Nairobi (ENI). Anglican Bishop Nelson Onono-Onweng is calling for immediate action to end 20 years of violent conflict in his northern Uganda diocese which civil society groups say is one of the worst war zones on the planet. The bishop made his plea as the Civil Society Organizations for Peace in Northern Uganda released a report coincide with the visit to Kampala of UN Under-Secretary for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland. The chairperson of the civil society organizations, Stella Ayo-Odongo, said: "The violent death rate in northern Uganda is three times higher than Iraq." [376 words, ENI-06-0293]

Rajasthan law will be used to harass us, say Indian Christians

New Delhi (ENI). Plans by the government of Rajasthan state in western India to introduce laws banning religious conversions will be used to harass the state's small Christian community, church leaders are warning. "The move to introduce the anti-conversion bill [draft law] is not just mischievous but downright unconstitutional," said the All-India Christian Council on the move by the Rajasthan government led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). [242 words, ENI-06-0290]

New Swedish archbishop warns male priests to work with women

Stockholm (ENI). Anders Wejryd, bishop of Vaxjo in southern Sweden who has been elected the next archbishop of the (Lutheran) Church of Sweden to succeed retiring K G Hammar, has told male priests they must work with ordained women or face the nation's anti-discrimination laws. Wejryd, born in 1948, was ordained a minister in 1972 and he was consecrated bishop of Vaxjo in 1995. He received 176 out of a possible 320 votes, against 127 for Bishop Ragnar Persenius, the Church of Sweden said. [461 words, ENI-06-0294]

Pentecostal, less traditional Protestant churches grow in US

New York (ENI). Pentecostal and so-called non-mainline Protestant churches show continuing growth in the United States, while mainstream churches continue to lose membership, according to the latest annual figures on US church membership. The largest Protestant denomination in the United States, the Southern Baptist Convention, showed a decline in membership, while the Roman Catholic Church, the largest single church body, showed a slight increase. The US National Council of Churches this week released the figures in the 2006 Yearbook of American and Canadian churches. [277 words, ENI-06-0291]

30 March 2006

Jerusalem (ENI). Christian leaders in the Holy Land have urged Israel not to carry out unilateral withdrawals from the West Bank following the election of Kadima the centrist party founded by Ariel Sharon, the prime minister who is in a coma. "Unilateral measures will probably bring some temporary solutions, but such measures will not end the mutual mistrust and misunderstanding between the two peoples living in this beloved and blessed Land," leaders of the biggest churches in the Holy Land said in a statement. [391 words, ENI-06-0287]

Hong Kong Cardinal Zen broadcasts to China while Pope hosts lunch

Rome (ENI). Hours after he received his red hat from Pope Benedict XVI, Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun of Hong Kong was broadcasting a message via Vatican Radio in which he noted that Christians in China keep their faith in both open and underground communities. The 74-year-old Zen became a cardinal on 24 March along with 14 other prelates from different parts of the world. They concelebrated a high Mass on 25 March at St. Peter's Basilica. But when his other colleagues joined Pope Benedict for a special lunch, Zen was on his way to celebrate another Mass that was broadcast in Chinese from Vatican Radio, with the target audience being Catholics in mainland China. [482 words, ENI-06-0286]

Human trafficking is 'modern slavery', says church group

Sofia (ENI). An international conference involving churches, governments, police, the judiciary and non-governmental organizations from 15 European countries has ended with a call for churches on the continent to combat all forms of modern slavery. The conference in the Romanian capital, Bucharest was held to mark the launch of a new project phase by the European network, Christian Action and Networking Against Trafficking in Women (CAT), coordinated by the Churches' Commission for Migrants in Europe. [301 words, ENI-06-0288]

Canadian monks and nuns challenge Roman Catholic teaching

Vancouver, Canada (ENI). A body representing 22 000 Roman Catholic monks, nuns and priests in Canada's religious orders has challenged the teachings of the church on issues including divorce, contraception and homosexuality. "We regret ... that our Church often gives priority to the reaffirmation of dogma and traditional morals rather than listening to the people's search for meanings," the Canadian Religious Conference states in a document sent to the country's bishops in advance of their expected visit to the Vatican later this year. [367 words, ENI-06-0285]

Use Afghan convert case to turn outrage into hope, says Rowan Williams

New York (ENI). The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, has urged Christians and Muslims and those of other faith traditions to recognise theological differences while continuing their shared commitment to solve global problems. Williams, speaking at a Christian-Muslim conference at Georgetown University in Washington DC on 29 March, Williams said representatives of the various faiths have to acknowledge that they cannot hope "to iron out the differences and the difficulties of our convictions". [241 words, ENI-06-0289]

29 March 2006

Sofia (ENI). A gathering in Bulgaria of religious leaders from all major faiths has denounced ethnic and religious intolerance and pledged to strengthen inter-religious and inter-ethnic peace. "We, the leaders of religious denominations in Bulgaria, and as Bulgarian citizens, state our unflagging will to strengthen religious and ethnic peace," Christian Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Evangelical, Armenian leaders as well as Muslim and Jewish representatives stated in a joint declaration at the end of the meeting. The meeting was held at the initiative of the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and follows concern in recent months about religious and ethnic intolerance in the country. [334 words, ENI-06-0283]

Ugandan church strips bishop of clerical rights

Nairobi (ENI). A Ugandan bishop has been stripped of his clerical rights by the country's Anglican church which says the bishop, Christopher Ssenyonjo, has been misrepresenting Scripture by going against the denomination's teaching on homosexuality. Ugandan Anglican Archbishop Henry Orombi announced that the church had disassociated itself from Ssenyonjo after he was reported to have founded a new grouping called the Charismatic Church of Uganda, and had consecrated a bishop. [406 words, ENI-06-0281]

