All the staff of Ecumenical News International would like to wish our readers, a blessed Christmas, and a peaceful 2007. We thank you for your support and readership. ENI's full service will resume on 2 January 2007.

UK religious leaders make Christmas pilgrimage to Bethlehem

Jerusalem (ENI). A delegation of British church leaders are spending several nights in Bethlehem, the now beleaguered town where Jesus was born, but whose Christian population has dramatically dwindled in recent years. To mark Christmas, the delegation, led by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, arrived in Bethlehem on 21 December after walking a section of the ancient pilgrimage route from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. After clearing an Israeli military checkpoint, the delegation passed through Israel's controversial separation barrier, which separates the West Bank town from the Holy City. [492 words, ENI-1009]

Russian Orthodox gain new base in Amsterdam

Warsaw (ENI). Russia's Orthodox church has bought a Roman Catholic church and monastery in the Netherlands and plans to turn them into the largest Orthodox complex outside Russia. "Many churches have had to close here, especially in suburban areas, and all kinds of things are happening to them," explained Pieter Kohnen, spokesperson for the Dutch Catholic Bishops' Conference. [349 words, ENI-06-1008]

Outrage over Muhammad cartoons is top 2006 US religion news story

Oxford, Ohio (ENI). Muslim outrage at the publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad in Denmark and Europe was voted the top religion story of the year by the US-based Religion Newswriters Association. The indignation and the violence it triggered that resulted in the deaths of Christians and Muslims in Nigeria, was voted ahead of Pope Benedict XVI angering Muslims by including in a speech a centuries-old quote linking Islam and violence. This story about the Pope, along with his apology and later improvement of Christian-Muslim relations on a trip to Turkey, was voted the second religion story of the year by the writers. [594 words, ENI-06-1005]

Church of Sweden will receive tsunami warnings by mobile telephone

Uppsala, Sweden (ENI). Swedish churches in Bangkok, Melbourne and Los Angeles will in future get tsunami warnings by mobile telephone and they will therefore be among the first to know when such critical situations occur. "This is a way of making sure that we are even better prepared to be there for Swedes who will be affected by crises and emergencies while they are abroad," said Klas Hansson, director of Church of Sweden Abroad. Normally, there will be only two or three warnings a year that will reach the Church of Sweden in this way. [272 words, ENI-06-1007]

Tributes to Presbyterian who encouraged anti-apartheid leader

Geneva (ENI). The Rev Robert S. Bilheimer, a US Presbyterian minister who organized the first assembly of the World Council of Churches in 1948 and later was credited with helping turn South African theologian C. F. Beyers Naudé into an opponent of apartheid, has died aged 89. "Bob Bilheimer, who called himself an 'ecumenical engineer', was both an organizational genius and an inveterate provider and provoker of thought," the Minnesota-based Collegeville Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research, of which Bilheimer had been executive director, said in a tribute after the announcement of his death on 17 December. [430 words, ENI-06-1007]

21 December 2006

Harare (ENI). An alliance of church groups and an association of pastors in Zimbabwe have joined forces with civil rights groups to reject plans by the ruling party to extend President Robert Mugabe's 26 years of rule by another two years. The Zimbabwe Christian Alliance and the Zimbabwe National Pastors Conference announced on they would team up with 21 rights groups to press against the ruling Zanu-PF extending the rule of the 82-year-old president until 2010. [364 words, ENI-06-1003]

Fighting stalls Sri Lanka tsunami rebuilding, say church workers

Colombo (ENI). Church officials and charity workers say the resurgence of ethnic fighting in Sri Lanka has stalled the tsunami reconstruction in the troubled east and the north. "The situation is very frustrating," the Rev. Jayasiri Peiris, general secretary of the National Christian Council of Sri Lanka, told Ecumenical News International ahead of the second anniversary of the catastrophe that hit Sri Lanka and a dozen other nations on 26 December 2004. [566 words, ENI-06-1002]

Death of priest in fire highlights hard lives of Russia's rural clergy

Moscow (ENI). The death of a village priest, his wife and three small children in a mysterious fire has highlighted hardships that Russian Orthodox clergy face in isolated locations outside Moscow's bubble of wealth and power. Most reports have cited villagers angered by the Rev. Andrei Nikolayev's battle against alcoholism, rural Russia's scourge, or thieves seeking to rifle his church's few treasures, as primary suspects in the fire that engulfed his home. [420 words, ENI-06-1001]

