the Rev. Mvume Dandala, general secretary of the African church grouping, opening the inaugural meeting of the Ecumenical Water Network in Machakos, eastern Kenya. [434 words, ENI-05-0856]

After quake, air raid, then arson, Japan church rebuilt third time

Tokyo (ENI). A historic church in Japan's second-largest city of Yokohama, has been rebuilt after being burned down, allegedly by an American arsonist, who had apparently regularly attended its services. "Once totally destroyed by the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 and then totally destroyed by an American air raid [during the Second World War] in 1945, and with the fire, the church has gone through three trials," said the office of the Yokohama diocese of the Anglican Episcopal Church in Japan. [404 words, ENI-05-0857]

8 November 2005

New Delhi (ENI). A non-profit, Christian-owned pharmaceutical factory in India has launched production of cheaper AIDS treatment drugs that can prolong the lives of the burgeoning number of HIV positive people in the world's second most populous country. The Comprehensive Medical Services India, the pharmaceutical unit of the Inter-Church Service Association, released the first batch of the anti-retro-viral drugs in Chennai. This was done in the presence of church health workers including Dr Jane Masiga of the Ecumenical Pharmaceutical Network. [426 words, ENI-05-0854]

Churches mediate in Nigeria's Ogoniland oil dispute

Abuja (ENI). The Ogoni community in southern Nigeria and the Shell oil company have started talks mediated by a Roman Catholic priest aimed at resolving a conflict about petroleum exploitation in the oil-rich Niger Delta region. The local unit of the oil company ceased operations in Ogoniland in 1993 after widespread protests from the local Ogoni people demanding an increased share of oil profits and protesting at environmental damage in the area. [423 words, ENI-05-0855]

Lack of water hinders poverty fight, says African church leader

Lack of water hinders poverty fight (ENI). The head of the All Africa Conference of against a background of diminishing global supplies of fresh water for human consumption. "Lack of water is as destructive as poverty, and indeed it is true that poverty cannot be rolled back if the scarcity of water is not resolved," said the Rev. Mvume Dandala, general secretary of the African church grouping, opening the inaugural meeting of the Ecumenical Water Network in Machakos, eastern Kenya. [434 words, 05-0856]

After quake, air raid, then arson, Japan church rebuilt third time

Tokyo (ENI). A historic church in Japan's second-largest city of Yokohama, has been rebuilt after being burned down, allegedly by an American arsonist, who had apparently regularly attended its services. "Once totally destroyed by the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 and then totally destroyed by an American air raid [during the Second World War] in 1945, and with the fire, the church has gone through three trials," said the office of the Yokohama diocese of the Anglican Episcopal Church in Japan. [404 words, ENI-05-0857]

7 November 2005

Jerusalem (ENI). Israeli archaeologists have uncovered near a prison what they believe could be the oldest church ever found in the Holy Land - a discovery that experts say may shed new light on early Christianity. The structure was discovered in Megiddo, lower Galilee, near a site traditionally believed to be the Armageddon described in the New Testament's Book of Revelation, where the final battle between good and evil is prophesied to occur. [456 words, ENI-05-0850]

Pope praises dialogue with Lutherans but warns of difficulties

Rome (ENI). Doubt about truths and ethical principles which were once unquestioningly accepted is challenging dialogue between Christians, Pope Benedict XVI has told the president of the Lutheran World Federation at a meeting in the Vatican. "I draw much encouragement ... from the solid tradition of serious study and exchange which has characterised Catholic-Lutheran relations over the years," Pope Benedict told the Rev. Mark Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. [458 words, ENI-05-0851]

Confront pope about his stance on homosexuals, urges US bishop

London (ENI). Gene Robinson, the only openly gay bishop in the worldwide Anglican Communion, has called for Pope Benedict XVI to be confronted over the Vatican's stance on homosexuality. Robinson, the US Episcopal (Anglican) bishop in New Hampshire, on 7 November concluded a four-day visit to Britain at the invitation of Changing Attitude, a pressure group working for gay and lesbian affirmation within the Anglican Church. [420 words, ENI-05-0852]

WCC's Kobia urges Ethiopia to halt military action against people

Geneva (ENI). World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Samuel Kobia has called on the Ethiopian government "to exercise utmost restraint and bring to an immediate halt the military action against the people and release the political prisoners as soon as possible". In a letter to Ethiopian prime minister, Meles Zenawi, Kobia lamented the "death of many Ethiopians following demonstrations and riots in Addis Ababa". The clashes that began last week followed complaints by opposition political parties that the ruling party had rigged elections earlier this year. [27I words, ENI-05-0853]

