Geneva (ENI). The head of Greece's Orthodox church has urged Christians of different denominations to step up cooperation to promote unity in the face of growing secularism in society. "It's an urgent task because we are living in an age where there is huge alienation with secularism, globalisation and the breakdown of moral values," Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens told a media conference in Geneva during a visit to the headquarters of the World Council of Churches. "If the Church does not speak of universal ethical values, who will?", said the archbishop, whose church was a founding member of the WCC in 1948 and accounts for about 98 per cent of Greece's 10.7 million people. [395 words, ENI-06-0444]

US Presbyterian group urges rethink on divestment policy

Jerusalem (ENI). A group of US Presbyterians has ended a five-day visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories by calling on the church to reverse a policy of divestment from companies seen as supporting Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories. "It is now time to put aside this one-sided, negative and counter-productive policy that threatens to cause great harm to both Israel and the Palestinians while creating unnecessary polarisation within our own denomination," said Pastor John H. Cushman, one of the visiting Presbyterians. Cushman is a member of the executive committee of the National Christian Leadership Conference for Israel, which says it acts as an advocate for Israel and is committed to its security and well-being, and which organised the trip. [349 words, ENI-06-0443]

German Lutherans say global assembly should boost Protestant links

Bielefeld, Germany (ENI). Lutheran leaders in Germany say they hope the global assembly of the Lutheran World Federation scheduled to meet in their country in 2010 will boost links with other Protestant denominations. The federation's German National Committee has proposed that governing bodies of other global church groupings should meet in parallel with the Lutheran assembly taking place in the southern city of Stuttgart. The Lutheran leaders said they hoped for "adequate space for a thematic dialogue with church families that stem from the [Protestant] Reformation". They referred specifically to the Anglican Communion, the World Methodist Council and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC). [365 words, ENI-06-0442]

Pope's Auschwitz speech hailed by Polish Jewish and Christian leaders

Warsaw (ENI). A Polish Jewish leader has praised the visit by Pope Benedict XVI to the former Nazi Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp complex, saying it had been an opportunity to say "important things which would be heard throughout the world". Krajewski was speaking as reactions continued to the Pope's speech at the 28 May ceremony in southern Poland, in which the pontiff said he had felt the need to visit the German-run death camp "as a son of the German people". The Pope's speech was also welcomed by Orthodox Archbishop Jeremiasz Anchimiuk, president of the Polish Ecumenical Council, which groups seven Polish minority denominations. [501 words, ENI-06-0441]

30 May 2006

Harare (ENI). A group of Zimbabwe church leaders who met President Robert Mugabe says the church has a key role in tackling the country's crisis, but some groups have accused the clerics of failing to take Mugabe to task for the predicament facing the southern African nation. The ZCC president, Peter Nemapare, was later quoted saying he was "thrilled" by the meeting. One of the things discussed had been how the church could help to get "this country out of this muck which we are in, which has been imposed on us by outside forces", he said. Still, Jonah Gokova of the Zimbabwe National Pastors' Conference said he wished to see a more forceful criticism of the policies of Mugabe's administration. [383 words, ENI-06-0439]

EU officials hold talks with religious leaders on promoting tolerance

Geneva (ENI). Christian, Jewish and Islamic representatives as well as Buddhist spiritual leader the Dalai Lama have held talks in Brussels with senior European Union officials on promoting mutual respect and tolerance. "Together we have to develop a vision of Europe which is not solely based on economic competitiveness, but a vision of human dignity, solidarity and justice not only for Europe, but for the whole world," said the Rev. Jean-Arnold de Clermont, president of the Conference of European Churches (CEC). The 30 May meeting was convened by European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso and Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel, whose country currently holds the presidency of the 25-nation EU. [366 words, ENI-06-0440]

Muslim and Christian groups denounce 'Da Vinci Code' movie

Blantyre/Nairobi (ENI). Muslims in Malawi have added their voices to calls by churches for the banning of "The Da Vinci Code" movie, saying that it is offensive to Jesus who is revered in Islam as a prophet of Allah. "The movie, in representing the view that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene, has insulted and blasphemed a belief by not only the Christian faith but also the Muslim community," said Imran Shareef, general secretary of the Muslim Association of Malawi. Meanwhile in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, the Kenya Church, a loose gathering of more than 40 Protestant and Pentecostal denominations, compared the makers of the film to Judas, the disciple who betrayed Jesus for 30 silver coins. [383 words, ENI-06-0438]

29 May 2006

Geneva (ENI). Aid agencies around the world have mobilised to rush assistance to Indonesia's island of Java where at least 4900 people are reported to have been killed and another 200 000 left homeless by a powerful earthquake near to the city of Yogyakarta. In Geneva, the global Action by Churches Together (ACT) International alliance announced the heads of the emergency units of its members in Indonesia had arrived in Yogyakarta following the 6.3-magnitude quake that struck on 27 May. "There was complete panic," said Volker Dally, a staff member of the German-headquartered United Evangelical Mission who had arrived in Yogyakarta a few days before the quake struck. [340 words, ENI-06-0435]

Polish nuns raise alarm about prostitution at soccer World Cup

Warsaw (ENI). Roman Catholic nuns in Poland are preparing anti-prostitution leaflets to be circulated during the soccer World Cup in Germany, after warnings that the month-long tournament could promote the trafficking of women to serve as prostitutes. "Over 800 000 people are sold into sex slavery each year," said Jolanta Olech, president of Poland's Conference of Female Superiors. "In beautiful, democratic Europe, which cries whenever a little dog gets hit, this scourge is being concealed by silence." The leaflets are to be circulated in Polish, Bulgarian, Romanian, Russian and other languages with telephone numbers for women seeking help during the World Cup, taking place in 12 German cities between 9 June and 9 July. [287 words, ENI-06-0437]