In Japan, eco-churches seek to counter environmental threats

Tokyo (ENI). The cornerstone for an "eco-church" has been laid in Nagano Prefecture in central Japan, part of a growing trend for constructing ecologically-friendly churches in response to climate change and other environmental threats. "Churches are among the offenders that cause global warming," said the Rev. Shinobu Tanaka from the Japan Alliance Church at the cornerstone ceremony. "Eco-churches believe that the whole earth environment was created by God and that they help to protect the earth environment in response to the love of God the Creator." The movement to create eco-churches in Japan traces its roots to 1988. [493 words, ENI-06-0282]

Tutu honoured on South African gold coin

Cape Town (ENI). South African Nobel Peace laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu has been honoured by the South African Mint at a ceremony in which he struck a commemorative gold coin celebrating his achievement. "We are too prone as South Africans to sell ourselves short," Tutu, the former head of the country's Anglican church said at the ceremony. "We have so much about which to be proud. We ought to be a country that can show the world how to be compassionate." The gold coin is one of a series struck to pay tribute to South Africa's Nobel Peace Prize winners. [292 words, ENI-06-0284]

28 March 2006

New Delhi (ENI). An Afghan man who faced the death penalty for converting from Islam has been freed after a court in Kabul dismissed the case against Abdul Rahman following worldwide appeals on his behalf. Earlier 41-year old Rahman had declared he was ready to die for his faith. He had faced possible execution under Sharia, strict Islamic law, for converting from Islam and not renouncing Christianity. [457 words, ENI-06-0280]

Malawi religious leaders told: Tackle violence against women

Blantyre, Malawi (ENI). Religious leaders in Malawi have been challenged to tackle gender-based violence and aggression that has come to the fore in recent media reporting from the central African country. Malawi's information minister, Patricia Kaliati, on 25 March urged Christians to pray for God's intervention to bring to an end the incidents of violence against women and girls. [297 words, ENI-06-0277]

French told African spirituality may help Europeans regain lost identity

Paris (ENI). Christians in Europe have much to learn from the resources of African spirituality, the general secretary of the World Council of Churches, the Rev. Samuel Kobia, says. "African churches in Europe can help European churches to regain what they have lost because of modernity, in particular the idea of belonging, and the feeling of being a part of community," Kobia, a Kenyan Methodist, told Ecumenical News International in Paris. His comments follow the growth in recent years in Europe of communities of African Christians, now according to some estimates put at a total of three million people. [331 words, ENI-06-0278]

Japanese Christians demand: Stop incineration of leprosy foetuses

Tokyo (ENI). Citizens' groups that include Christians and leprosy patients are petitioning Japan's health ministry to halt before the end of March a proposal to incinerate and bury specimens of foetuses and deceased new-born babies of quarantined leprosy patients. In the past mothers at state-run leprosariums had been forced to abort their foetuses. In addition, a government panel was reported to have found that at least until the 1950s, the babies of hundreds of leprosy patients held in sanatoriums were deliberately killed by medical staff. [509 words, ENI-06-0279]

27 March 2006

London (ENI). The Rev. Alan Billings, director of the Centre for Ethics and Religion at Lancaster University in northwest England, has criticised Norman Kember and two other pacifists freed last week after being held hostage in Iraq for 119 days. He told Ecumenical News International churches appeared to be "terribly muddled" about Iraq and the general situation in the Middle East, and an anti-American and anti-Israeli position prevailed. Billings said, "Norman Kember will have to reflect as a pacifist for the rest of his life that he owes his life and freedom to the action of the British military." [449 words, ENI-06-0274]

Spanish evangelicals urge forgiveness to make ETA cease-fire work

Geneva (ENI). The cease-fire by Basque separatist group ETA will need to be accompanied by justice and forgiveness if it is to achieve a lasting peace, a group of Spanish evangelical Christians has said, while the leader of Spain's Roman Catholics has urged politicians to unite and work for peace. "The unity of rulers and political representatives, society's collaboration, patient work, open mindedness and hope that sustains the journey are good guarantees to reach the goal of full peace," said Bishop Ricardo Blasquez of Bilbao, the president of the Spanish (Catholic) Bishops' Conference, told journalists. [313 words, ENI-06-0276]

Cable car will take worshippers to Jerusalem's Western Wall

Jerusalem (ENI). Worshippers seeking to visit Israel's Western Wall may be able to do so by taking a cable car to avoid the gridlock of traffic congestion in the narrow streets of Jerusalem's ancient Old City. The US$8 million cable car system could be installed within three years, according to Israeli transport officials. They say it would make a trip to the Western Wall more pleasant for the five million people who visit the shrine every year and are stuck in traffic jams or forced to navigate on foot the labyrinth of alleys in the walled old town to reach the site. [323 words, ENI-06-0275]

24 March 2006

Nairobi (ENI). Sudan's deeply troubled Darfur region needs a truly international peace keeping force soon, and cannot wait another six months, the Rev. Mvume Dandala, the All Africa Conference of Churches general secretary, has told the African Union, accusing the AU of deferring to Khartoum. "Like the rest of the world, we are appalled by the horrendous, disturbing and continuing loss of human life and livelihoods in Darfur," said Dandala in a letter to AU chairperson, Denis Sassou-Nguesso the president of Congo Brazzaville. [305 words, ENI-06-0273]

Aid cuts to Palestinians could harm us, say Holy Land Lutherans

Jerusalem (ENI). The Lutheran church in the Holy Land says its ministry would be endangered if the international community cut aid to the Palestinian Authority once the militant Islamist Hamas group takes office after winning a legislature election in January. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land urged the international community not to withhold hundreds of millions of dollars in annual aid to the Palestinians. [330 words, ENI-06-0268]