Church leaders address issue of stigma against Zambia AIDS patients

Lusaka (ENI). Christmas comes once a year, yet in Zambia many people have to fight not only the existence of HIV and AIDS each day but also the stigma that lingers with it. This is despite the fact that most people know someone who has been touched by the disease. But different churches and religious leaders, in their own ways, are fighting the pandemic and the scourge of the stigma that goes with it. [570 words, ENI-06-1004]

Christmas scent sources under threat, warn Dutch, African scientists

Utrecht, Netherlands (ENI). Scientists are warning that in years to come, incense - the fragrant scent commonly associated with Christmas - could be increasingly in short supply. The warning comes as use of incense undergoes its yearly peak in the run-up to Christmas. Incense is derived from frankincense, an aromatic resin tapped from Boswellia trees. The Bible tells of the infant Jesus being presented with frankincense as a gift. Use of the scent is especially popular in Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. [273 words, ENI-06-1000]

20 December 2006

Colombo (ENI). The church-backed National Anti-War Front (NAWF) in Sri Lanka has appealed to the government and Tamil rebels to observe an immediate cease-fire during the Christmas season. "We appeal to the two parties to recognise the immense suffering people are facing as a result of the current hostilities, to respect the festive season; and to refrain from hostilities so that an opportunity is given to the people to celebrate in tranquillity," said the NAWF. [410 words, ENI-06-0997]

Sex tourism statistics from Kenya's coast alarm church leaders

Nairobi (ENI). Church leaders in Kenya have called for action following a report showing that sex tourism and sexual exploitation of children have reached an alarming proportion on the coast of the East African country where thousands of foreigners and local tourists celebrate Christmas and the New Year. The UNICEF report indicated that 30 per cent of girls aged from 12 to 18 in four districts at the Kenyan coast engaged in casual sex for cash. [378 words, ENI-06-0999]

Breakaway US Episcopal churches agree to 30-day cooling off period

New York (ENI). The US Episcopal (Anglican) Church and a group of breakaway churches in the state of Virginia have agreed to a cooling off period about property issues, after eight congregations announced they intended to leave the denomination. The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia has said it will not initiate any legal action against the congregations, which have agreed not to try to transfer church property for the next 30 days, in the dispute that is related to the consecration of an openly gay bishop. [331 words, ENI-06-0998]

19 December 2006

Jerusalem (ENI). The leader of the Anglican community in the Holy Land, Bishop Riah Abu El-Assal, is to take legal action against the authors of an internal church report that investigated allegations of nepotism and graft. The report, obtained by the Jerusalem Post newspaper, was written by an internal church committee of inquiry, set up in June, by the church diocese to investigate allegations made against Bishop Abu El-Assal. Zeki Kamal, an attorney representing the bishop, described the allegations as "completely false". He said, "The bishop, who is a good man and a deeply religious individual, was not involved in any act of wrongdoing." [316 words, ENI-06-0996]

Environmental destruction is 'sin', say Australian religious leaders

Sydney (ENI). Australia's religious communities have united to call for urgent action on climate change at a time when the country is facing its worst drought on record. Their individual statements, drawn together by the Climate Institute Australia, were published earlier in December in a document entitled "Common Belief: Australia's Faith Communities on Climate Change". The idea for the document began with the privately-funded institute recognising a need to broaden the range of voices pressuring the Australian government on global warming. Previously, the debate has focused on scientific evidence and economic impacts. [375 words, ENI-06-0994]

Zambian bishop helps vulnerable prepare for climate change

Nairobi (ENI). Zambia's Monze East area frequently suffers from food shortages. But an Evangelical bishop is putting smiles on people's faces, even as scientists warn of dramatic climate changes that could have a particularly damaging effect on parts of Africa and the Pacific. Bishop Paul Mususu, who heads the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia (EFZ), a grouping of Evangelical and Pentecostal churches, is popularising what is known locally as "conservation farming" and it has resulted in a tenfold crop yield increase in his area in southern Zambia. [442 words, ENI-06-0995]