Irish Catholic priests apologise for celebrating Mass with Anglican

Dublin (ENI). Three Irish Roman Catholic priests have apologised for concelebrating Mass with an Anglican cleric to mark the 90th anniversary of Ireland's 1916 Easter Rising, when Irish nationalists proclaimed independence from Britain. The Mass took place at the Augustinian Priory in Drogheda in County Louth, north of Dublin. The leaders of the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches in Ireland rebuked the clerics for the concelebration, the rite by which several priests celebrate Mass together. Roman Catholic rules forbid such ceremonies with Protestant or Anglican clerics. [384 words, ENI-06-0436]

26 May 2006

Warsaw (ENI). Pope Benedict VXI has called on churches to build closer ties with one another through joint charitable initiatives, as well as by fostering inter-denominational marriages and families. Speaking at an inter-denominational prayer meeting at Warsaw's Lutheran Holy Trinity church, the Pope said: "In today's world, in which international and inter-cultural relations are multiplying, it happens increasingly often that young people from different traditions, religions or Christian denominations decide to start a family." [489 words, ENI-06-0431]

Bethlehem residents' group urges Christians to speak against sanctions

Jerusalem (ENI). More than 70 per cent of Palestinians residing in Bethlehem, the town of Jesus' birth, now live below the poverty line following cuts in international aid to the new Palestinian Authority, now led by the militant Islamist movement Hamas, says an advocacy group representing local residents. Open Bethlehem cites figures from Britains Christian Aid saying three out of four Palestinians will be living below the UN poverty line of an income of 1.1 British pounds (US$1.85) a day by 2008. It called on "church leaders, clergy, lay Christians and all who care about peace and justice to speak out against the EU [European Union] sanctions and support the people of Bethlehem at this critical time". [397 words, ENI-06-0432]

Zimbabwean Anglicans want help from the Archbishop of York

Canterbury, England (ENI). A group of Zimbabwean priests exiled in Britain have approached the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, to act as a mediator between warring factions of the Anglican church in Harare. Ten Anglican priests met in Chester earlier in May and after a day of prayer, they agreed that Britain's first black archbishop was the person to help solve a problem that severely disrupted normal church activity for the denomination in Harare. "We respect Archbishop John and I want to ask him to help solve a difficult problem - how to deal with Bishop Nolbert Kunonga who, since his ordination [as a bishop] in 2001, has terrorised Christians and who is turning his diocese into a religious branch of Mugabe's ruling party," the Rev. Paul Gwese told Ecumenical News International. [324 words, ENI-0434]

World Methodists to meet in Korea, seek to build bridge to North

Seoul (ENI). Ten thousand Methodists from around the world are to assemble in the South Korean capital Seoul in July for the 19th World Methodist Council (WMC) with the theme "Reconciling God in Christ", to pray for the peaceful resolution of global conflicts. The chairperson of the Korea Methodist Council, Shin Kyung-Ha said, "There will be more than 6000 foreign guests and it will be the biggest international event in 120 years of Korean church history." About 20 United Methodist Church (UMC) leaders from the United States are working to have a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jung-Il, prior to proceeding to Seoul. [329 words, ENI-06-0433]

24 May 2006

Tokyo (ENI). Suicide counselling in Japan, once mainly sought by young people, is at its highest rate says a Christian-run group running a telephone crisis line, which is helping a soaring numbers of adults. Counselling cases in Japan reached a record-high of 45 600 in 2005, says FIND (Federation of Inochi No Denwa), the crisis counselling service. And health experts say the number of suicides in 2005, when data is released, is expected to top 30 000 for the eighth straight year. [493 words, ENI-06-0428]

Polish Catholics demand pornography curbs for papal visit

Warsaw (ENI). Polish Roman Catholics have urged the closure of pornography shops and call-girl agencies in Warsaw as a mark of respect for Pope Benedict XVI, who is making his first visit to Poland. "We feel demoralised that there are so many sex-shops on the very city-centre street that bears our pope's name," Anna Borkowska, a leader of Poland's Light-Life Movement, told the Zycie Warszawy daily newspaper. "We are against this, and we want the city authorities to know that these shops are disturbing us. John Paul II always defended human dignity." [322 words, ENI-06-0427]

US clergy group opposes banning same-sex marriage in constitution

New York (ENI). A coalition of leaders from some Christian, Jewish and Sikh groups is opposing an amendment to the US constitution that is under consideration, prohibiting same-sex marriage. The Clergy for Fairness has launched an Internet petition campaign due to the "Federal Marriage Amendment" expected to come before the US Senate early in June. The proposed change has the support of a number of conservative Protestant, Roman Catholic and Jewish leaders. [343 words, ENI-06-0429]

Kenyans tell UK Anglican he is not welcome, due to his views on gays

Nairobi (ENI). The Anglican Church of Kenya has told visiting British Bishop of Chelmsford John Gladwin he is no longer welcome in the country after it discovered he has sympathetic views to homosexual and the East African. The Kenyan Anglicans said they would consider severing links with the bishop's diocese due to his view on gays and lesbians. [361 words, ENI-06-0430]

