Oxford (ENI). The US National Council of Churches has praised a Supreme Court ruling preventing the administration of President George W. Bush from using military tribunals to prosecute prisoners in the US detention centre at Guantanamo Bay. "This ruling vindicates those who've been arguing the constitutional right to due process and insist that due process under the law must apply to all people," Tony Kireopoulos, NCC associate general secretary for international affairs and peace told Ecumenical News International. [339 words, ENI-06-0521]

World must act to stop Holy Land cycle of violence, says WCC head

Geneva (ENI). The international community needs "to take bold and novel actions to uphold international law and break the vicious cycle of violence" in the escalating Israeli-Palestinian conflict, says World Council of Churches general secretary, the Rev. Samuel Kobia. "The unwarranted upsurge in violence if allowed to continue will only add to the untold sufferings of the Palestine people, the primary victims of this ongoing conflict," said Kobia in a letter sent to representatives of the group known as the Quartet, consisting of the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia. [335 words, ENI-06-0523]

Catholic-backed peace forum urges return to Sri Lanka cease-fire

Colombo (ENI). A peace forum organized in Colombo by the Roman Catholic humanitarian agency Caritas Internationalis has urged the Sri Lankan government and Tamil rebels to reaffirm their commitment to a fragile cease-fire agreement. "We affirm our firm belief that the grievances can be addressed in a negotiated settlement which supports the rights of all Sri Lankans," said the concluding statement from the forum held in the Sri Lankan capital. [354 words, ENI-06-0522]

Hit by costs, Asia church grouping shifts from Hong Kong to Thailand

Hong Kong (ENI). In a week that Hong Kong was found to be the fourth most expensive place in the world by an international company that assesses world cities, the Christian Conference of Asia, which groups churches in the region, is closing its offices there and moving to Thailand's second city of Chiang Mai. "Frankly speaking, financial consideration is one of the main reasons for the relocation," the Christian conference's general secretary, Prawate Khid-arn, told Ecumenical News International. "Living expenses are increasing every year in Hong Kong. We need to utilise the financial resources of the CCA responsibly." [442 words, ENI-06-0524]

29 June 2006

Geneva (ENI). The general secretary of the World Council of Churches, the Rev. Samuel Kobia, has urged World Trade Organization head, Pascal Lamy, to do all he can to achieve global commerce that promotes sustainable communities and economic justice. "The World Council of Churches wants a new trade deal that helps to eradicate poverty. This kind of deal is not on offer," Kobia told Lamy when the WTO director-general arrived at the WCC headquarters in Geneva. [489 words, ENI-06-0520]

South African Council of Churches shocked at latest killing of police

Johannesburg (ENI). The South African Council of Churches has urged churches, civil society and the police to rally together to fight crime after the slaying of four police officers in Johannesburg which has shocked their country. The four police officers were gunned down in an ambush by robbers when they raided a Johannesburg house to try to arrest a gang which had earlier in the day robbed a supermarket. Eight robbers were also killed in the shootout and eleven more were arrested. [352 words, ENI-06-0519]

Bishop warns Ivory Coast conflict may spill over into Liberia

Kigali (ENI). Liberian Lutheran Bishop Sumoward Harris, whose church suffered heavy loses in a 14-year civil war, has warned that a conflict in neighbouring Ivory Coast could spill over into his country, jeopardising a fragile regional peace there. "I know from my country it is not a simple thing to disarm rebels," Harris told Ecumenical News International during a recent interfaith peace gathering in Kigali. "It will take a long time to do that." [344 words, ENI-06-0518]

Catholic church rejects ordination of Swiss woman theologian

Geneva/Warsaw (ENI). The secretary-general of Switzerland's Roman Catholic Bishops' Conference has said a Swiss lay Catholic woman "left the church" by taking part in a ceremony in which she was declared to be a priest. "If she has been a Catholic before, she knows absolutely clearly the discipline of the church - and that, for the moment, it isn't possible to be ordained as a woman," the Rev. Agnell Rickenmann told Ecumenical News International in an interview. [345 words, ENI-06-0517]

28 June 2006

London (ENI). Opponents of the consecration of an openly gay bishop in the US Episcopal (Anglican) Church have welcomed a proposal by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, that could see some churches excluded from decision making in the worldwide Anglican Communion. "For the first time, the Archbishop himself is acknowledging that some parts of the communion will not be able to continue in full membership if they insist on maintaining teaching and action outside of the received faith and order," said Pittsburgh Bishop Robert Duncan, moderator of the Anglican Communion Network, a group that says the US denomination has abandoned Biblical teaching. [515 words, ENI-06-0515]

US Presbyterians support medicinal use of marijuana

Oxford, Ohio (ENI). The Presbyterian Church (USA) has become the seventh major religious organization in the United States to support the use of medical marijuana, an issue expected to come before the US House of Representatives during the week. "Medical marijuana is an issue of mercy," said the Rev. Lynn Bledsoe, a Presbyterian minister from Alabama who works as a hospice chaplain, in a statement issued by the Interfaith Drug Policy Initiative, a group seeking to promote "less coercive" alternatives to the war on drugs. [379 words, ENI-06-0514]

US evangelist hold prayer vigil at Sharon's Israel hospital

Jerusalem (ENI). An Evangelical Christian radio host from South Carolina in the United States has held a prayer vigil outside the room where Israel's former prime minister Ariel Sharon is hospitalised after he suffered a crippling stroke that left him in a coma. Earl Cox, host of FrontPage Jerusalem radio service, held the eight-hour prayer vigil last week at the Tel Hashomer Hospital facility near Tel Aviv. The former prime minister, one of the last remaining leaders from Israel's founding generation, suffered a massive stroke in January that ended his political career. [327 words, ENI-06-0513]