18 December 2006

Tokyo (ENI). Christians in Japan say the government has debased the country's peace-seeking constitution after the upper chamber of parliament approved the promotion of patriotism in the classroom by changing the country's education law. "The governing parties should know that this amendment violates the Constitution of Japan, the supreme law of the country. It also violates the Convention on the Rights of the Child that Japan promised the international community it would comply with," said Kaori Oshima, general secretary of the education division of the National Christian Council in Japan. [360 words, ENI-06-0991]

Church leaders in African Great Lakes Region back peace pact

Nairobi (ENI). Church leaders in the Great Lakes Region in Africa have backed a peace and security pact by 11 countries agreed on at the end of a regional summit held in Nairobi. "It is a good process that needs to be supported," the Rev. Fred Nyabera, the executive director of the Fellowship of Christian Councils and Churches in the Great Lake Region and the Horn of Africa, told Ecumenical News International in Nairobi. [283 words, ENI-06-0993]

World Council of Churches' officers meet in Istanbul

Istanbul (ENI). Officers of the World Council of Churches have ended a four-day meeting at the headquarters of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Phanar, Istanbul, where they sought to build bridges between different strands of Christianity and other faiths. "We envisage full communion [between the churches]," WCC moderator the Rev. Walter Altmann, a Lutheran from Brazil, said at a meeting with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomeos I, during the gathering of the senior officers of the WCC's central committee, its main governing body. [337 words, ENI-06-0992]

Concern about dwindling Christian Holy Land presence grows in 2006

Bethlehem, West Bank (ENI). There is noticeable anxiety among Christian Palestinians that Israeli occupation, a stalled peace process and signs of increasing political instability within the Palestinian territories, threaten the very existence of their faith in the Holy Land. Such concerns have prompted calls by leaders such as Bethlehem's mayor, Victor Batarseh, for Christians to visit his city at Christmas. He told journalists that such visits would show support for a city that he said faces enormous hardships because of a separation barrier the Israeli government has constructed that in many instances intrudes into the West Bank. The Israeli government defends the barrier as a justified security measure. [800 words, ENI-06-0990]

15 December 2006

Bangalore, India (ENI). Mounting casualties among displaced civilians in what the United Nations says is indiscriminate shelling in the war raging in Sri Lanka's east, have spurred churches to join protests demanding an end to the shelling in civilian areas. "We have been repeatedly urging both parties to end this shelling," Roman Catholic priest the Rev. T. Sritharan Sylvester, director of Caritas Batticaloa, told Ecumenical News International. [311 words, ENI-06-0987]

Kenyan traditional communities ponder claim for compensation

Nairobi (ENI). Some members of nomadic communities in Kenya are considering seeking reparations from former mission educational establishments, asserting that the institutions in the past forced their communities to relinquish their time-honoured traditions. "Missionary education was a part of paradigm that undermined the indigenous traditional way of life," said Korrir Singoeie, the executive director of the Centre for Minority Rights Development, a Nairobi-based group that campaigns on behalf of indigenous communities in Africa. [379 words, ENI-06-0988]

'Who will protect us?' ask displaced people of Darfur

Otash camp, Darfur, Sudan (ENI). The heart sinks as the brain tries to make sense of the scene presented by the eyes. This is a strange field - bamboo canes and sticks covered with an amalgamation of pieces of plastic sheeting, matting, sacks and cloth. These semicircular and square mounds, just big enough for a few people to shelter inside, have become a refuge for thousands of people. Over the past two months, more than 10 000 people have arrived in Otash camp, fleeing attacks on their homes in the Tulus and Buram localities in Sudan's South Darfur province. [790 words, ENI-06-0989]

14 December 2006

Geneva (ENI). The Lutheran World Federation has expressed concern at reports of harassment of aid workers in Sudan's western Darfur region and has criticised the Khartoum government for "failing to provide humanitarian agencies with the support it has agreed upon". The declaration of the LWF Office for International Affairs and Human Rights was submitted to the United Nations Human Rights Council during a two-day emergency session convened on Darfur, a hearing that welcomed by the Lutheran group. [604 words, ENI-06-0984]