Russian Orthodox bishop urges his church not to pullout of WCC

Warsaw (ENI). The Russian Orthodox Church's representative to European institutions, Bishop Hilarion Alfeyev, has urged his church not to withdraw from the World Council of Churches as a condition for planned reunification with the US-based Russian Orthodox Church Abroad. "The problem of whether to stay a member of, or leave, the World Council of Churches should be resolved by discussion," said Hilarion. "However, I believe it should be solved in the context of a general strategy for inter-Christian cooperation." [465 words, ENI-06-0426]

23 May 2006

New Delhi (ENI). Christians in Nepal have joined in widespread rejoicing over the country's dramatic political developments that have marked the end of the monarchy in the Hindu kingdom and its transformation into a secular country. "The Christian community of Nepal welcomes all the decisions taken by the reinstated parliament including making the nation a secular country through a historical declaration of parliament," said the National Christian Council of Nepal in a statement. [370 words, ENI-06-0422]

Malawi Presbyterian synod proposes letting pastors carry arms

Blantyre, Malawi (ENI). Clerics have not been spared in Malawi's spiralling of armed robberies and the situation is so severe the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian says it will allow some clerics to own at least one firearm for personal protection. Central Malawi Nkhoma Synod's Church and Society Programme director, Allan Chiphiko, said: "There is nothing else we can do. This is just a matter of defence or self-protection. A pastor is also a person like anybody else, he feels pain." [368 words, ENI-06-0423]

Zambia church body steps up fight against discrimination of women

Lusaka (ENI). The Council of Churches in Zambia says it is campaigning to fight discrimination against women in the Church, but it has also censured President Levy Mwanawasa for making what it calls the "cosmetic appointment" of a female to please women in some opposition political parties. The council's coordinator for gender and child development, Suzanne Matale, told Ecumenical News International: "What we are now fighting for as a council is to see that women are ordained to high positions of leadership in churches. The time has come to eliminate rampant discrimination against women in the Church in Zambia." [358 words, ENI-06-0424]

Conference of European Churches to meet in Northern Ireland city

Geneva (ENI). The Central Committee of the Conference of European Churches is holding its yearly meeting, starting on 25 May, in Northern Ireland's second largest city of Londonderry. The city, known officially as Londonderry, is called Derry by its 77 per cent Roman Catholic majority. It will be the first meeting of CEC's main governing body since its new general secretary, Archdeacon Colin Williams, took up his position on 1 December 2005. [323 words, ENI-06-0425]

22 May 2006

Harare (ENI). Hundreds of Christians have held a procession in Zimbabwe's second largest city of Bulawayo in defiance of authorities to mark the anniversary of a government crackdown on people living in makeshift housing which left at least 700 000 homeless last year. "The march went on as planned and despite the earlier ban by the police," Useni Sibanda, spokesperson of the Zimbabwe Christian Alliance told Ecumenical News International. "At least 600 people participated undeterred by the heavy police presence." [400 words, ENI-06-0419]

World church body urges Israelis and Palestinians not to waste time

Jerusalem (ENI). The World Council of Churches executive committee has urged Israelis and Palestinians not to waste any more time and take substantial steps towards ending their conflict and making peace. "Peace must come soon or it may not come to either people for a long time," the World Council of Churches said in a statement. It urged the international community not to isolate the Palestinian government, which is now dominated by the militant Islamist movement Hamas. [275 words, ENI-06-0418]

Bulgaria could be 'model for Europe' says Vatican envoy

Sofia (ENI). Cardinal Angelo Sodano, secretary of state of the Holy See, has said that the Bulgarian capital of Sofia is turning into a little Jerusalem with Christian, Muslim and Jewish places of worship in close proximity. Sodano, who acts as the Vatican's foreign minister, visited Sofia to preside at the consecration of the country's biggest Roman Catholic cathedral, St Joseph's. [372 words, ENI-06-0420]

Lisbon journalist clinches 2nd Templeton prize for religion writing

Geneva (ENI). António Marujo, religion writer with Público, a daily newspaper published in Lisbon, has been named as the winner of the 2005 John Templeton award for the "European Religion Writer of the Year", the second time he has won it. The announcement of the award, valued at 5000 Swiss Francs (US$4145), was made in Geneva, by the Conference of European Churches. It administers the prize on behalf of the US-based "John Templeton Foundation" which seeks to link the secular and religious worlds. [429 words, ENI-06-0421]

Bedouin tent in London's financial centre catches eye, draws all faiths

London (ENI). A pitched Bedouin-style tent on a site where a bomb once devastated a church, forms a striking counterpoint to the steel and glass towers of the London's financial district which overlook it. Made from goat hair, the 12-side tent stands in the garden of St Ethelburga's Church which was destroyed by a bomb planted in the area by the Irish Republican Army in 1993. The 800- year-old church named after a seventh century abbess was reconstructed and opened as a centre for peace and reconciliation in 2002. Adjacent to it, the Saudi Arabian-built tent, now promotes interfaith dialogue. [400 words, ENI-06-0417]

19 May 2006

Geneva (ENI). The executive of the World Council of Churches says the new UN Human Rights Council needs to avoid "policies and practices of double standards, en-bloc voting and politicisation of the human rights agenda ... so prevalent" in the body that preceded it. The executive committee of the WCC, the main management body of the world's largest grouping of churches, said in a statement during a meeting near Geneva that the now defunct UN Commission on Human Rights had "virtually paralysed" the human right's agenda of the world body before its "ignominious end". [410 words, ENI-06-0412]