Church groups say European rules on refugees put lives at risk

Geneva (ENI). The European Union's system for dealing with asylum is putting lives at risk and causing suffering to refugee families who have fled persecution in their homelands, a coalition of 73 refugee support agencies including church groups has warned. "Our concerns for asylum seekers including children, families, and other vulnerable affected groups cannot wait," the 73 agencies say in a letter to Franco Frattini, vice president of the European Commission, the executive arm of the 25-nation EU. [358 words, ENI-06-0516]

27 June 2006

Buenos Aires (ENI-ALC). The passion sparked by international soccer matches around the world hides the painful reality of much of the planet, said Bishop Aldo M. Etchegoyen, general secretary of the Council of Evangelical Methodist Churches of Latin America and the Caribbean. The celebrity games should not stop humanity from "seeing the other side of the coin, that of a world that needs changes, justice, dignity and love", said Argentine Bishop Etchegoyen. Without seeking to spoil the party, the Methodist bishop noted the "cheap cost of this labour, barely a few cents per hour under difficult conditions, all to give life and movement to so much wealth tied up in this show that we are all watching".[340 words, ENI-06-0511]

US Presbyterian Church wants Philippines to catch pastors' killers

Manila (ENI). The Presbyterian Church (USA) is alarmed at the killings of pastors and church workers in the Philippines, some of them from its sister church, the United Church of Christ in the Philippines, and has asked the Manila government to bring to justice the killers. "We call upon the Philippine government to bring to justice the killers of pastors, church workers and other Filipinos similarly executed or tortured by paramilitary forces and support the request of our sister church, the UCCP, for a full inquiry into these murders, which terrorise local populations and dishonour the reputation of the Philippines," the denomination's June general assembly said in a resolution. [374 words, ENI-06-0512]

S. African volunteer in Holy Land 'attacked' by settler in West Bank

Jerusalem (ENI). A Christian volunteer assisting Palestinian residents in the West Bank city of Hebron has been attacked by a Jewish settler in the fourth such assault in three months, the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Accompaniment programme has said. In the latest incident on 23 June, an elderly Jewish woman settler attacked a South African Christian, Duduzile Masango, by putting a towel over her head. "It is not known if the woman intended to suffocate her, but the accompanier had difficulty breathing. Stones were also thrown at Masango and four other internationals who were with her," said a spokesperson for the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel. [314 words, ENI-06-0509]

Czech church declared owner of once nationalised Prague cathedral

Warsaw (ENI). The head of the Roman Catholic Church in the Czech Republic has welcomed a court ruling that has fixed church ownership of Prague's 14th century cathedral after a 13-year dispute with the government. "Churches should belong to the church, especially in the case of a cathedral," said Cardinal Miloslav Vlk. "Our church possessed this building till it was illegally taken away by the communist regime. We are delighted with this judgement, since we believe it's the only just one." [303 words, ENI-06-0510]

26 June 2006

Bielefeld (ENI). They were handed a red card and closed by world soccer's governing body, but chapels for players seeking Christian spiritual support during the World Cup in Germany have now reopened after protests from churches. The chapels opened in the run-up to the 2006 World Cup but were closed by FIFA, the world governing body for soccer, before the kickoff on security grounds and out of respect for the beliefs of non-Christian players. But Germany's top Protestant bishop, Wolfgang Huber, said "no one of another faith is hurt or excluded by a Christian place of prayer". Following the church intervention, the two chapels at the stadiums in Berlin and in Gelsenkirchen near Dortmund have reopened for team players. [272 words, ENI-06-0507]

Mugabe warns church critics of 'vicious' response

Harare (ENI). Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has joined in prayers for divine intervention to turn around his country's devastated economy where he also warned clerics against meddling in politics saying they faced a "vicious" response from his government. "We cannot do without each other as the Church and State," Mugabe said in a speech to thousands of people gathered at a stadium outside Harare for a national day of prayer. [412 words, ENI-06-0504]

UK lawmaker tackles government over stand on Ottoman massacres

London (ENI). A member of the British parliament, Stephen Pound from the ruling Labour Party, has called on the British government to declare that the mass deaths of Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks in the former Ottoman Empire between 1915 and 1923 were genocide. Pound said in the House of Commons, the lower parliamentary chamber: "I hope it is not contentious to say that 3.5 million of the historic Christian population of Assyrians, Armenians and Greeks then living in the Ottoman Empire had been murdered - starved to death or slaughtered - or exiled by 1923." [383 words, ENI-06-0508]

Catholic researcher urges Belgium to stop labelling minorities as sects

Utrecht, Netherlands (ENI). The head of a Belgian-based Roman Catholic think-tank has urged the country's government to stop categorising minority religious groups including churches as sects. Government policy should only deal with unacceptable practices such as "sectarian excesses", said Professor Patrick De Pooter, co-ordinator of the Gent-based International Institute Canon Triest, a training centre of the Congregation Brothers of Charity. [355 words, ENI-06-0505]