Tanzanian Anglicans refuse US support in row about gay bishop

Nairobi (ENI). The Anglican Church of Tanzania says it will reject financial support from the US Episcopal (Anglican) Church in a dispute about the consecration of a gay bishop and the blessing of same-sex unions that has split the worldwide Anglican Communion. "The trend has been for churches in developing countries to look to the West for financial support. But when that support is used to challenge our scriptural positions, then we have a problem with that," Tanzanian Anglican Archbishop Donald Mtetemela told Ecumenical News International from Iringa in the country's southern highlands. [319 words, ENI-06-0983]

Church leaders urge inter-religious dialogue on future of Europe

Brussels (ENI). European church leaders meeting in Brussels have called for a dialogue with other religions about the future of Europe, while underlining the need for the process of European integration to be based on shared values and a common vision. "As people from different cultures and traditions in Europe come closer together, we want to highlight the importance of inter-cultural and inter-religious dialogue," the Christian leaders said in a statement, following a two-day meeting in the Belgian capital. [415 words, ENI-06-0985]

British church leaders head for Bethlehem to offer Christian support

London (ENI). Four British church leaders will leave for the Holy Land on 20 December on an ecumenical advent pilgrimage to demonstrate Christian solidarity with beleaguered communities there. The archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, the Roman Catholic archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, the Free Churches' moderator, the Rev. David Coffey and the primate of the Armenian Church in Britain, Bishop Nathan Hovhannisian, will visit the grotto of the Nativity and take part in an ecumenical service. [218 words, ENI-06-0986]

13 December 2006

Nairobi (ENI). The UN war-crimes court for Rwanda has convicted a Roman Catholic priest of genocide and sentenced him to 15 years for his role in the 1994 mass killings in the central African country. The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda found Athanase Seromba guilty on two of four counts he faced in connection with the genocide in which about 800 000 people, mainly minority Tutsis and some Hutus, died. Last week the tribunal released Elizaphan Ntakirutimana, an 82-year-old former senior pastor of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, who was serving a 10-year prison sentence meted in 2003 for his role in the genocide. [476 words, ENI-06-0981]

Muslim clerics in Africa differ on condom use in HIV/AIDS fight

Blantyre, Malawi (ENI). Muslim clerics from 25 African countries failed to reach agreement on the use of condoms in preventing HIV and AIDS at a recent meeting in Zanzibar. The meeting was unable to reach a consensus on the issue, with some participants supporting the use of condoms to practise safer sex while others rejecting it, saying the use of such prophylactics promotes promiscuity especially among young people, the UN Integrated Regional Information Networks, Plus News reported. [286 words, ENI-06-0982]

Pope and Moscow Patriarch to meet in 2007, say reports

Rome (ENI). Pope Benedict XVI and Patriarch Alexei II of the Russian Orthodox Church may meet in early 2007, according to unconfirmed reports circulating in Rome and Moscow. There has been no official church confirmation of the rumours, but if such an encounter did take place, it would be the first meeting between a Pope and a Russian Orthodox Patriarch. The Vatican is mulling the possibility of a meeting in Hungary in 2007 between Pope Benedict and Patriarch Alexei, the Italian weekly Panorama has reported. [396 words, ENI-06-0980]

12 December 2006

Sydney (ENI). Australia's churches have joined in prayers for rain during a drought said to be the worst in more than 200 years and one that shows no signs of breaking. Drought has long been a part of the agricultural community in the world's sixth largest country, but residents are calling this prolonged period without rain as the "big dry". [395 words, ENI-06-0976]

Schools told not to use 'intelligent design' material in science classes

London (ENI). Publicly-funded schools in England and Wales are to be told by the government that material distributed to educational establishments advocating alternatives to the Darwinian theory of evolution should not be used in the teaching of science. The guidance follows the recent distribution by the Truth in Science group of material promoting the teaching of the theory of "intelligent design", which centres around the idea that the universe has been created by a higher power. Opponents of the theory assert that it is actually a new version of biblically based creationism. [361 words, ENI-06-0978]

Kenyan Christian broadcaster that was bombed gets new threat

Nairobi (ENI). A Christian radio station in Nairobi, which was petrol bombed earlier this year, has received a warning of a new attack, but church leaders say they refuse to be intimidated by the threat. "We are not afraid," said the Rev. David Oginde, senior pastor at Nairobi Pentecostal Church, which owns the Hope FM radio station. "There is no need for us to fear. There should be no panic." [238 words, ENI-06-0977]