Manila bans Da Vinci Code, but in adjacent cities, theatres packed

Manila (ENI). The Manila city council has banned public showings of the Da Vinci Code movie but theatre-goers have been streaming to neighbouring cities, in other parts of Metro Manila, since the film was first screened on 18 May. The movie "is undoubtedly offensive and contrary to established religious beliefs, which cannot take precedence over the right of the persons involved in the film to freedom of expression", the Manila city council said in a resolution, which took effect on 19 May. [428 words, ENI-06-0416]

Christian protests result in 'A' rating for Da Vinci Code in India

New Delhi (ENI). Vociferous Christian protests against the Da Vinci Code movie have resulted in India's federal Censor Board prescribing an "adults only" certificate and for showings to carry a disclaimer it as "a work of fiction". "We are happy that our demands have been enforced exactly as we recommended," Roman Catholic Bishop Anil Couto, auxiliary bishop of Delhi archdiocese, told Ecumenical News International. [434 words, ENI-06-0414]

Russian émigré church to reunite with Moscow Patriarchate

New York (ENI). Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia have voted to reunify with the Moscow Patriarchate enabling a rapprochement for the first time since the time of the Russian Revolution in 1917. The vote by the 12 bishops of the New York-based denomination followed a recommendation made by the church's All-Diaspora Council last week to reunite with the church. [307 words, ENI-06-0415]

Palestinian priest to receive US Episcopal Church peace prize

Jerusalem (ENI). A Palestinian Anglican priest, who has drawn criticism from Jewish and pro-Israeli Christian groups, has won a prestigious peace prize awarded by the Episcopal Church in the United States. "Canon Naim Ateek's voice is heard around the world as a strong voice of faith and peace. His message of non-violence states, 'As a Christian, I know that the way of Christ is the way of non-violence and, therefore, I condemn all forms of violence and terrorism whether coming from the government (of Israel) or from militant (Palestinian) groups," the Episcopal Peace Fellowship declared in its citation. Ateek will receive the prize at the US church's annual convention in Colombus, Ohio, being held from 12-21 June. [295 words, ENI-06-0413]

18 May 2006

Geneva (ENI). The executive committee of the World Council of Churches has called on Iran to implement a moratorium on its uranium enrichment programme, to recognise the state of Israel, and to support international efforts to end terrorism. Other countries should also contribute to global security, urged the executive of the world's largest grouping of denominations comprising 342 mainly Anglican, Orthodox and Protestant churches from more than 120 countries. It is meeting near Geneva. [443 words, ENI-06-0409]

Irish bishops urge Afghans to end hunger strike at Dublin cathedral

Dublin (ENI). Senior (Anglican) Church of Ireland clerics have appealed to 41 Afghans to end a hunger strike at Dublin's Saint Patrick's Cathedral in a protest against deportation orders issued by the Irish government, which has rejected refugee status for them. The protesting group is all male. They are aged between 16 and 45 and most have lived in Ireland for some years. They sought refuge on 14 May in Saint Patrick's, one of Dublin's two Anglican cathedrals. [332 words, ENI-06-0411]

Religious leaders praise late Malawi dictator at rehabilitation event

Blantyre, Malawi (ENI). Religious leaders have joined politicians in praising Malawi's first president Hasting Kamuzu Banda, who ruled for 30 years with an iron fist until he was ousted from power through the ballot box in 1994. Thousands of people thronged Heroes Park in the capital Lilongwe where Malawi's leader Bingu wa Mutharika officially opened a mausoleum the government built for the man, who 10 years ago, was reviled for sending thousands of people into exile and many to the gallows. [362 words, ENI-06-410]

17 May 2006

Tokyo (ENI). Japanese Christians and civil rights groups say the passing of a law requiring foreigners arriving in Japan to be photographed and fingerprinted as part of the fight against terrorism invades individual privacy and violates human rights. Japan's upper chamber of parliament passed an amendment to existing laws that will require all foreign visitors aged 16 and older to be fingerprinted and photographed in a bid to "crack down on terrorism". "The amendment to the law fans racism, racial discrimination, and xenophobia that make foreigners 'terrorists' and 'criminals'," said the Rev. Hidefumi Kitani, a United Church of Christ in Japan pastor. [425 words, ENI-06-0405]

Indian Christian protests force stay on release of Da Vinci Code

New Delhi (ENI). Mounting protests demanding the banning of showing of the "Da Vinci Code" as blasphemous have pressured the Indian government into putting on hold the release of the movie until Christian leaders have reviewed it and given their approval. "If anything in the film affects their [Christian] sensibilities, we will not allow the movie to be screened," Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi, India 's federal information and broadcasting minister told journalists. [374 words, ENI-06-0408]

World churches affirm freedom of religion, but warn on converting

Geneva (ENI). A joint effort by the Vatican and the World Council of Churches (WCC) to seek a common code for religious conversions has begun by affirming the freedom of religion as a "non-negotiable" human right while stressing that the "obsession of converting others" needs to be cured. "Freedom of religion is a fundamental, inviolable and non-negotiable right of every human being in every country in the world," states the report of the 12-16 May meeting in Velletri, near Rome, that launched the cooperative study. [409 words, ENI-06-0407]

Buffalo meat now kosher for religious Jews, says Israel's chief rabbi

Jerusalem (ENI). Religious Jews may now eat water buffalo without fear of violating Judaism's strict dietary laws after Israel's chief rabbi ruled the animal's flesh to be kosher, opening the way for it to be sold at butcher shops across Israel. Rabbi Shlomo Amar, the chief rabbi for Sephardi Jews who originate from Spain and the Middle East, spent two years consulting with veterinarians, historians and inspecting buffalo skeletons before ruling that animal to be kosher. Under Jewish dietary laws, based on the Bible's Book of Leviticus, only animals that have cloven hooves and eat their cud are kosher and can be eaten by observant Jews if slaughtered according to Jewish law. [347 words, ENI-06-0406]