UN aide says African religious leaders can take lead on human rights

Kigali (ENI). A top UN official says the founding of an interfaith peace commission for Africa can help to resolve conflicts on the continent by focusing on common values such as dignity, the idea of peace, reconciliation and respect for the sacred. "Religious leaders have an advantage. They have a rooting in very strong values. They have a platform for fighting violations of human rights," said Kjell Magne Bondevik, the UN special humanitarian envoy for the Horn of Africa. [326 words, ENI-06-0506]

23 June 2006

Manila (ENI). Denunciations and outrage from all over the world have followed the 19 June killing of a church-based Filipino media couple, who were also involved in helping victims of armed conflict in southern Philippines. "How many journalists have to die before the president of the Philippines takes concrete, decisive and meaningful action to stop the slaughter?" said International Federation of Journalists president Christopher Warren in a statement released by the National Union of Journalists in the Philippines. "There can be no meaningful democracy in the Philippines without press freedom, and journalists' safety." [394 words, ENI-06-0503]

US Jewish groups welcome Presbyterians' new Mid-East policy

Oxford, Ohio (ENI). The American Jewish Committee (AJC) has applauded a decision by the Presbyterian Church (USA) to revise a 2004 decision that called for a process of "phased, selective divestment" from multinational corporations operating in Israel. In Birmingham, Alabama, the denomination's general assembly agreed by 483 votes to 28 to set as church policy that "financial investments of the Presbyterian Church (USA), as they pertain to Israel, Gaza, East Jerusalem, and the West Bank, be invested in only peaceful pursuits". [328 words, ENI-06-0502]

Israeli plan for David and Goliath monument going into next stage

Jerusalem (ENI). Israel is commissioning a towering monument to commemorate the battle between David and the giant Goliath at the spot where the biblical story is believed to have taken place. But the final phase of the project is expected to face opposition from conservationists. The project for the 10-metre high monument was undergoing final vetting on 23 June before construction was to begin in the Ela Valley, about 20 kilometres south west of Jerusalem, where the shepherd boy David is believed to have fought the Philistine giant. [322 words, ENI-06-0500]

Madonna says Jesus would approve of show with cross

Oxford, Ohio (ENI). US pop star Madonna is drawing record crowds but also stirring controversy with her international "Confessions" tour by performing part of it hanging from a cross - made of disco mirrors - and wearing a crown of thorns. "I don't think Jesus would be mad at me and the message I'm trying to send," Madonna said. "Jesus taught that we should love thy neighbour." As she sings the ballad "Live to Tell" from the cross, images of third-world poverty flash on video screens representing the 12 million children orphaned by AIDS in Africa. [353 words, ENI-06-0501]

22 June 2006

Oxford, Ohio (ENI). Less than 24 hours after its House of Deputies refused to ban the consecration of gay bishops, the US Episcopal (Anglican) Church passed a modified resolution and voted to "exercise restraint" when considering openly homosexual candidates for bishop. The move over the most hotly debated and closely watched issue at the denomination's triennial meeting in Columbus, Ohio was viewed as an appeasement to members of the larger Anglican community who were angered by the 2003 ordination of openly gay V. Gene Robinson as bishop of New Hampshire. [542 words, ENI-06-0495]

Zimbabweans turn to herbs and church hospitals as health costs soar

Harare (ENI). Urban dwellers in Zimbabwe who in the past would walk a few hundred metres to the nearest government hospital or local clinic are trekking in droves to church hospitals in rural areas where costs are lower and services are better. "It's true more people are going to seek treatment at rural hospitals especially mission hospitals," said Fambai Musoni, who travelled 150 kilometres to a mission hospital to seek treatment for a stomach ailment. "I chose to pay Z$200 000 (about US$2) bus fare to travel to Howard Mission but it was worth it and still cheaper than going to a hospital in the cities these days." [356 words, ENI-06-0498]

Ukrainian church leader hopes to reverse vote against women pastors

Warsaw (ENI). The head of the Reformed church of Transcarpathia in western Ukraine says he hopes to persuade his church's members to reverse a decision to exclude women from the pastoral ministry that has led to consternation among other churches in Europe. "This move was supported by only a small part of our church - it isn't final," said Bishop Laszlo Horkay, the church's presiding bishop. "Women have already lost jobs and diplomas because of it, so it's a serious problem. But we will try to persuade representatives to correct it this summer." [397 words, ENI-06-0496]

Cape Town archbishop wants to monitor aid promises made to Africa

Kigali (ENI). Anglican Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane of Cape Town has said there are signs of positive change in Africa, while launching the African Monitor, an independent body seeking to mobilise a strong African voice in development. "There is a kind of positivism in Africa," said the archbishop, the Anglican leader in South Africa. "The African Peer Review Mechanism [which sets accountability standards] is a step in the right direction, but since the churches have a kind of authority, we could be able to push Africa forward." [294 words, ENI-06-0497]

Percentage of Christians in Japan has been static for 450 years

Tokyo (ENI). The Christian population in Japan has remained at around one per cent of the country's population since 1549, when Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier arrived, says a professor of the sociology of religion at Tokyo's Roman Catholic Sophia University. "But the young generation no longer has a negative image of Christianity, which was once stigmatised as heretical or a religion of Japan's enemy [during the Second World War], as many of them are seeking Christian-style weddings," said Mark R. Mullins, author of the book "Christianity Made in Japan" that has sold thousands of copies in its Japanese version. [511 words, ENI-06-0499]

21 June 2006

New Delhi (ENI). A senior church leader in Hindu-majority Nepal will serve on a committee to monitor a cease-fire hammered out with Maoist rebels, part of the Himalayan nation's progress to peace and full democracy. Kalai Bahadur Rokaya, founding general secretary of the National Christian Council of Nepal is on the 31-member Cease-fire Code of Conduct National Monitoring Committee headed by Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala. [369 words, ENI-06-0491]