Pope abandons ancient title, but 'creates conundrum' about unity

Rome (ENI). Pope Benedict XVI has dropped one of his official titles - that of "Patriarch of the West" - in a move the Vatican says may help church unity but which has been criticised by a prominent Russian Orthodox bishop. In a statement, the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity said the title first used by a pope in AD 642 had been abandoned because it had become "obsolete and practically unusable". [381 words, ENI-06-0269]

Colombian rights activists face death threats church group says

Barranquilla, Columbia (ENI). Two human rights leaders belonging to the Ecumenical Network of Colombia have received death threats allegedly from a group linked to Army intelligence operations, the network has reported. The ecumenical group said the Rev. Milton Mejia, executive secretary of the Presbyterian Church of Colombia, whose headquarters are in Barranquilla, and Mauricio Avilez, a member of the board of the Inter-ecclesial Commission of Justice and Peace, had received the death threats. [421 words, ENI-06-0272]

Zambian church bodies intercede over Brazilian-founded church

Lusaka (ENI). Two Zambian church bodies, one representing the Roman Catholic Church, and the other long-established Protestant churches, have said they are prepared to mediate in resolving a controversy involving accusations of government persecution of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, a Pentecostal denomination. The Zambia Episcopal Conference, which represents Catholic bishops, along with the Council of Churches in Zambia earlier in March said it would engage in talks with Universal Church leaders to defuse a campaign by authorities against the church. [417 words, ENI-06-0270]

Rabbis and imams call for religious coexistence at meeting in Spain

Jerusalem (ENI). Jewish and Muslim leaders this week found common ground by calling for religious tolerance at a conference for rabbis and imams in Spain. "There is no inherent conflict between Islam and Judaism," they said in a joint statement. "While modern politics has impacted negatively upon the relationship, our two religions share the most fundamental values of faith in the One Almighty whose name is Peace." About 140 rabbis and imams from 34 countries attended the second international conference of Jewish and Muslim clerics held in Seville, southern Spain. The conference was sponsored by the Paris-based peace foundation, Hommes de Parole. [306 words, ENI-06-0271]

23 March 2006

Geneva (ENI). Global church leaders in many parts of the world have expressed relief and joy at the release of three members of Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) held hostage in Iraq. Members of churches supporting the group said attention should also continue to be paid to the thousands of Iraqi detainees and captives, the British think tank and advocacy group Ekklesia stated. [335 words, ENI-06-0267]

Polish church asks forgiveness for clergy collaborators

Warsaw (ENI). Poland's Roman Catholic bishops have requested "mercy and forgiveness" for priests who informed for the secret police under communist rule, while also condemning "media sensationalism" and urging sensitivity about the issue. "The dramatic experiences of Polish history testify that, in a system which broke consciences, trust was also betrayed by certain people of the church - we are pained by this and apologise particularly to those who experienced distress and harm," Poland's bishops conference said in a statement. "But we also stress that the Christian attitude is to extend mercy and forgiveness towards those who show repentance and offer recompense." [357 words, ENI-06-0266]

22 March 2006

Canterbury, England (ENI). The Muslim Council of Wales has accepted the apology of Christian leaders outraged that the editor of an (Anglican) Church in Wales magazine published a cartoon of Prophet Muhammad next to God and Buddha in heaven saying - "Don't complain - we've all been caricatured here." Meurig Llwyd Williams, the archdeacon of Bangor, resigned after the Archbishop of Wales, Barry Morgan, apologised to the leaders of Wales' small Muslim community. [263 words, ENI-06-0265]

HIV-positive priest in Africa looks to AIDS-free world by 2025

Nairobi (ENI). Canon Gideon Byamugisha, the Ugandan Anglican priest who became the first known African church leader to declare he was HIV-positive, says the world could be free of AIDS by 2025 if it confronts hurdles like stigma and inaction in dealing with the pandemic. "I am beginning to see a world free of AIDS," Byamugisha said in Nairobi where he was attending a meeting of religious leaders on combating stigma around HIV and AIDS. "With good partnerships we can defeat stigma by 2009. The epidemic can also level off by 2015. We will then be talking of a world free of AIDS by 2025." [311 words, ENI-06-0263]

Presbyterians invest $1 million in church 'bank' that helps poor

New York (ENI). The Presbyterian Church (USA) has invested US$1 million in Oikocredit, an organization established by the World Council of Churches that assists people in poor countries start small businesses. The investment is the largest in Oikocredit over more than a decade, the church announced earlier this week, making the 2.4-million-member US denomination the second-largest investor in the institution set up in 1975. The largest is the Church of Sweden. [286 words, ENI-06-0264]

21 March 2006

Jaipur (ENI). More than 20 secular action groups have joined Christians for a silent march in Rajasthan, western India, demanding an end to violence aimed at Christians in the state ruled by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). More than 6000 people marched four kilometres under a blazing sun in the capital Jaipur from the hero's monument to the Rajasthan state legislature. [477 words, ENI-06-0260]

Rabbis and Imams' dialogue in Spain at times heated

Jerusalem (ENI). Jewish and Muslim religious leaders have met in Spain to build bridges between the two faiths at a conference aimed at promoting dialogue between Islam and Judaism as well as fostering peace that had its prickly moments. Seventy-two rabbis and 72 imams from 34 countries attended the second international conference of Jewish and Muslim clerics held from 19 to 21 March in Seville, southern Spain. [351 words, ENI-06-0262]