16 May 2006

New Delhi (ENI). An India cardinal has issued a pastoral letter declaring that drunken driving is a sin and that those who commit it should confess. In a letter read in parishes under his archdiocese in the southern state of Kerala, Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil lamented that more than 3000 people were killed in road accidents out of the 33 million people living in the state during 2005. "The number of accidents is going up daily and people are literally getting murdered on the roads," said Cardinal Vithayathil, who is head of the 3.5 million autonomous Kerala-based Syro Malabar church, which falls under the Vatican. [382 words, ENI-06-0401]

Anti-graft Nigerian priest escapes after car sprayed with bullets

Enugu, Nigeria (ENI). The perils of being a firebrand preacher who speaks out against corrupt officials has come again as a reminder to the Rev. Ejike Mbaka who has escaped a second attempt on his life after gunmen last week sprayed his car with bullets. The 40-year-old Roman Catholic priest was driving to his church after a meeting with his Bishop Anthony Gbuji of the Catholic Diocese of Enugu in southeastern Nigeria when gunmen launched an attack on him and raked his car with gunfire. His followers say it was an assassination attempt. [324 words, ENI-06-0403]

Churches in Africa's Great Lakes Region launch peace forum

Nairobi (ENI). The Great Lakes Region Ecumenical Forum, an advocacy group of churches which aims to speak out strongly to end and prevent conflicts in a troubled region of Africa was launched in the Kenyan capital on 16 May. "It will help the ecumenical family address peace issues and conflict transformation in the region and beyond," the Rev. Fred Nyabera, the Fellowship of Councils and Churches in the Great Lakes Region and the Horn of Africa executive director told Ecumenical News International. [231 words, ENI-06-0404]

Church loan scheme 'lifts' Filipino entrepreneurs' lives and faith

La Trinidad, Philippines (ENI). Entrepreneurs with small enterprises in the northern Philippines say a church-backed financing programme has helped improve the overall quality of their lives and also helped to strengthen their Christian faith. "I thank the Lord Jesus Christ for giving us Eclof (Ecumenical Church Loan Fund) because without it, my family would not be where we are now," said Estrella Baliang, who buys and sells socks, jackets and other clothes. Eclof clients interviewed by Ecumenical News International said their loans, at 2.5 per cent interest plus rebates, are more affordable and accessible than commercial bank lending and loans from private moneylenders. [647 words, ENI-06-0402]

15 May 2006

London (ENI). The Russian Orthodox Church head in Britain, Archbishop Basil of Sergievo, has been told by the man replacing him that he has been sacked from his post after the London cleric sought to go under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarch in Istanbul. A decree was read to the congregation at the conclusion of a three-hour service at the Cathedral of the Dormition and All Saints in London on 14 May. Born in Alexandria, Egypt in 1938, Bishop Basil was raised and educated in the United States, before going to Britain in 1966. [448 words, ENI-06-0399]

Serbian Patriarch appeals against break-up with Montenegro

Sofia (ENI). Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch Pavle has written to the president of Serbia-Montenegro, Svetozar Marovic, saying that breaking up the union between Serbia and Montenegro "cannot bring anything good". The letter was posted on the Serbian Orthodox Church Web site ahead of a 21 May referendum in Montenegro on whether to stay part of the "state union" created after the break-up of Yugoslavia. For separation to take place, at least 55 per cent of voters must vote in favour. The country is deeply divided between the pro-separation Montenegrin government and the pro-Serbian opposition. [382 words, ENI-06-0397]

Kenyan religious leaders condemn attack on church radio station

Nairobi (ENI). Kenyan Church leaders have reacted angrily to an attack on Christian radio station, Hope FM by hooded gunmen, terming it as an affront to religious and press freedom. "We are seeing yet another attack on the media," said Anglican Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi after the night attack carried out on 12 May. "We are very disappointed by what is happening." The masked gunmen stormed the station at about 10 p.m., shot dead a watchman, and wounded two people, before turning the station off air by set fire to the broadcasting studio. Shortly before the attack, presenters of a live discussion had received threatening calls. [365 words, ENI-06-0400]

Expel Christian Zionists says Palestinian inter-religious liaison cleric

Jerusalem (ENI). A senior Palestinian Muslim cleric has lambasted pro-Israeli Christian organizations as being in the hands of Satan and called for them to be expelled from churches around the world. Hamed Al-Tamimi, a senior cleric in the Palestinian Authority's Islamic Council and the director of its inter-religious dialogue committee, made the call in an article published in Arabic on the official Palestinian Authority Web site earlier in May. [377 words, ENI-06-396]

Indian churches hail defeat of party that passed anti-conversion law

New Delhi (ENI). Churches in India's southern Tamil Nadu state have hailed the drubbing in regional elections received by the ruling party which had backed an anti-conversion law seen as harmful to Christians. "Definitely, Christians have reasons to rejoice," Esther Kathiroli, secretary of Tamil Nadu Council of Churches, told Ecumenical News International from the state capital of Chennai. "Christians were let down by the [outgoing] government and our people seem to have given a clear verdict." [295 words, ENI-06-0398]

12 May 2006

Toledo, Ohio (ENI). A 68-year-old Roman Catholic priest, the Rev. Gerald Robinson, has been found guilty of murder 26 years after he killed an elderly nun in what prosecutors said looked like a ritualistic killing, and he was sentenced to 15 years in prison. The crime occurred in Mercy Hospital, inside the sacristy adjoining the hospital chapel in downtown Toledo on the day before Easter in 1980. Investigators said the nun, Margaret Ann Pahl, 71, was strangled and then stabbed repeatedly. [318 words, ENI-06-0394]