Palestinian Christians angry US legislators have ignored the barrier

Jerusalem (ENI). Palestinian Christians living in Bethlehem have written letters of complaint to US lawmakers for preparing a resolution that includes a statement blaming the Palestinian Authority for the plight of Christians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Dozens of Palestinian Christians have sent letters to the US Congress demanding the resolution be cancelled. "Condemning the Persecution of Palestinian Christians by the Palestinian Authority. Open Bethlehem's chief executive Leila Sansour wrote: "The ill-conceived resolution accuses the Palestinian Authority of discrimination towards their own Christian community and blames it for the current wave of emigration of the Christians from the region." [368 words, ENI-06-0493]

US Presbyterians will allow districts to decide on gay ordinations

Oxford, Ohio (ENI). The Presbyterian Church (USA) has voted to allow flexibility in deciding whether to ordain non-celibate homosexuals as clergy, something that was previously banned outright by the denomination. "With the vote today, we have not altered the fundamentals; we have the same standards as before," said the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, the denomination's stated clerk (chief executive), after the decision at the church's general assembly in Birmingham, Alabama. [419 words, ENI-06-0492]

Episcopal body refuses to call for ban on gay bishop consecration

Oxford (ENI). A US Episcopal Church body has rejected a proposal for the denomination to refrain from consecrating openly homosexual bishops, a decision seen as further straining relationships with other Anglican churches worldwide. The denomination's House of Deputies, grouping clergy and lay members of the denomination's general convention, voted down the proposal by a near two-thirds majority. Many Anglican churches, especially in Africa and Asia, have already broken ties with the US church over the 2003 election as bishop of the US state of New Hampshire of V. Gene Robinson, who lives with a male partner. [330 words, ENI-06-0494]

20 June 2006

London (ENI). The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, has said the election of Katharine Jefferts Schori as the first woman to lead the US Episcopal (Anglican) Church will "impact on the collegial life" of the world's other Anglican leaders, but he has stopped short of congratulating her. "I send my greetings to Bishop Katharine and she has my prayers and good wishes as she takes up a deeply demanding position at a critical time," Williams, the leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion, said in a statement. [408 words, ENI-06-0486]

Meeting between Pope and Russian Patriarch 'not yet' on agenda

Paris (ENI). There are no plans for a meeting between Pope Benedict XVI and Moscow Patriarch Alexei II but neither church leader has ruled out such an encounter, a top Russian Orthodox church official has said. "Such a meeting is not yet on the agenda," said Metropolitan Kirill, head of the external relations department of the Moscow Patriarchate, at a media conference in Paris. "The two churches have a realistic evaluation of the situation. But, as far as I know, neither Patriarch Alexei II nor Pope Benedict XVI exclude the possibility of such a meeting." [364 words, ENI-06-0490]

World Christian bodies cautiously optimistic on new UN rights council

Geneva (ENI). Five international Christian bodies say that "on paper" the newly elected UN Human Rights Council "may have some additional potential" for implementing human rights standards, a task in which the former UN Commission on Human Rights accomplished "too little and often too late". The World Council of Churches, the Lutheran World Federation and three Roman Catholic groups - Franciscans International, Dominicans for Justice and Peace and Pax Christi International - jointly expressed optimism in a submission to the new body. [422 words, ENI-06-0487]

Israeli president in feud with Jewish groups over use of title 'rabbi'

Jerusalem (ENI). A row has erupted between Judaism's Reform movement and Israel's President Moshe Katsav over his refusal to use the title "rabbi" when addressing the spiritual leaders of the movement, a liberal stream of Judaism long a thorn in the side of Orthodox Judaism. Dozens of demonstrators from the Reform movement and supporters protested outside Katsav's official residence in Jerusalem over the president's act which highlighted the chasm between Reform Judaism, which takes a modern approach to religion, and the Orthodox stream that adheres to strict religious practices and dominates Jewish life in Israel. [338 words, ENI-06-0489]

Africans launch inter-faith peace initiative for their troubled continent

Kigali (ENI). Religious leaders from across Africa have inaugurated the Inter-faith Action for Peace in Africa (IFAPA) initiative in the Rwandan capital of Kigali with the backing of President Paul Kagame, a former soldier who is now seeking to build peace in his country. "Rwandan people have been expectantly waiting for the coming of IFAPA as a sign of solidarity in saying 'Never Again' to genocide in Rwanda, in Africa and in the world at large. Africa too has been waiting for your voice and action in promoting peace," said Rwanda's Anglican Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini in his welcoming speech. [364 words, ENI-06-0488]

19 June 2006

Oxford, Ohio (ENI). The US Episcopal (Anglican) Church has elected Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori as its first female leader, a move seen as creating further strain in a denomination already divided over the consecration of an openly gay bishop. "I will bend over backward to build relationships with people who disagree with me," 52-year-old Jefferts Schori told reporters after her election as presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, the US branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The election came at the US denomination's general convention in Columbus, Ohio, which is debating how to respond to demands from other Anglican churches around the world that it repent for the consecration of openly gay V. Gene Robinson as bishop of New Hampshire. [486 words, ENI-06-0482]