In Netherlands, Syrian Orthodox mourn European branch founder

Utrecht, Netherlands (ENI). Syrian Orthodox Christians from all over Europe have gathered in the Dutch village of Glane to mourn the death of their spiritual leader, Archbishop Julius Yeshu Cicek. The 63-year-old archbishop died suddenly on 29 October in Düsseldorf, Germany, while on his way to a seminar in Switzerland. [375 words, ENI-05-0849]

4 November 2005

Jerusalem (ENI). A report from an Israeli human rights group says that ultranationalist Jewish organizations have taken over more than 40 buildings in Jerusalem's walled Old City and nearby environs in an attempt to thwart any future peace deal with the Palestinians. The report by the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, follows the ousting of Greek Orthodox Patriarch Irineos over the sale and leasing of church property to investors representing ultra-right-wing Jewish groups. [406 words, ENI-05-0845]

Nigerian president urges religious tolerance at end of Ramadan

Abuja (ENI). Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has, on the Islamic festival of Eid-El-Fitri which marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, appealed for religious tolerance between Muslims and Christians in his country. Obasanjo made his appeal while receiving Muslim religious and political leaders at his presidential villa. About 50 per cent of Nigeria's 128 million people are Muslims with Christians making up 40 per cent. [276 words, ENI-05-0848]

Norwegian YWCA celebrates leader appointed as bishop

Stockholm (ENI). Members of the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) in Norway are celebrating the appointment of their secretary general, the Rev. Helga Haugland Byfuglien, who will be consecrated as bishop of Borg on 11 December. "I am delighted at becoming a bishop," Haugland Byfuglien told the Christian daily newspaper Vart Land after the announcement of her appointment by King Harald V, the formal leader of the (Lutheran) Church of Norway. [269 words, ENI-05-0847]

World Council of Churches honours Nobel Peace Laureate

Geneva (ENI). John Raleigh Mott, a Nobel Peace Laureate who was the first honorary president of the World Council of Churches, has been posthumously honoured in Geneva where the church grouping has its headquarters. At a tribute to Mott, who died in 1955 at the age of 89, WCC general secretary the Rev. Samuel Kobia noted one of the sayings of the US Methodist layperson, "Plan as if there were no such thing as prayer. Pray as if there were no such thing as planning." [406 words, ENI-05-0846]

3 November 2005

Jerusalem (ENI). The Vatican's envoy to the United Nations has issued a plea to the world body to deal with the plight of the dwindling Christian population in the Holy Land. Archbishop Celestino Migliore, the Holy See's permanent observer to the United Nations, said that Christians in the Holy Land had become the targets of religious extremists. [462 words, ENI-05-0843]

Popular French priest confesses he didn't always keep his vows

Paris (ENI). Abbé Pierre, one of France's best-known Roman Catholic priests has confessed that he has not kept his vow of celibacy, in a new book in which he also said he was in favour of married priests and the ordination of women. The priest, known for his devotion to the poor, has shot into the best sellers' lists with the book, "Mon Dieu ... Pourquoi?" ("My God ... Why?"). It sold all 20 000 copies within a few days of its publication by Editions Plon. [423 words, ENI-05-0844]

Catholics and Buddhists in China region of Macau bless East Asian Games

Hong Kong (ENI). The start of the East Asian Games in China's Special Administrative Region of Macau was marked with Buddhist and Roman Catholic blessings. The Games, held every four years between 10 nations and territories in the vicinity of China, Korea and Japan, began on 29 October and run until 6 November in the tiny territory once administered as a Portuguese enclave in China. [531 words, ENI-05-0841]

2 November 2005

New Delhi (ENI). Pakistan has announced that the number of deaths from October's earthquake has topped 73 000 as the relief agency Church World Service said it was expanding the capacity of a tent village set up for homeless quake victims. "The number of people seeking shelter is steadily increasing," said Mervan Pervez, CWS director for Pakistan-Afghanistan. They have sought refuge in tent villages like that at Bisyan near Balakot housing more than 600 people. Villagers reached the camp after trekking down the mountains.