Kenyan church leaders criticise army disarming operation

Nairobi (ENI). Some church leaders in Kenya have spoken out against a massive disarming operation led by the army in six northern Rift Valley districts, as thousands of nomadic pastoralists believed to be heavily armed have fled to neighbouring Uganda. "Asking them to surrender their guns leaves them without protection," the Rev. Jephthah Gathaka, executive director of the Ecumenical Centre for Justice told Ecumenical News International in Nairobi. The communities said the weapons are needed to protect them against raiders from neighbouring countries, he asserted. [325 words, ENI-06-0395]

11 May 2006

London (ENI). The head of the Russian Orthodox Church in Britain has been accused by Patriarch Alexei II of trying to divide the church by seeking to break with the Moscow Patriarch and to join the Ecumenical Patriarch based in Istanbul. Bishop Basil of Sergievo, had asked Alexei to allow Russian Orthodox clergy and adherents in Britain to move under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, seen by some as the most senior Christian Orthodox leader in the world. His proposal would place English-speaking Orthodox under the wing of Istanbul-based Patriarch Bartholomeos I. New arrivals in Britain from Russia would be under the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate. [486 words, ENI 06-0392]

Solzhenitsyn backs Orthodox call that disputes Western 'freedom'

Warsaw (ENI). Russian writer Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, for many years a dissident against Soviet communism, has defended an Orthodox church-sponsored document calling for a new concept of human rights to counter Western notions of freedom said to lack "moral norms". "Limitless human rights are what our cave-dwelling ancestor already had - nothing prevented him from depriving his neighbour of prey or finishing him off with a cudgel," Solzhenitsyn told the Moskovskiye Novosti weekly newspaper. "Even to call for self-restraint is considered ridiculous and funny. However, it is only self-restraint that offers a moral and reliable way out of any conflict." [363 words, ENI-06-0392]

Some Indians want 'Da Vinci' banned, one offers bounty for author

New Delhi (ENI). Some Indian Christians are so incensed with the fictional blockbuster "The Da Vinci Code" they want the government to ban it and one Roman Catholic has offered a bounty of US$25 000 on the head of author Dan Brown, leaving other members of the faithful embarrassed by the reaction. The Mumbai Catholic Council has threatened to stop the screening of the movie if the government fails to ban the recently released movie of the book. Another group called the Catholic Social Forum has said if the shows go ahead it will launch a death fast from 12 May. [394 words, ENI-06-0391]

10 May 2006

Nairobi (ENI). Stephen Lewis, UN special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, says churches are becoming increasingly crucial in the war against the pandemic and he has suggested church and political leaders testing together for HIV could set a stellar example. "The role of the religious leaders is increasingly crucial," Lewis told journalists in Nairobi, where he is attending a session of the Inter-Parliamentary Union. "It started very slowly. But in the last three or four years religious leadership has moved a long way." [382 words, ENI-06-0388]

Ailing Zambian president offers olive branch to Catholics

Lusaka (ENI). Zambia's ailing President Levy Mwanawasa, often at loggerheads with the Roman Catholic Church over social justice issues, has offered an olive branch that has been welcomed in some quarters of the southern African nation. Mwanawasa pleaded for an end to lingering differences between the Church and the government about the country's constitution-making process, in a speech read for him by Vice-President Lupando Mwape, during the opening of the new Catholic Cathedral of the Child Jesus at Pope Square in Lusaka. [456 words, ENI-06-0389]

Vatican and WCC pursue common code on religious conversion

Geneva (ENI). The World Council of Churches (WCC) says it is launching with the Vatican a three-year joint study project aimed at developing a shared code of conduct on religious conversion where charges of proselytising can trigger tensions in some societies. "The issue of religious conversion remains a controversial dimension in many interconfessional and interreligious relations", said the Rev. Hans Ucko, head of the WCC's interreligious relations office. "We hope that at the end of this study project, we will be able to propose a code of conduct that will affirm that commitment to our faith never translates into denigration of the other." [311 words, ENI-06-0390]

Faith more precious than royal council, says Nepal convert

Katmandu (ENI). Uttam Kumar Pariyar stunned the other members of the Hindu dominated privy council of the King of Nepal when he made public in 1999 his conversion to Christianity. "They started looking at me like an outcast," recalls Pariyar who was nominated by the late King Birendra to his 160-member Raj Parishad (royal or privy council) in 1992. The orthodox members of the council launched a petition to the king demanding Pariyar's dismissal from the council for "insulting and betraying" Hinduism, the official religion of the Himalayan kingdom. "I was determined not to give up my faith in the Lord," 64-year-old Pariyar told Ecumenical News International in Katmandu. [495 words, ENI-06-0387]

9 May 2006

Jerusalem (ENI). The situation has deteriorated for minority Christians living in the Palestinian territories since the Islamist organization Hamas took control of the Palestinian legislature, according to a Roman Catholic charity report. "Life has turned 'from bad to worse' since a Palestinian election in January which Hamas won," the Aid to the Church in Need charity published in a report based on accounts from Palestinians living in Bethlehem, the city in which Jesus was born in the area on the West Bank (of the River Jordan). [359 words, ENI-06-0384]