Sri Lanka bishop accuses security forces of attacking civilians

New Delhi (ENI). A Roman Catholic bishop in Sri Lanka has lambasted the country's security forces, accusing them of shooting civilians who had taken shelter in the church of Our Lady of Victory near Mannar in the north of the island. "We are really shocked by this," Bishop Rayappu Joseph of Mannar told Ecumenical News International from his diocesan office after leading a "purification" ceremony at the church at Pesalai village. The raid on the fishing village followed a recent upsurge in violence between government forces and Tamil rebels seeking an autonomous homeland in the north and east of the island. [335 words, ENI-06-0485]

Zambia cleric joins debate on president's health

Lusaka (ENI). The state of health of Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa has stirred debate in this central African country where a top cleric has supported calls by opposition politicians for the president not to seek re-election. "This is an election year and if you put President Mwanawasa into strenuous campaigns, we are risking his life and I wouldn't like that we put him in danger," said Bishop Paul Mususu, executive director of the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia, in advance of elections scheduled for December. [346 words, ENI-06-0483]

Southern Baptists reaffirm prohibition against alcohol

New York (ENI). The Southern Baptist Convention, the biggest Protestant denomination in the United States, has said no one who drinks "alcoholic beverages" should belong to any denominational trustee board. "The use of alcohol as a beverage can and does impede our testimony for the Lord Jesus Christ," said Jim Richards, executive director of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, at the denomination's annual meeting in Greensboro, North Carolina. [221 words, ENI-06-0484]

16 June 2006

New Delhi (ENI). Churches in Sri Lanka have condemned as "barbarism" an attack on a bus in the northern part of the island that killed at least 64 people, endangering a fragile cease-fire between the government and Tamil rebels struggling for an autonomous homeland. "Attacking civilian targets with villainous violence cannot be condoned" in any circumstances, the Commission for Justice and Peace of the National Christian Council (NCC) of Sri Lanka said in a statement following the attack."This has brought the ongoing violence to a new high," Santha Fernando, executive secretary of the NCC commission told Ecumenical News international from his office in Colombo. [248 words, ENI-06-0479]

World Council of Churches' head Kobia remembers Soweto uprising

Geneva (ENI). World Council of Churches' general secretary, the Rev. Samuel Kobia has paid tribute to the 1976 Soweto uprising in South Africa saying it hastened the end of the apartheid era when the country was ruled by a white-minority government. "It was started by young kids, many of them schoolchildren, who were tired of being underdogs in their own country," said Kobia on the 30th anniversary of the day when South African police opened fire on black students demonstrating in Johannesburg's dormitory city of Soweto. "It triggered the final end to apartheid in South Africa," said Kobia, a Methodist from Kenya. [264 words, ENI-06-0481]

Churches urge talks to bring peace to Uganda

Nairobi (ENI). Churches in Uganda and south Sudan have appealed to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) to enter peace talks to end a two-decade conflict. "We are aware of the pains wrought by this conflict," said a statement issued by leaders of Christian councils in the two countries. "We appeal to those holding a different view to refocus their attention on the common good likely to result in a peaceful, negotiated solution of the conflict." [395 words, ENI-06-0477]

Blix looks to religions to support disarmament programme

Geneva (ENI). Former United Nations weapons inspector Hans Blix is seeking support from religious authorities including Pope Benedict XVI and the World Council of Churches for a programme of measures to reduce the threat of weapons of mass destruction. "If the nuclear weapon states do not move in the direction of moving towards disarmament" requests to other nations to forgo such arms will sound hollow, Blix said in Geneva, where he presented WCC leaders with a report on combating nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. [334 words, ENI-06-0480]

Prayer vigils in Belgium for immigrants and asylum seekers

By Andreas Havinga Utrecht (ENI). The plight of children of undocumented immigrants and asylum seekers is being highlighted in prayer vigils to mark World Refugee Day in Belgium, where thousands of migrants have organized mass sit-ins in more than 30 churches and public buildings. "Testimonies, hymns, dialogue, prayers and celebrations will give a voice to these children who lack papers," said the church agency, kerkasiel.anders (Church Asylum Differently), which is organizing the 16-25 June vigils in 17 locations throughout Flanders, the Dutch-speaking region of Belgium, including one Protestant and 10 Roman Catholic churches. [364 words, ENI-06-0478]

15 June 2006

Warsaw (ENI). The Russian Orthodox Church has rejected a decision by the Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople to extend its jurisdiction over the deposed head of the Russian church's diocese in Britain. The Ecumenical Patriarchate has announced it had accepted the deposed prelate, Basil Osborne, as an auxiliary bishop after he was sacked in May by Moscow Patriarch Alexei II. But in a statement, the Russian church said the move was invalid because it had not given permission for Bishop Basil to transfer his allegiance. [367 words, ENI-06-0476]

Christian in Palestinian government quits after violence

Bethlehem (ENI). The only Christian cabinet member in the Palestinian government headed by the Islamist Hamas movement has quit his post because of growing factional violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. "I confirm to you that I have resigned from the government due to the violence that has occurred in the Gaza Strip," Judeh Murqos said in a statement after sending a letter of resignation to Palestinian prime minister Ismail Haniyeh. [342 words, ENI-06-0474]

Divestment and gay clergy on agenda for US Presbyterian gathering

New York (ENI). The Presbyterian Church (USA) is set to begin a week-long general assembly with two contentious issues high on the agenda: the ordination of gay clergy, and divestment from businesses that profit from violence in Israel and Palestine. The 15-22 June gathering in Birmingham, Alabama, also follows a round of budget cuts that resulted in the elimination of more than 100 staff positions, and an announcement by the 2.31-million-member denomination that it lost 2 per cent of its members in 2005. [400 words, ENI-06-0475]