Christians who backed wealth challenger of Thai PM, hail acquittal

Geneva (ENI). The World Association for Christian Communication (WACC) has hailed the acquittal of Thai media activist Supinya Klangnarong on charges of defaming Shin Corporation, the telecommunications giant until recently owned by the family of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. "We are very pleased that this case, that had the potential to do so much damage to free speech in Thailand, has been dismissed," said WACC general secretary, the Rev. Randy Naylor. "We are equally pleased that Supinya has not only won the case by standing by her convictions but has done so in an exemplary way that has established a standard of moral high-ground for other media campaigners." [337 words, ENI-06-0261]

Married couple share work as regional bishop in Bavaria

Bielefeld, Germany (ENI). The Bavarian Lutheran church has for the first time appointed a married couple to share the post of a regional bishop, despite fears that this might harm relations with the Roman Catholic Church. Elisabeth Hann von Weyhern, aged 43, and Stefan Ark Nitsche, 50, have been installed to the post of regional bishop for Nuremberg, one of six districts within the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria. [253 words, ENI-06-0259]

20 March 2006

Nairobi (ENI). St Patricks Iten in the Kenyan Highlands seemed like any regular local school until 1976 when Brother Colm O'Connell arrived for what was supposed to be a two-year assignment to teach geography. But the following year, the cleric who belongs to the Brothers of St Patrick order started coaching athletics and since then he has produced an astounding list of world-class track athletes. His athletes include 19 year-old Augustine Choge who on 20 March set a new Commonwealth Games record when he won the men's 5000 metres final in 12 minutes 56.41 seconds [792 words, ENI-06-0256]

US Southern Baptists' effort to baptise 1 million not meeting target

New York (ENI). A year-long effort by the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), the largest Protestant denomination in the United States, to baptise 1 million persons is falling far short of its goal. Two weeks from a 1 April midpoint for the drive, the denomination noted that 1555 persons, fewer than 1 per cent of the target, had been baptised, the Washington-based Religion News Service (RNS) reported. [311 words, ENI-06-0257]

Lutheran warns Church of Norway could split over homosexuality

Oslo (ENI). The head of the (Lutheran) Church of Norway's doctrinal commission, Professor Torleiv Austad, has warned that the denomination may split over the issue of homosexuality. The commission was divided when it drew up a report in January as to whether people living in same-sex relationships should hold consecrated office. This led to suggestions that the church might choose to have two equally official views on the matter, something rejected by Austad. [303 words, ENI-06-0258]

17 March 2006

Jerusalem (ENI). The Roman Catholic Church is urging its faithful around the world to offer "prayer and concrete solidarity" at Easter time to support the dwindling Christian population in the land of Jesus' birth. A letter distributed by the head of the Vatican's Congregation for Eastern Churches, Cardinal Ignace Moussa Daoud, urged Christians around the world to support fellow believers in the Holy Land at Easter because the region needed "living communities that profess the Gospel faith". [316 words, ENI-06-0255]

Indian church reverses trend and sends missionaries to Wales

London (ENI). The Mizos hill people of north-east India who were converted to Christianity by Welsh Presbyterians in the 19th century are now sending missionaries to help what they see as their mother church in Wales. The Rev. Hmar Sangkhuma, from the Mizoram synod of the Presbyterian Church of India, has been operating as a "mission enabler" for the Indian denomination's counterpart in Wales. [343 words, ENI-06-0253]

Churches mourn Indian Lutheran who advocated women's equality

New Delhi (ENI). Tributes are being paid to Indian Christian leader the Rev Prasanna Kumari, one of the first Lutheran women to be ordained in India, who has died in Chennai aged 56 after suffering a heart attack. "Her untimely death is a great loss to the Indian church," said Bishop Jeypaul David, president of the National Council of Churches in India, a grouping of 29 Protestant and Orthodox churches of which Kumari was vice-president. The council described Kumari as a "a highly gifted, versatile and multifaceted personality [who] has left a deep imprint on the life of the Indian church". [332 words, ENI-06-0254]

16 March 2006

Warsaw (ENI). The head of the Serbian Orthodox church has sent condolences to the family of the deceased Slobodan Milosevic, and urged the war crimes suspect to be given a "fitting burial" in his homeland. "Every person has an inviolable right to a grave and a fitting burial, especially people who, like Slobodan Milosevic, exerted an influence on their epoch, and on historical developments both for the Serbian nation and other nations in difficult times," Serbian Patriarch Pavle said in a statement, shortly before Milosevic's body was flown to Belgrade on 15 March. [600 words, ENI-06-0250]

Botswana churches confident on land settlement for San people

Gaborone (ENI). Church leaders in Botswana are confident their mediation efforts will help resolve a dispute over land rights between the government and the San people of the Kalahari, before it is necessary for the country's High Court to rule on the matter. David Modiega, general secretary of the Botswana Council of Churches, told Ecumenical News International: "I am hopeful that negotiations in which we and other NGOs are involved with the San and the government will reach a settlement acceptable to both parties." [356 words, ENI-06-0251]

Archbishop mocks Arroyo claim that being president is 'God's plan'

Manila (ENI). A Roman Catholic archbishop has derided Philippines leader Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for a claim that being president was part of "God's plan" for her and for the country. "One's opinion about self is personal," said Archbishop Oscar Cruz of Lingayen in northern Philippines, asserting, "everyone is entitled to his or her opinion." The archbishop was reacting after a news interview quoted Arroyo saying: "I believe that I am here now because that is the plan of God for me and for us." [377 words, ENI-06-0252]