German Muslims and Jews slam 'Christian' children's initiative

Bielefeld, Germany (ENI). Muslim and Jewish groups in Germany have both rapped the government minister for the family, saying they were left out of a "Coalition for Education" initiative she launched with Christian leaders. "In principle the Coalition has the right idea, but not when its sole focus is on Christian values," the secretary-general of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Stephan Kramer, said after the launch of the programme by family minister Ursula von der Leyen. Separately, the Deutsche Welle radio station quoted Ayyub Axel Köhler, chairperson of the Central Council of Muslims, saying: "In the interest of the neutrality of the state, it is absolutely imperative that other religions are invited." [338 words, ENI-06-0386]

Threat or opportunity? Catholics debate Da Vinci movie

Rome (ENI). Ron Howard's film of Dan Brown's blockbuster novel "The Da Vinci Code" opens on 19 May, but while some senior Vatican officials have called on the faithful to boycott the movie, other Roman Catholics say it offers a chance to explain their beliefs. "It's right to boycott the film," Cardinal Luigi Poggi, Librarian emeritus of the Holy Roman Church, was quoted as saying. "But it is Catholics that have to organize. The Church as such should not intervene. That would be giving too much importance to the film." In England, however, a group of Catholics are opposing the calls to boycott the movie, saying the film offers an opportunity to explain the faith. [465 words, ENI-06-0385]

8 May 2006

Nairobi (ENI). Africa's largest grouping of churches has urged that UN peacekeepers step in for duties carried out by African Union troops following the signing in Nigeria of a peace agreement between Sudan's government and Darfur's biggest rebel group. "It is our fervent prayer that efforts will continue to get the remaining rebel groups on board with the peace plans to ensure a lasting peace to the three-year conflict," the All Africa Conference of Churches said after the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army and the government signed the agreement. [458 words, ENI-06-0380]

Heterosexual tops polls for California Episcopal bishop

New York (ENI). Episcopalians in California have elected Mark Andrus from the diocese of Alabama, a heterosexual male, as their next diocesan bishop, from a field of seven candidates for the position that included two openly gay men and a lesbian. There had been concern the selection of one of the homosexual candidates could have deepened a rift both within the Episcopal Church in the United States and with other members of the worldwide Anglican Communion. [278 words, ENI-06-0380]

Christianity grows rapidly in Nepal, despite ban on conversions

Katmandu (ENI). When Chuda Bastakoti became a Christian 12 years ago, the people in his remote village used to taunt him, shouting "Christian" as an insult. "But that has changed now. People do not look at me any longer with disdain when I go home," said Bastakoti from the Gorkha district of south-western Nepal, who works as a high school teacher in Katmandu. The 32-year-old teacher spoke to Ecumenical News International after a church service at a flat in Katmandu. [410 words, ENI-06-0382]

Union of French churches seeks to overcome fragmented societies

Geneva (ENI). The decision by the two biggest Protestant denominations in France's eastern Alsace-Lorraine region to form a union of churches will strengthen Christian witness, says a World Alliance of Reformed Churches top official. "In the face of gross injustices in the world, the need for people to hear the gospel clearly, and the calling on the church to mediate fullness of life, churches have a responsibility to rise above divisions and give a clear witness," WARC general secretary, the Rev Setri Nyomi, said at a service in Strasbourg to celebrate the union of Lutheran and Reformed churches. [345 words, ENI-06-0381]

5 May 2006

Katmandu (ENI). Churches in Nepal have welcomed a truce and offer of dialogue the government has announced to resolve the Maoist insurgency which has kept the poor Himalayan kingdom in a state of siege for years. "This is a very significant development and the people of Nepal are hoping that the decade- long conflict will now be resolved," the National Christian Council of Nepal said. [320 words, ENI-06-0379]

Afghanistan's religious freedom situation noted by US watchdog

New York (ENI). Afghanistan has been singled out as a country requiring close monitoring of religious freedom violations, by an independently-run watchdog appointed by the US government. In its annual report issued, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom said religious freedom in Afghanistan has become "increasingly problematic" over the past year. It cited flaws in the constitution put into place after Afghanistan's period of Taliban rule which had imposed a very strict brand of Islamic law often criticised as being particularly discriminatory against women. [396 words, ENI-06-0377]

Romanian church tries to halt Bucharest architectural 'mutilation'

Warsaw (ENI). Roman Catholics in Romania have condemned the building of a massive office block next-door to their Bucharest cathedral, warning it will "mutilate" the capital's architectural style. "The present-day city fathers are trying to continue the work of dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, whose well-known 'systematisation' plan led to the building of Bucharest's monstrous House of the People," Catholics have said in a petition to Romania's president and government and to the European Commission. [358 words, ENI-06-0378]

German Jewish leader Paul Spiegel praised as bridge-builder

Bielefeld, Germany (ENI). Paul Spiegel, the president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, has been praised for his work in building trust between religions and for his fight against anti-Semitism and racism, following his death after a long illness. "Paul Spiegel was an important partner in our dialogue in our joint commitment to work for a liberal society in which we assume responsibility for our freedom," said Germany's top Protestant bishop, Wolfgang Huber. Spiegel died in Dusseldorf on 30 April at the age of 68 and was buried on 4 May at a ceremony attended by his family and friends. German President Horst Koehler called Spiegel a "great German patriot" whose voice would be missed. [356 words, ENI-06-0376]

4 May 2006

Rome (ENI). The Vatican has condemned the consecration of two bishops by China's state-approved Catholic church as "a grave violation of religious liberty" and said the action would create new obstacles to improving relations with Beijing. "It is a grave wound to the unity of the Church," Vatican spokesperson Joaquin Navarro-Valls said in a statement. It noted that those involved in a consecration without papal approval face automatic excommunication from the church. [445 words, ENI-06-0373]