14 June 2006

Canterbury, England (ENI). The Archbishop of Canterbury has intervened in the controversy surrounding Zimbabwean Anglican Bishop Nolbert Kunonga, suggesting the bishop should be suspended until allegations against him have been dealt with. "In the context of a prolonged and political crisis, the diocese of Harare faces intolerable strain in the form of the very grave and unresolved accusations against Bishop Kunonga," said a statement by Lambeth Palace, the London office of Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion. "In other jurisdictions, a priest or bishop facing such serious charges would be suspended without prejudice until the case had been closed. It is therefore very difficult for Bishop Kunonga to be regarded as capable of functioning as a bishop elsewhere in the communion." [377 words, ENI-06-0473]

Prize for book on Britain's 'gulag' stirs reparation demands in Kenya

Nairobi (ENI). The award of a Pulitzer Prize to a book detailing brutality by British colonial rulers against an armed insurrection in Kenya in the 1950s has rekindled demands in the East African country for the payment of compensation. "It may not necessarily be for financial gain. But there is a history to be corrected," said the Rev. Samuel Njoroge of the Anglican church in Kenya. "My only worry is how can we determine who is to be compensated." Njoroge was speaking after the award of the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for non-fiction to Harvard academic Caroline Elkins for her book, "Imperial Reckoning: The Untold Story of Britain's Gulag in Kenya". [379 words, ENI-06-0471]

Neurotheology researcher explores spirit, mind conundrum

Oxford, Ohio (ENI). The head of the first university research centre in the United States focussing on the relationship between spirituality and the human brain says he hopes his investigations will help foster greater understanding about religion. "I'm hoping we can help create much more positive views about religious groups and the views they have toward each other," said Dr Andrew Newberg, director of the newly-founded Center For Spirituality and The Mind of the University of Pennsylvania. The centre focuses on "neurotheology", a discipline that applies brain research to spiritual questions, such as, "Does transcendence through prayer have a neurological basis?", "Is moral behaviour part of the evolution of the human brain?", and, "Is God created by, or the creator of, the human brain?" [462 words, ENI-06-0472]

13 June 2006

New York (ENI). A group of Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders in the United States has called on their government to forswear the use of torture "without exceptions" and in all cases. "Torture violates the basic dignity of the human person that all religions, in their highest ideals, hold dear," the leaders say in a statement published as a paid advertisement in the New York Times. The paid advertisement is part of a new initiative, the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, which says it is working "for the immediate cessation of torture by the United States, whether direct or by proxy, within our territory or abroad". [305 words, ENI-06-0469]

Church groups urge closure of Guantanamo camp

New York (ENI). The US National Council of Churches has reiterated a demand for the closure of the US detention centre at Guantanamo Bay, following the suicides of three prisoners there. "Americans who love their country and its historic ideals are mortified by this continuing blot on our honour, on our steadfast defence of freedom, and on our commitment to democracy and the rule of law," said the Rev. Robert Edgar, the council's general secretary. The inmates, two Saudis and a Yemeni, hanged themselves in their cells in the detention centre at the Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cuba, which houses prisoners the US has said may have been involved in terrorist activities. Most detainees have been held without charge for up to four and a half years. [358 words, ENI-06-0468 ]

Christians face hostility in central Indian state, says church group

New Delhi (ENI). Church groups in India have accused the government of the state of Madhya Pradesh of fomenting a climate of hostility against minorities, after two women said they had been raped as retribution for converting to Christianity. "It is shameful that the state's law and order machinery has been blind to the violence," said John Dayal, spokesperson of the All India Christian Council in a statement. The two women from Nadia village said they had been raped by a gang of Hindus as punishment for having become Christians. Madhya Pradesh was the first state in India to enact a law hampering religious conversions, and Christian activists have accused the government of using the issue of conversions to stir up hostility against them. [320 words, ENI-06-0470]

12 June 2006

Vancouver (ENI). Campaigners in Canada are mobilising in advance of a United Nations conference on the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons to put pressure on their government to take a lead in toughening up controls on the traffic. "I have seen how these weapons can spark, fuel and prolong conflict," said Canadian Senator Romeo Dallaire at a ceremony in Ottawa, where the Canadian Council of Churches, Oxfam and Amnesty International presented more than 10 000 pictures of Canadians to the office of Foreign Minister Peter MacKay. The action was part of the "Million Faces Petition" of the worldwide Control Arms campaign, which is collecting photos and self-portraits of people from around the world to reach a target of one million faces by the time the UN meeting opens in New York on 26 June. [325 words, ENI-06-0465]

Israeli Jewish leader asks China to recognise Judaism

Jerusalem (ENI). Israeli Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar has urged China to recognise Judaism as an official religion during a visit to Shanghai. Amar, Israel's chief rabbi for Jews of Middle Eastern descent, also urged China to restore the Ohel Rahel synagogue in Shanghai which is currently being used as a government building. "I have come here to strengthen the community here, to aid spiritual growth, and to pray for the government to allow freedom of religion for the Jews," Amar told reporters after leading prayers at the site of a synagogue in Shanghai built in the 1920s. [258 words, ENI-06-0466]