Ugandan church leader pleads with agencies to resume operations

Nairobi (ENI). Northern Uganda Anglican Bishop Nelson Onono Onweng has appealed to aid agencies to resume the services they suspended after the killing of two humanitarian workers by the Lords Resistance Army (LRA), a brutal rebel movement. "We understand the position of the agencies," the bishop told Ecumenical News International following the killing of the two workers. "To lose a person is a painful experience, but we want to appeal to them to resume their operations," he said, citing the severe impact on local people the departure of the aid agencies would have. [363 words, ENI-05-0839]

Lesbian Methodist pastor vows to remain in US denomination

New York (ENI). A lesbian pastor has vowed to remain in the United Methodist Church following a decision this week by the US denomination's top judicial body upholding an earlier ruling that stripped her of her ordination credentials. The decision affecting the Rev. Irene Elizabeth "Beth" Stroud, a 35-year-old pastor in Germantown, Pennsylvania, centred on her April 2003 declaration that she was in a committed relationship with her female partner. That put her in conflict with United Methodist rules which forbid the ordination and appointment of openly homosexual ministers. [212 words, ENI-05-0840]

'Illness' of Bulgarian patriarch delays key congress

Sofia (ENI). A national conference of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church that was scheduled for November has been postponed due to the apparent ill-health of church head Patriarch Maxim, aged 91. For the first time since becoming Patriarch in 1971, Maxim failed to attend a church celebration of his birthday, held on 29 October at the Troyan Monastery that dates back at least 500 years and is named after the church leader's hometown. [367 words, ENI-05-0835]

British Hindus call for withdrawal of baby Jesus postage stamp

London (ENI). Britain's Royal Mail postal service has apologised after the country's Hindu Forum called for the withdrawal of a Christmas postage stamp depicting what it described as a man and woman with Hindu markings worshipping the baby Jesus. In a statement issued by the forum, an umbrella group for the British Hindu community, its secretary Ramesh Kallidai said it was "insensitive to use it at a time when the issue of conversions in India has been a subject of heated debate". [347 words, ENI-05-0834]

America's Amish take rare step into politics

Oxford, Ohio (ENI). Some Amish men in rural Geauga County, located near Cleveland, have taken the unusual step of entering public politics in local elections, even though their religion dictates they keep a distance from outsiders and modern life. At issue is a zoning restriction which prevents home-based businesses greater than 1000-square feet (92.9 square metres) in size. Arguing that Huntsburg Township's zoning laws are preventing them from opening woodworking shops on their farms when agriculture is losing its profitability, some Amish are campaigning to end all zoning restrictions in the settlement in the US state of Ohio by taking part in an 8 November local election. [464 words, ENI-05-0833]

1 November 2005

New York (ENI). The United States has been paying tribute to Rosa Parks, the retired seamstress whose refusal in 1955 to give up her seat for a white passenger on a segregated public bus in Montgomery, Alabama, helped spark the US civil rights movement. Parks died on 24 October aged 92 and was to be buried on 2 November in Detroit. Her arrest and fine for not giving up her seat led to a boycott of the Montgomery bus system led by a young Baptist pastor, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr, and precipitated a movement that helped the United States end legalised racial segregation. [485 words, ENI-05-0831]

Israeli group launches court appeal for Arabs during Muslim feast

Jerusalem (ENI). An Israeli human rights group has lodged an urgent appeal with Israel's Supreme Court to enable Israeli-Arabs to visit relatives in the Gaza Strip during the upcoming Eid el-Fitr festival. Eid el-Fitr, which begins with the siting of the new moon later in the week, is one of the highlights of the Muslim calendar. It comes at the end of the holy month of Ramadan during which Muslims abstain from food and drink from sunrise to sunset. [369 words, ENI-05-0832]

Amsterdam airport fire stirs debate on amnesty for deportees

Utrecht, Netherlands (ENI). Dutch immigration minister Rita Verdonk has halted the deportation of illegal immigrants who survived a fire at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport that killed 11 detainees. Verdonk's office announced the move after calls from some politicians and human rights' organizations for a general pardon to be granted to survivors of the blaze three days earlier. [299 words, ENI-05-0830]

Young Women's Christian Association marks 150 years of service

Geneva (ENI). The Young Women's Christian Association has celebrated the 150th anniversary of its beginnings in 1855 when the YWCA was founded in London to provide safe housing for women moving in search of work. Since then, the initiative has spread around the world and the YWCA now reaches 25 million women and girls in 122 countries, South African Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka noted at a celebration in Geneva, where the World YWCA has its headquarters. [458 words, ENI-05-0829]

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