Hong Kong cardinal urges Vatican to freeze talks with China

Hong Kong (ENI). Hong Kong's Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun has suggested the Vatican should freeze talks with China after its state-backed Catholic church ordained bishops without papal approval, testing ties between Rome and Beijing. The government-recognised church in China consecrated Catholic priest Joseph Liu Xinhong on 3 May as the bishop of Wuhu in Auhui province, in central China, three days after Joseph Ma Yinglin was ordained as the bishop of Kunming, capital of China's southwest Yunnan province. In both cases, the bishops were episcopally ordained, or consecrated, without papal approval, something the Vatican has insisted upon. [290 words, ENI-06-0374]

Plight of certain Christians in Eritrea triggers special day of prayer

Canterbury, England (ENI). Christians in London have been asked to attend a Day of Prayer for Eritrea on 20 May following reports that more than 1700 Christians in that Horn of Africa country are being held in prisons without trial. Christian Solidarity Worldwide's principal human rights advocate Khataza Gonolwe told Ecumenical News International: "President Isaias Afewerki is a quasi-Marxist who is persecuting innocent Christians. People are fleeing Eritrea. Some are here in London sleeping under bridges, too nervous to return home." [367 words, ENI-06-0375]

3 May 2006

Nairobi (ENI). Ethiopian journalists forced into exile in neighbouring countries are crying out for global help, saying a state crackdown in their country has made it impossible for the independent press to report anything, including religious issues. "We have been robbed of our right as free journalists," Wondwosen Teklu, an Ethiopian journalist exiled in Kenya told a media conference in Nairobi at a gathering for World Press Freedom Day. Paris-based Reporters Without Borders said in an annual report released for World Press Freedom Day that, "The biggest prisons on the planet didn't change much: China, Cuba, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iran and Burma." [385 words, ENI-06-0372]

Church attendance highest in southern, US survey reports

New York (ENI). Someone living in the southern United States is more likely to attend religious services regularly than a resident of New England or the West, according to a new survey. The national survey and analysis by the Gallup Poll also indicates that nearly a third - 31 per cent - of those surveyed said they attend religious services once a week, while another 11 per cent said they attend "almost" every week. The survey of more than 68 000 respondents over the last two years confirms the US South's place as the centre of the US "Bible Belt". [250 words, ENI-06-0371]

2 May 2006

Geneva (ENI). Pope Benedict XVI and Nigerian Anglican Archbishop Peter Akinola have made Time magazine's list of this year's 100 most influential people. The two Christian leaders are among US President George Bush, Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk, Chinese environmentalist Ma Jun, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Microsoft's founder Bill Gates and his wife Melinda. They are named in the category "Leaders & Revolutionaries". Time describes them as "dictators, democrats, holy men (and a TV host) - these are the people with the clout and power to change our world". [474 words, ENI-06-0369]

US Presbyterian church announces major staff cuts

New York (ENI). The Presbyterian Church (USA) has cut more than 100 positions in what the denomination is calling the most radical restructuring of the church in more than a decade. Seventy-five, or more than 10 per cent of staff positions at the denomination's national headquarters in Louisville, are being eliminated, as are 55 overseas mission jobs. The cuts, mandated by the denomination's General Assembly Council, are partly because local congregations and regional bodies, are opting to spend more funds on local rather than national denominational programmes, the denomination said. [214 words, ENI-06-0370]

Tributes flow for Reformed leader William P. Thompson

Geneva (ENI). William P. Thompson, a US church leader and layperson instrumental in bringing the world's Congregationalists and Presbyterians together in the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, and its first president, has died, aged 87. "Bill Thompson can be associated with fostering Christian unity, especially within the global Reformed family," the Geneva-based alliance's general secretary, the Rev. Setri Nyomi, said in a tribute. [370 words, ENI-06-0368]

1 May 2006

Washington DC (ENI). Thousands of Americans - many officially affiliated with religious groups - rallied in three major US cities and demanded a tougher international response to stop violence in Darfur, the war-torn region in the western part of Sudan. In a demonstration of the strong religious-based concern in the United States about the Darfur crisis, representatives of Muslim, Roman Catholic, Jewish, Protestant and evangelical groups attended and addressed demonstrators at the largest event on 30 April, in Washington DC. [325 words, ENI-06-0365]

Christians say they want restoration of full religious freedom in Nepal

Katmandu (ENI). Christians in Nepal have held a thanksgiving service in Katmandu following the restoration of democracy to the Himalayan kingdom, but have said they want the introduction of full religious freedom. "We have to thank God for these political changes," Pastor Philip Gajmer, coordinator of the Valley Christian Council, told Ecumenical News International. But he added, "we cannot just rejoice and relax. We need to pray and work for full religious freedom." [313 words, ENI-06-0366]

'Da Vinci Code' filming fee funds rebuttal at Winchester Cathedral

London (ENI). Proceeds from a reported 20 000 British pounds (US$36 640) paid by the Sony Corporation for permitting scenes from the "Da Vinci Code" to be filmed within Winchester Cathedral in southern England last October, have funded an exhibition which responds critically to Dan Brown's ecclesiastical fictional thriller. "Cracking the Code", which visitors can see as part of the standard 4 pound admission fee to the cathedral, opened on 24 April and will run until 21 July with a programme of lectures expounding points of the Christian faith and pointing to mistakes in the book which has sold 40 million copies worldwide. [353 words, ENI-06-0367]

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