15 March 2006

New Delhi (ENI). The Indian parliament has been forced into an unscheduled adjournment for a second time within a week during heated exchanges between legislators debating attacks on an evangelical mission centre in western Rajasthan state. The interruption in the Lok Sabha, the lower chamber of the Indian parliament on 13 March came after a visit by legislators to the Emmanuel Mission International centre at Kota in Rajasthan over the weekend. They demanded immediate federal government intervention to stop harassment by the state government at the behest of the local ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). [475 words,, ENI-06-0249]

Ugandan pastor wants to rebuild collapsed church in which 26 died

Nairobi (ENI). A Ugandan Pentecostal pastor, whose church collapsed killing 26 people and injuring 85, has vowed to rebuild the structure in the face of astringent criticism of government building regulators over negligence that is said to have allowed the tragedy to take place. Speaking to Ecumenical News International in Nairobi, the Rev. Fred Nyabera, the executive director of the Fellowship of Councils and Churches in the Great Lakes Region and the Horn of Africa said he saw greed as responsible for the collapse. [310 words, ENI-06-0248]

Churches and mosques provide shelter for Malawi flood victims

Blantyre, Malawi (ENI). Flooding in Malawi's southern lake district of Mangochi, as well as in the central part of the country, triggered by the heaviest rains in 28 years, has left more than 40 000 people homeless, forcing them to seek refuge in churches, mosques and schools. Rains poured continuously for four days last week, washing away maize fields, domestic animals and hundreds of houses. The flooding resulted in the deaths of at least four people including a police officer who tried to cross a swollen river. People used fishing nets to retrieve bodies from the raging waters. [260 words, ENI-06-0247]

Briton wins Templeton Prize for exploring science-spirituality link

New York (ENI). Briton John Barrow, a University of Cambridge cosmologist and mathematician whose work explores the relationship between life and the universe, as well as the nature and the limits of human understanding, has won the 2006 Templeton Prize. At the age of 53, Barrow is one of the youngest winners of the prize that is awarded yearly to a person advancing knowledge of spiritual matters. It was founded in 1972 by British-born philanthropist and global financier Sir John Templeton. Barrow and his wife, Elizabeth Mary, belong to the Britain's United Reformed Church. [371 words, ENI-06-0246]

14 March 2006

Bielefeld, Germany (ENI). Germany's Protestant and Roman Catholic churches will offer special hospitality to teams and visitors during the coming FIFA World Cup which will feature top soccer teams competing and games being shown on big parish screens. "As a church we want to contribute to the success of the World Cup and be part of the hospitality shown towards the world," Cardinal Karl Lehmann, the chairperson of Germany's Catholic Bishops' Conference, told the media last week. The Evangelical Church of Germany (EKD) also plans activities during the World Cup. [295 words, ENI-06-0243]

Holy Land Catholic leader grants forgiveness for Nazareth church assault

Jerusalem (ENI). The Roman Catholic Church's custodian of religious sites in the Holy Land has granted forgiveness to a family that set off firecrackers at the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth. The Rev. Pierbattista Pizzaballa met the family - an Israeli Jew, his Polish Christian wife and their grown daughter - at a prison where they were being held in police custody after the assault at the church. He said they expressed deep remorse for the 3 March attack which was carried out when the church was full of worshippers attending a Mass for the Christian Lenten season which commemorates a period of fasting by Jesus. [342 words, ENI-06-0245]

Lutheran church in Finland starts charting reasons why people leave

Helsinki (ENI). The number of people leaving Finland's majority Lutheran church has increased sharply in recent years, and many of them are young adults who feel the church lacks relevance, a new study has found. More than 33 000 people left the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland in 2005, about 70 per cent of them in the 20 to 39 year old age range. Many of the people in this age range said they were leaving the church because it had little or no relevance to their lives, while older people who left the church said they did so because they had experienced personal disappointment with the institution. [352 words, ENI-06-0244]

13 March 2006

New York (ENI). Religious communities throughout the world are mourning the death of a US Christian peace activist kidnapped in Iraq in November and whose body was discovered late last week by US military forces in Baghdad. Tom Fox, aged 54, a US Quaker who had journeyed to Baghdad in November with three other members of a Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) brigade, had apparently been tortured before he was killed, authorities said. [357 words, ENI-06-0239]

Churches intervene in Argentine, Uruguay row over pulp mills

Buenos Aires (ENI). Leaders from Argentina and Uruguay Protestant churches are seeking mediate in a dispute between the two South American countries on the building of two mills to produce eucalyptus pulp in Fray Bentos, Uruguay. In a recent pastoral letter addressed to their congregations, church leaders regretted the growing antagonism between the two nations. They stated that churches are called to discern the truth, "leaving aside the selfishness that breaks down human relations". Argentina's President Nestor Kirchner and Uruguay's President Tabare Vasquez have agreed that the construction work on the pulp mills should be suspended until an independent environmental impact study has taken place. [551 words, ENI-06-0241]

Hungarian government to restore Russian Orthodox cathedral

Warsaw (ENI). The Hungarian government has promised to fund rebuilding work on Budapest's Russian Orthodox cathedral, after a collection of valuable Reformed church books was returned to the country by Russian President Vladimir Putin. "There is a legal dispute over ownership of this building, in which Hungary is only an outsider," the government spokesperson, Andras Batiz, told Ecumenical News International. "However, since this cathedral is in a ruinous state, the government offered to help finance restoration plans during President Putin's visit." [381 words, ENI-06-0240]

Germany's Bethel group founder remembered on 175th anniversary

Bielefeld, Germany (ENI). German Protestants are remembering Friedrich von Bodelschwingh who was born 175 years ago and who built up the Bethel centre of charities and home missions, now Europe's biggest church welfare organization. "Without his ideas, his commitment and his piety, Bethel would not be what it is today," said Friedrich Schophaus, head of the "von Bodelschwinghsche Anstalten Bethel" which today offers 20 000 places throughout Germany for sick, disabled and socially disadvantaged people. [336 words, ENI-06-0242]