US Anglicans gather for national meeting amid gay bishop controversy

New York (ENI). The Episcopal Church USA is preparing for its triennial convention in Columbus, Ohio, where the US branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion is expected to grapple with two issues that have animated the life of the denomination in recent years: sexuality and church authority. "We're wrestling with deep questions about identity and authority in a global family of churches made up of incredible differences," said the Rev. Ian Douglas, a professor of mission and global Christianity at the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Overshadowing the 13-21 June gathering is a concern that some members may leave the 2.3-million-member denomination because of disagreements regarding sexual issues, particularly the 2003 consecration of openly-gay V. Gene Robinson as bishop of New Hampshire. [298 words, ENI-06-0467]

9 June 2006

Warsaw (ENI). The deposed head of the Russian Orthodox Church in Britain has defended his decision to transfer to the Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, after its Holy Synod confirmed that it had now formally accepted him. "I appealed to be allowed to join them and they have now accepted me on their own terms," said Archbishop Basil, who until recently headed the diocese of Sourozh, as the British section of the Russian Orthodox Church is called. Basil was speaking after the announcement that he had been accepted by the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. He said he expected at least half the clergy in the 30 parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church in Britain to join him. [465 words, ENI-06-0463]

Women's voices must be heard in AIDS fight say activists

Toronto (ENI). Gender inequalities are driving the HIV/AIDS pandemic, say activists who are campaigning for women's voices to be heard in decision-making about dealing with the disease. "Policies ought to be influenced by the realities of the illness," said Musimbi Kanyoro, a founding member of the Global Coalition on Women and AIDS and general secretary of the World Young Women's Christian Association. "Women are living with those realities day to day." Statistics from UNAIDS, the United Nations' programme on HIV/AIDS, show that more than 17 million women are HIV positive, representing nearly half of those living with the disease worldwide and almost 60 per cent of those with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. [423 words, ENI-06-0464]

Polish church faces new claims about communist-era informers

Warsaw (ENI). A Polish bishop has stated that many Roman Catholic clerics were approached as potential agents by the former communist regime, following allegations that a friend of the late Pope John Paul II had been an informer for the secret police. "The secret services of communist Poland made contact with at least 95 per cent of priests," said Jan Szkodon, auxiliary bishop of Krakow in southern Poland. "They simply came to everyone who was building a church or exercising some church function. What they wrote in their reports is another matter." [338 words, ENI-06-0462]

Lutheran hospital reeling from aid cuts to Palestinian Authority

Jerusalem (ENI). The Augusta Victoria hospital, a Lutheran-run church in East Jerusalem, is facing financial difficulties due to cuts in international aid to the Palestinian Authority, and its supporters have launched a worldwide appeal. The hospital, which is run and mostly funded by the church, treats thousands of Palestinian patients, including cancer sufferers and children requiring kidney dialysis treatment. "It's a life and death situation," said the Rev. Mark Brown, regional representative of the Lutheran World Federation's Jerusalem programme. "We are in a situation ethically where we simply can't refuse the patients [but] on the other hand it's a financial struggle." [406 words, ENI-06-0461]

8 June 2006

Bielefeld, Germany (ENI). While soccer fans throughout the world get ready for the start of the World Cup in Germany, religious leaders hope to use the month-long event to promote peace between the faiths. In Berlin, Christians, Jews and Muslims are looking forward to an inter-religious soccer tournament, following a first match between Christian clerics and Muslim imams in May. "We played for the peace message, and that's a good reason to play on," said Christopher Jage-Bowler, the Church of England chaplain in Berlin, who helped dream up the idea. [333 words, ENI-06-0458]

Benedict's call on papacy will increase divisions, says Italian Protestant

Rome (ENI). An appeal by Pope Benedict XVI for non-Catholic Christians to recognise papal primacy risks reinforcing divisions between churches, says an Italian Protestant theologian. Speaking at his weekly audience in St Peter's Square, Pope Benedict asserted that Jesus himself had entrusted the leadership of the Church to his apostle Peter. [392 words, ENI-06-0459]

New start for Zambian Christian newspaper

Lusaka (ENI). The National Mirror, a weekly Zambian Christian newspaper that was closed a year ago because of financial constraints, has been relaunched under management on a trial basis for six months. "The reopening of the Mirror has been long overdue," said Bishop John Mambo, recalling that the newspaper had played a key role during the one-party rule of Zambia's founding president Kenneth Kaunda. [242 words, ENI-06-0460]

7 June 2006

Manila (ENI). The Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines has condemned a spate of killings of activists and journalists, who according to an activist leader are being "slaughtered like chickens" in the predominantly Catholic nation. "It is not right that people be killed simply because they have different 'political beliefs' or are suspected of being 'subversive' or of plotting against the government," said Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines. The independent human rights group Karapatan alleges the killings and abductions are the work of suspected government agents, a charge denied by the administration of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo which has rejected any involvement. [418 words, ENI-06-0456]

Iranian Bahai community faces intolerance, advocacy group warns

New York (ENI). Religious and human groups are warning of increased persecution of members of the Bahai community in Iran, following recent reports of arrests and harassment. The New York-based advocacy group Human Rights Watch said a group of 54 Bahai youths had been arrested in May on the basis of their religious faith and that none of those arrested had been charged with a crime. At least 51 have been released, but the arrests are evidence of the Iranian "subjecting Bahais to religious persecution and discrimination", said Sarah Leah Whitson, the advocacy group's Middle East director. [351 words, ENI-06-0457]