Swedish Lutheran and Mission Covenant churches move closer

Uppsala, Sweden (ENI). The (Lutheran) Church of Sweden, the national church, and the Mission Covenant Church of Sweden, the country's second largest denomination, have celebrated the signing of an ecumenical agreement at a service in Uppsala Cathedral. In terms of their agreement "the two churches recognise each other as apostolic churches, participating in the Church of Christ ... holding the same confession of the apostolic faith" and "the same understanding of the sacraments," the Church of Sweden said in a statement. [274 words, ENI-06-0979]

11 December 2006

Geneva (ENI). South African Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu says it is distressing that Israel blocked a planned mission by him and British professor Christine Chinkin to investigate the killing of 19 Palestinian civilians by Israeli shells. The former Anglican archbishop of Cape Town was due on 10 December to lead a team with law professor Chinkin on behalf of the United Nations Human Rights Council to investigate the incident at Beit Hanoun in Gaza on 8 November. [418 words, ENI-06-0973]

'Weekend of prayer' marks US concern over Darfur

New York (ENI). US faith communities have marked a "weekend of prayer" for Sudan's western Darfur region, including a protest outside the Sudan embassy in Washington DC against continuing violence there. The embassy protest was organized by the Save Darfur Coalition and coincided with international human rights day on 10 December. Rape alarms were set off during the action to symbolise acts of sexual violence in the three-year conflict in which hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 2 million displaced. [344 words, ENI-06-0975]

Israeli Prime Minister Olmert to meet Pope at Vatican

Jerusalem (ENI). Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has left for three days of talks in Europe to discuss Middle East issues and his trip will conclude with a visit to the Vatican to meet Pope Benedict XVI. "It is the first time in many years that such an event has taken place," Miri Eisen, the foreign media spokesperson for Olmert told Ecumenical News International, noting the two men had not met before. [275 words, ENI-06-0971]

Theologian Botman to head South Africa's Stellenbosch University

Stellenbosch, South Africa (ENI). One of South Africa's oldest universities, Stellenbosch, once known for producing white prime ministers, has appointed the president of the South African Council of Churches, Russel Botman, as its first black rector. Botman, a theologian whose doctorate from the University of Western Cape is a critical study of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's theology, has since 2002 held the position of vice-rector in charge of teaching at the institution. He will succeed mathematician Chris Brink who will become the vice-chancellor of England's University of Newcastle in 2007. [374 words, ENI-06-0972]

Polish archbishop appeals to rebel nuns to quit convent

Warsaw (ENI). A group of Roman Catholic nuns in Poland who mounted an occupation of their convent in a protest against the appointment of a new mother superior is refusing to leave the building, despite being expelled from their order by the Vatican. The dispute erupted in August 2005 at the Kazimierz mother-house of the Sisters of the Family of Bethany, when the superior, Mother Jadwiga Ligocka, was dismissed by a Vatican delegate but she occupied the convent with other nuns. "Let us pray for these lacerated, lost and highly strung sisters," Archbishop Jozef Zycinski of Lublin told Poland's Catholic information agency KAI on 6 December. "There are no private religious orders in the Catholic Church where everyone can set their own rules." [296 words, ENI-06-0974]

8 December 2006

New Delhi (ENI). Churches in Sri Lanka have denounced the revival of a draconian anti-terrorism law by the government aimed at hobbling support for ethnic Tamil rebels with whom government forces are in almost a fully-fledged war despite there being an official cease-fire. "The government's decision to introduce new regulations on the lines of the Prevention of Terrorism Act is worrying," Anglican Bishop Duleep de Chickera of Colombo said in a statement after the government declaration. [357 words, ENI-06-0970]

Romanian churches reject call to rid schools of religious symbols

Warsaw (ENI). Churches in Romania have denounced calls from an anti-discrimination body for a French-style ban on religious symbols from schools in order to protect the state's secular character and ensure "freedom of conscience" for pupils. "The presence of religious symbols in schools is not the result of an imposition, but rather of the desire and consent of parents, teachers and students in conformity with the religious and cultural values which they share," the Bucharest Patriarchate of the Romanian Orthodox Church said in a statement rejecting the call. [347 words, ENI-063-0969]