10 March 2006

Johannesburg (ENI). Southern African Methodist bishops have expressed "deep disgust" at supporters of the country's former deputy president Jacob Zuma for taunting the woman who has accused him of rape. The supporters, including several women, this week demonstrated outside the Johannesburg High Court where Zuma is standing trial accused of raping a 31-year-old woman in his Johannesburg home last year. The supporters burnt posters depicting her face and shouted abuse at her. [333 words, ENI-06-0238]

Abu Ghraib closure a chance to ditch torture, says US church council

New York (ENI). The general secretary of the US National Council of Churches has called on the United States to use the planned closing of the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq as an opportunity to restate a commitment not to employ torture. "With the closing of Abu Ghraib, it's time to renew our resolve as a nation that torture and abuse must never be weapons for our defence," said the Rev. Robert Edgar in a statement. "To declare that torture may be necessary to protect safety and freedom is illogical, immoral and profane." [238 words, ENI-06-0235]

Christians worldwide to plant olive trees for Holy Land peace

Jerusalem (ENI). Church congregations across the globe are to plant olive trees and hold vigils in solidarity with Christians in the Holy Land who have urged them to press the cause of peace between Israel and the Palestinians. The International Church Action for Peace in Palestine and Israel solidarity week, which will also involve members of International Pax Christi and the Young Men's Christian Association, will be held from 12 to 19 March..[293 words, ENI-06-0234]

British legislators protest at shift of UK's Vatican embassy

Canterbury, England (ENI). A group of Roman Catholic members of parliament is planning to write to the British foreign secretary, Jack Straw, to express their anger at what they says is the downgrading of the United Kingdom's mission to the Holy See. Francis Campbell was appointed British ambassador to the Vatican in November. The British Government then moved its embassy to the Holy See away from the Vatican to premises within the British embassy to Italy in the city of Rome. [278 words, ENI-06-0237]

US Presbyterian leader Andrews dies after being struck by car

Louisville, Kentucky (ENI). The Rev. James E. Andrews, who served as the most senior staff member of the Presbyterian Church (USA) for 23 years, was killed after he was struck by a car while walking near his home in Decatur, Georgia. He died on 7 March, aged 77. His widow, Elizabeth, noted his role in helping to create the church in 1983 as a union of two Presbyterian denominations which traced their history back to separation in 1861 at the time of the American Civil War. [443 words, ENI-06-0236]

9 March 2006

Bielefeld, Germany (ENI). Germany's main Protestant welfare agency has announced it wants an independent investigation into allegations that thousands of children in post-Second World War Germany faced abuse and neglect in church-run homes. "We don't want to gloss over, play down or deny the facts," said Juergen Gohde, president of the Diakonisches Werk of the Evangelical Church in Germany, acknowledging that children had faced unacceptable conditions in homes. [328 words, ENI-06-0232]

Zambian bishops criticise nation's president for insulting Kaunda

Lusaka (ENI). Two Zambian bishops have chided President Levy Mwanawasa for showing disrespect to the country's former leader, Kenneth Kaunda, after the current head of state dismissed the advice of the founding president about formulating a new constitution. Bishop Robert Mumbi of the Mansa Anglican Diocese in the northern Luapula Province reprimanded the current president for going against "parental" advice on the constitution-making process that is high on the public agenda with national elections scheduled later this year. [345 words, ENI-06-0231]

Greek church says it won't block cremations but wants burials

Warsaw (ENI). Greece's Orthodox church has pledged not to oppose a new law allowing cremations for the first time in the country, but said it will expect Orthodox Christians to continue to be buried. "The church does not oppose and has no right to oppose the cremation of the dead for those of other religions or Christian denominations," Charis Kondaris, spokesperson for the Church of Greece, told the Reuters news agency. "For Orthodox people, however, it recommends burial as the only way for the decomposition of the deceased human body, according to its long traditions." [296 words, ENI-06-0233]

8 March 2006

London (ENI). An Anglican priest who has stepped down from her parish duties because she can't forgive those who carried out the July bombings on London's transport system which resulted in the death of more than 50 people including her daughter, has stirred a strong debate on the capacity for absolution. "Can I forgive them for what they did? No, I cannot. And I don't wish to," said the Rev. Julie Nicholson, vicar of St Aidan with St George Church in Bristol, in an interview carried on BBC television. The Times newspaper said in an editorial: "Mrs Nicholson's loss is great and her faith troubled, but her integrity is intact." [354 words, ENI-06-0227]

Indian churches warn, bomb blasts can foment sectarian conflict

New Delhi (ENI). Churches in India have joined in condemnation of twin bomb blasts in the Hindu holy city of Varanasi, in which at least 20 people have been reported killed, warning that the attacks appeared to be aimed at fomenting inter-communal conflict. "We condemn this terrorist act targeting innocent lives," said the Rev. Enos Das Pradhan, general secretary of the Church of North India whose territory includes Varanasi in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh where the bombs exploded. [259 words, ENI-06-0230]

Anglican advisory group in England won't back disinvestment call

London (ENI). The Church of England's Ethical Investment Advisory Group has refused to back a call for disinvestment from Caterpillar Inc, the US manufacturer of the bulldozers used by the Israeli Army to demolish Palestinian homes. The demand came in a February resolution backed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, at the church's parliament, the general synod. [331 words, ENI-06-0229]

Religious leaders hail Canada court ruling in favour of Sikh knife

Vancouver (ENI). A decision by the Supreme Court of Canada overturning a lower court ruling forbidding young male Sikhs from wearing the kirpan, a ceremonial knife, in school, has been applauded by representatives of other faiths. A Sikh student had challenged the action of a Montreal school board which prohibited students from carrying the kirpan, which orthodox Sikhs hold is required by their faith. [362 words, ENI-06-0228]