6 June 2006

Jerusalem (ENI). Christian patriarchs and church leaders in the Holy Land have appealed to world leaders to assist the financially-besieged Palestinian Authority. "As heads of churches we are very much concerned for the well-being of our people who are now faced with even greater hardships if your countries persist in their decision to cut off the aid to the Palestinian people and isolate the newly-elected Palestinian Authority," the leaders said. [238 words, ENI-06-0452]

Malawi groups decry men's reluctance to get tested for HIV

Blantyre, Malawi (ENI). Faith-based organizations in Malawi involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS say their work is being impeded by men who send their wives to get tested for HIV but refuse to seek testing themselves. "Some men think that the status of their wives will automatically reflect their own and hence they do not see the need for taking the tests," said Francis Mbvundula, health services manager for Hope Humana, a non-governmental organization. "What they do not know is that a wife can be HIV negative whilst the husband could be positive." [252 words, ENI-06-0455]

Polish priest backs court case against Russia over 1940 massacre

Warsaw (ENI). An 87-year-old Roman Catholic priest who survived a 1940 massacre of interned Polish army officers by the Soviet police has welcomed moves to take Russia to the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights for the crime. "It's good the families affected have finally got angry and written to Strasbourg about their murdered fathers, grandfathers and uncles," said Zdzislaw Peszkowski, a former cavalry officer who narrowly escaped death in the massacre at Katyn forest in Soviet-occupied Poland. [348 words, ENI-06-0454]

Misuse of religion causes conflicts, say students at Asian peace school

New Delhi (ENI). Religious leaders in Asia faced with interfaith conflicts are hoping a "School of Peace" will help young activists from different religions spread a message of harmony and tolerance. "This programme has opened my eyes. Earlier I thought my religion was the best," said Elizarni Jaffar, a Muslim from Indonesia's Aceh province, at the end of the three-month programme based in Bangalore in south India. "Now I realise that faith is precious to each one. If we need peace, we have to respect one another," added Jaffar, one of 16 Muslim, Christian, Hindu and Buddhist young people from conflict zones who took part in the programme. [351 words, ENI-06-0453]

2 June 2006

New York (ENI). The United Nations is scheduled Friday to complete a three-day meeting on the global AIDS pandemic, and religious leaders say they are going to hold national leaders to account for what they say is continued slow progress in battling the crisis. "My hope is that this is not just more paper," said Anglican Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane of South Africa. "Words, words, words - they won't help us fight the pandemic." [412 words, ENI-06-0448]

Church hails repeal of anti-conversion law in India

New Delhi (ENI). Christian leaders in India have hailed the repeal of a law in the southern state of Tamil Nadu that banned religious conversions by "fraud, force or inducement", a type of legislation recently condemned by Pope Benedict XVI. The Tamil Nadu legislature formally lifted the ban on conversions after recent elections brought a new government to power pledged to reverse the measure introduced in 2002. [358 words, ENI-06-0449]

Christians in Japan warn on 'patriotic' education bill

Tokyo (ENI). Christian groups in Japan are opposing a draft education law that would set a new objective of instilling patriotic values in school students, warning it could revive the nationalistic education promoted during the Second World War. "The foundation that guarantees the freedom of education and the right to education is about to be destroyed," said the Rev. Kaori Ohsima, general secretary of the Division of Education of the National Christian Council in Japan. [335 words, ENI-06-0450]

European churches back efforts to defeat sectarianism in N. Ireland

Geneva (ENI). European church leaders meeting in Northern Ireland have urged a stepping up of efforts to overcome sectarian divisions in the religiously-divided province. "We are acutely aware that the absence of open conflict does not mean that peace and reconciliation are fully established yet," stated the central committee the Conference of European Churches (CEC). "We support the continuing efforts of the Irish churches to promote reconciled communities and to work to reduce the tensions, suspicions and fears that allow sectarianism to take root." [324 words, ENI-06-0451]

1 June 2006

Nairobi (ENI). Churches and relief agencies in East Africa have expressed alarm about renewed fighting in Somalia, and have urged an increased international presence in the war-torn country. "It is about time the international community said: 'Let us not leave the Somalis to help themselves'. We need to say enough is enough," said Karimi Kinoti, the regional representative of the British agency, Christian Aid. Battles between rival militias in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, in recent weeks have left hundreds of people dead, mainly civilians. News reports on 1 June said fresh clashes had broken out near the capital's market place, leading to hundreds of people fleeing their homes. [290 words, ENI-06-0447]

Indian church activists disagree with government on HIV statistics

Thrissur, India (ENI). Church health activists in India have rebuked their government for downplaying the extent of HIV infection after a UN report said the country now has the highest number of people living with virus in the world. The 2006 report on the global AIDS epidemic released on 30 May by the Geneva-based UNAIDS programme said an estimated 5.7 million Indians were living with HIV compared to 5.5 million South Africans. "Obviously 5.7 million is not the correct number," India's health and family welfare minister Anbumani Ramadoss told reporters, triggering criticism from Dr K. M. Shyamaprasad, executive director of the medical and health board of the Lutheran churches in India. [314 words, ENI-06-0446]

Pakistan still faces challenges, eight months after quake

Islamabad (ENI). A host of daunting challenges still face Pakistan as it tries to recover from a devastating earthquake last October, demanding massive resources from a nation that is also coping with seemingly perennial problems of poverty, corruption and political instability. The quake killed about 80 000 people, and displaced another 3.3 million, permanently altering the landscape of the North West Frontier Province and the Pakistani-controlled Azad Kashmir region. [453 words, ENI-06-0445]

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