Pope's book in Russian praised by Orthodox leader

Moscow (ENI). A theology book entitled "Introduction to Christianity", written by Pope Benedict XVI when he was still a professor in Germany, has been published in Russian with a foreword by a senior leader of the Russian Orthodox Church. "'Introduction to Christianity' is an attempt to comprehend the role in the modern world of faith in Christ," wrote Metropolitan Kirill, who heads the Moscow Patriarchate's department for external church relations, in his foreword. [371 words, ENI-06-0968]

7 December 2006

New Delhi (ENI). Indian's constitution may have outlawed the caste system, but Dalits, as the lower castes are known now, still have to fight for equal treatment in a society in which they face being shunned and discriminated against. There was some small cheer for Christian and Muslim Dalits in Uttar Pradesh this week. Churches and Christian activists welcomed the state's decision to recommend official Scheduled Caste status to Christian and Muslim Dalits. This will make them eligible for free education and being able to take government jobs that had been reserved for Dalits of other faiths. [388 words, ENI-06-0966]

US church grouping supports report urging new US policy in Iraq

New York (ENI). The US National Council of Churches is applauding recommendations of a panel which has called for a phased withdrawal of US troops from Iraq and which has also concluded that the Iraq policy of President George W. Bush's administration is not working. The report by a group made up of representatives of both the Republican and the Democratic parties urges the Bush administration to push diplomatic efforts with Iran and Syria to prevent a wider regional war in the Middle East. [252 words, ENI-06-0967]

Airline worker still appealing against cross ban as company reviews policy

London (ENI). Nadia Eweida, a British Airways check-in worker, has begun a second appeal against the company's refusal to allow her to wear a small cross outside her uniform. The company said it would review its policy, following pressure by the leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion. "The review will examine ways in which our uniform policy will be adapted to allow symbols of faith to be worn openly while remaining consistent with the British Airways brand and compliant with employment legislation," the company stated in November. [328 words, ENI-06-0964]

Lutheran bishop is German 'woman of the year'

Hanover, Germany (ENI-epd). German Lutheran Bishop Margot Kaessmann has been voted "woman of the year" by readers of Funk Uhr, a mass-circulation weekly television listings magazine. "She has been able, with four children, to occupy a position which is both a profession and a true calling," said the magazine's editor-in-chief, Jan von Frenckell, presenting the award. Despite being diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this year, Kaessmann had been able to deal with her illness in a way that offered reassurance to other women, he said. [272 words, ENI-06-0965]

500th anniversary of Francis Xavier's birth celebrations end in Japan

Tokyo (ENI). The Roman Catholic Diocese of Nagasaki has ended year-long celebrations to mark the 500th anniversary of the birth of St Francis Xavier who brought the Gospel to Japan in the 16th century. Born in Spain on 7 April 1506, Xavier landed in Japan in 1549 and spent a year learning the language. In 1550 he visited the Nagasaki area and its Hirado city to propagate Christianity. [332 words, ENI-06-0963]

6 December 2006

Suva (ENI). The head of the Fiji Council of Churches has condemned the administration set up by army commander Commodore Frank Bainimarama after a military seizure of power as "illegal and unconstitutional" and has urged prayers for God's intervention. "We are deeply convinced that the move now taken by the commander and his advisors is the manifestation of darkness and evil," said the Rev. Tuikilakila Waqairatu, president of the Fiji Council of Churches and the Assembly of Christian Churches in Fiji. [257 words, ENI-06-0960]

British church leaders denounce renewal of nuclear weapon

London (ENI). Church leaders in Britain have voiced concern about plans to renew Trident, Britain's submarine-launched nuclear ballistic missile system, at an estimated cost of up to 20 billion pounds sterling (US$39.2 billion). "These are weapons that are intrinsically indiscriminate in their lethal effects and their long-term impact on a whole physical environment would be horrendous," said Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, after the announcement that the government is recommending the building of a new generation of nuclear missile submarines. [344 words, ENI-06-0959]