7 March 2006

New Delhi (ENI). A nuclear agreement between India and the United States signed during the visit of President George W Bush to Afghanistan, India and Pakistan has evoked mixed reaction from churches in the region. "This is a sign of recognition of India's importance in international relations," said the Rev. Babu Joseph, spokesperson of Catholic Bishops Conference of India on the nuclear agreement signed between Bush and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. However, Amelia Andrews, spokesperson of the National Council of Churches in India, said the NCCI was "alarmed by the euphoria" about the nuclear deal. [263 words, ENI-06-0223]

Some Kenya churches say 'pray', others seek State apology to media

Nairobi (ENI). Some church leaders in Kenya are urging national prayers for the government, while others have advised authorities to apologise to the media over a raid on the Standard Group of Newspapers as country-wide demonstrations in support of press freedom erupted. Protesters on 7 March denounced the raid five days earlier in which Standard Group printing presses were damaged, thousands of newspapers burned and its television station was taken off the air for several hours. [348 words, ENI-06-0225]

Fairtrade takes off in Britain

Canterbury, England (ENI). Millions of shoppers in Britain and Ireland are being asked over the next two weeks to "think Fairtrade" and buy products that give those in poorer countries who grow and manufacture them a better deal. Fairtrade Fortnight started in Dublin when former Boomtown Rats punk rock singer, Sir Bob Geldof, urged people to "Make Fairtrade Your Habit". Geldof said, "While the politicians sort out the big problems, ordinary people can do something vital by purchasing products made in some of the poorest countries in the world." [369 words, ENI-06-0224]

Russian patriarch praises former Soviet leader Gorbachev

Warsaw (ENI). The head of Russia's Orthodox church has paid tribute to Mikhail Gorbachev on his 75th birthday, recalling the efforts of the last leader of the Soviet Union to salvage the country's spiritual legacy and international image. "It was through your personal involvement that co-operation with the Russian Orthodox church began to develop," Patriarch Alexei II said in a message of greetings. "This has born good fruits to this day in our joint efforts to restore the sacred things from the past which were ruined, and to build a spiritually strong and healthy Russian state." [303 words, ENI-06-0222]

Church 'slow' to recognise women's call for equal partnership

Geneva (ENI). The rights of women in Church and society are still not guaranteed, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches is warning as the world marks International Women's Day on 8 March. "The Church is still slow in recognising the urgent call for women's equal partnership with men in all areas of ministry and witness," said the Rev. Patricia Sheerattan-Bisnauth, executive secretary of WARC's office for Church Renewal, Justice and Partnership. [345 words, ENI-06-0226]

6 March 2006

Geneva (ENI). The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, has warned in a BBC television interview that the worldwide Anglican Communion may "rupture" over the issue of homosexuality. Anglicans have been riven with division since the election in 2003 of V. Gene Robinson, who lives openly in a same-sex relationship, as a bishop in the US Episcopal (Anglican) Church, and the introduction by a diocese in Canada of a rite for blessing same-sex unions. Many Anglican churches, particularly in Africa, condemned Robinson's election and several have cut ties with the US church. [456 words, ENI-06-0219]

Israeli couple who attacked Nazareth church apologise, Arabs protest

Jerusalem (ENI). An Israeli Jewish man, his Polish-Christian wife and their adult daughter have apologised after they threw fire crackers in Nazareth's Church of the Annunciation during a Lenten Mass, triggering an angry reaction from residents in the Galilee town. The man, Haim Habibi, later told a court on 5 February that his family carried out the attack in desperation after welfare authorities put two of his children in foster homes. The Church of the Annunciation is built above a sunken grotto where, according to Roman Catholic tradition, the angel Gabriel told the Virgin Mary that she was to bear Jesus. [425 words, ENI-06-0218]

Filipino archbishop vows to speak out despite arrest threats

Manila (ENI). Archbishop Oscar Cruz of Lingayen in northern Philippines' Dagupan province says he will continue to speak out despite arrests of government critics following a week-long state of emergency imposed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo at the end of February. "The most serious agenda as thrice already enjoined by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines is the search for truth in the 2004 national elections," Cruz said in a 6 March statement. He was referring to still unresolved allegations that Arroyo cheated in the 2004 presidential elections with the help from some military generals and electoral officials. [318 words, ENI-06-0220]

Prison fellowship builds chapel for ex-inmates in Malawi

Blantyre, Malawi (ENI). The Prison Fellowship of Malawi has dedicated a new chapel intended for spiritual rehabilitation, reconciliation and reformation of former prisoners, victims and their families in a country where the prison population is growing. The chapel cost 6 million Malawi kwatcha (US$45 0000) to build in Malawi's southern Balaka district, and was funded by Norwegian Church Aid assisted by Prison Fellowship International, said NCA's representative in Malawi, Irene Holte at the opening. [324 words, ENI-06-0221]

3 March 2006

Blantyre (ENI). The nomination of a British priest as an Anglican bishop in Malawi has split the denomination, with demonstrators barricading church offices in protest at the failure of church authorities to approve the appointment. The Rev. Nicholas Henderson was elected bishop of the diocese of Lake Malawi in July 2005 but the church's court of confirmation rejected his appointment because of his involvement with a group seen as supporting homosexual clergy. [421 words, ENI-06-0214]

Zimbabwe paper says Excommunicate bishop who defies Mugabe

Harare (ENI). The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Bulawayo, Pius Ncube, who is one of President Robert Mugabe's most trenchant critics, should be excommunicated from the church says Zimbabwe's government-run daily newspaper, the Herald. "Bishop Ncube has thrown away the standing doctrine that the State and the Church are separate institutions with separate roles," wrote the newspaper in an editorial page article. "The role of the State is to provide for the temporal, mundane or secular needs of the people while that of the Church is to provide for the spiritual needs of man." [427 words, ENI-06-0215]

US religious leaders call for 'humane' immigration laws

New York (ENI). A coalition of US religious leaders is calling for comprehensive reform of the immigration system to avoid undue harm to legal immigrants, asylum-seekers, and refugees in United States. The call by religious leaders came as the US Congress was to start debating changes to immigration laws. "Throughout history, politicians have tried to convince themselves and others that the biblical call to love, the ministry of hospitality and the Sermon on the Mount are naive, impractical and irrelevant to our complex world," said the Rev. Robert Edgar, the general secretary of the US National Council of Churches. [293 words, ENI-06-0217]

Lutherans up in Africa, Asia, but down in Europe and N. America

Geneva (ENI). Membership in Lutheran churches in Europe dropped by nearly 600 000 in 2005, while in Africa the number of Lutherans increased by 900 000 along with a slight increase globally, according to statistics from the Lutheran World Federation. Overall, the number of Lutherans worldwide increased in 2005 by 229 753 to 69.76 million, an increase of 0.33 per cent compared to 2004. The total membership of the LWF's 140 member churches is put at 66.21 million, up by 0.43 per cent. [487 words, ENI-06-0216]

2 March 2006

Nairobi (ENI). Church leaders and civil society groups in Kenya have strongly condemned a raid on the Standard Group of newspapers and its television station, the Kenya Television Network (KTN), by masked police bearing Kalashnikov assault rifles. "I think they [the government] have gone too far. This wasn't necessary," the Rev. Wellington Sanga, the Methodist Church of Kenya's conference secretary told Ecumenical News International. "What are coming out are blunders, one after another." [391 words, ENI-06-0211]

British vigils to mark 100 days since Peacemakers snatched in Iraq

London (ENI). Vigils will be held around Britain on 4 and 5 March to mark the one hundred days since British hostage Norman Kember disappeared in Iraq with three other members of the Christian Peacemakers Teams. The commemorations will conclude with an inter-faith ceremony involving the display of paper doves in London's Trafalgar Square on 5 March at which representatives of major churches, Muslim leaders and those from other faiths are expected to participate. [361 words, ENI-06-0213]

Church attendance in Poland sliding, but more receive Eucharist

Warsaw (ENI). More and more Roman Catholics are giving up going to church in Poland, less than a year after the death of Pope John Paul II, new church data shows. "It would be quite wrong to talk of an emptying of Polish churches," Professor Witold Zdaniewicz, director of the Catholic Church Statistics Institute (ISKK), told Ecumenical News International. "But the figures clearly show a persistent drop in numbers attending Mass, however much the causes and explanations may vary." [337 words, ENI-06-0210]

Sainthood proposal for former Tanzanian leader sparks debate

Canterbury (ENI). Suggestions that the former president of Tanzania, Julius Nyerere, a Roman Catholic who died in 1999, might be canonised a saint have led to debate not only in Africa but also further afield and in Britain where he was educated in the 1950s. "In Tanzania, he was regarded almost with awe," said British journalist David Martin who interviewed Nyerere many times when he was deputy editor of The Standard in Dar es Salaam, the commercial capital of the East African country. Still George Ayittey, a Ghanaian and associate professor of economics at the American University in Washington DC, said Nyerere destroyed Tanzania's economy and left millions of people floundering in a sea of poverty. [471 words, ENI-06-0212]

1 March 2006

Jerusalem (ENI). An Arab-Israeli cleric who has won a number of international peace awards has been elevated to the rank of archbishop of the Greek Catholic (Melkite) Church in the Holy Land, the first time a cleric born and raised in Israel has held the position. Elias Chacour was installed as archbishop on 25 February at the Mar Elias college he founded in the Galilee region. [384 words, ENI-06-0206]

Mass arrests follow interreligious violence in Nigeria

Abuja (ENI). About 450 people have been arrested in Nigeria following Muslim-Christian violence in which more than 100 people have been killed. "We will use all the due process of law to ensure that justice is done," Nigeria's inspector general of police, Sunday Ehindero told senior police officers in Abuja following the violence which erupted after the publication of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad in some Western newspapers. "People should not just get up and start killing other people because of some cartoons that were printed in Europe," Ehindero said. "The rioters must be made to face the full wrath of law." [288 words, 06-0208]

Malawi Muslim cleric denounces call to kill cartoonist

Blantyre, Malawi (ENI). Sheikh Dinala Chabulika, head of Malawi's Islamic Information Bureau, has condemned a Pakistani cleric for announcing a US$1 million bounty for anyone who kills the cartoonist who drew the original caricature of the Prophet Muhammad that sparked global Muslim anger. "Nobody should kill or shed blood in the name of Allah," warned the Malawi cleric. [263 words, ENI-06-0207]

Korean YMCA in Japan marks centennial as part of 'Diaspora'

Tokyo (ENI). A branch of a Christian youth organization, established for the Korean "Diaspora" in Tokyo which launched a campaign for Korean independence during Japan's 35 years of colonial rule, is celebrating 100 years of existence. "We set ourselves the task of providing people with a place for learning and fellowship toward the creation of a society in multicultural coexistence as a living witness of our history as a minority [in Japan] and contributing to reconciliation and peace," said Soo Nam Kim, general secretary of the Korean Young Men's Christian Association in Japan. [417 words, 06-0209]

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