Malawi government stand on uranium mining angers Catholic body

Blantyre, Malawi (ENI). The Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) of the northern Malawi's Mzuzu diocese has added its voice to condemnation of the government and Australian company Paladin Africa over the issue of uranium mining in the central African country. The Australian company is scheduled to start uranium mining in 2008 but the Catholic group and civil society organizations have questioned the scientific basis of an Environmental Impact Assessment that paved the way for the operations to begin. [357 words, ENI-06-0962]

Lutheran theologian who helped voice anti-apartheid message, praised

Geneva (ENI). Tributes have been paid to South African Lutheran pastor, Wolfram Kistner, who has died aged 83, for his role in the struggle against apartheid. "He has been one of the clearest voices, articulating biblically and theologically why as Christians we had to support the struggle against apartheid which violated the very values he stood for," said World Council of Churches general secretary the Rev. Samuel Kobia. "Working as director of the Division of Justice and Reconciliation of the South African Council of Churches from 1976 to 1988, he became the most prominent Lutheran theologian to condemn and de-legitimise the apartheid regime," noted Kobia, a Methodist from Kenya. [326 words, ENI-06-0961]

5 December 2006

Manila (ENI). International Christian humanitarian aid organizations have joined other groups in responding to a recent super-typhoon, which, authorities fear, has claimed the lives of up to 1000 people in landslides, mudslides and floods. "We are preparing to distribute five days worth of food to 2000 families, send medical teams, and see how we can help in rebuilding homes and livelihood," said Kim Pascual, director of Operation Blessing Philippines, a US-supported Christian agency. [345 words, ENI-06-0958]

Coal output counts more than lives say Polish bishops after disaster

Warsaw (ENI). Polish church leaders have criticised conditions in their country's collieries after 23 miners were killed after a gas explosion in November. "I don't want to accuse anyone, but it's still coal output that counts, with the person taking second place," said Damian Zimon, the Roman Catholic archbishop of Katowice. "Mining must develop a worthier approach to people - human dignity must be valued." The 72-year-old archbishop was speaking as services were being held nationwide for miners who died in a methane explosion 1030 meters underground at Halemba colliery in Silesia. [318 words, ENI-06-0957]

Norwegian Catholic bishop backs an end to State Church system

Oslo (ENI). The Roman Catholic bishop of Oslo has supported moves by the country's majority (Lutheran) Church of Norway to dissolve the State Church system according to which the reigning monarch is the formal head of the Lutheran church. "The idea of the government as the supreme leadership of the Church of Norway belongs to another time than ours," Catholic Bishop Bernt Eidsvig told the daily Aftenposten. The general synod of the Church of Norway voted on 18 November to dissolve the State Church system. But the government minister responsible for church affairs, Trond Giske of the Labour party, has publicly defended the almost 500-year-old arrangement. [288 words, ENI-0956]

It's getting worse in 'world's largest prison' say Gaza residents

Gaza City (ENI). Renewed violence in the Gaza Strip has exacerbated the humanitarian situation in a territory Palestinians call the "world's largest prison", say church and human rights organizations. "We can't lose hope; otherwise it will be a disaster for the Palestinians," said Constantine S. Dabbagh, the executive director of the Middle East Council of Churches committee for refugee work. A truce along the Israeli-Gaza border has been called by Israel and has been holding in a precarious way. [675 words, ENI-06-0935]

4 December 2006

Rome (ENI). A Brazilian cardinal who was quoted stating that priestly celibacy is "not a dogma", leading to speculation that discussion on the rule might take place, has issued a statement saying the question is not currently on the agenda of the church authorities. Cardinal Claudio Hummes, who is to take up a top Vatican post and was once considered a possible successor to Pope John Paul II, had been quoted by a Brazilian newspaper describing celibacy as a "disciplinary rule, not a dogma". [305 words, ENI-06-0954]

Pope hopes 'unforgettable' visit to Turkey will accelerate dialogue

Istanbul (ENI). Pope Benedict XVI says he is looking to increased cooperation between Christians, and a stepped-up dialogue with Muslims, following his four-day visit to Turkey. Speaking after returning to Rome, the Pope described the visit as an "unforgettable spiritual and pastoral experience, which I hope will bear good fruits for an ever more sincere cooperation among the disciples of Christ and for a fruitful dialogue with Muslim believers". [440 words, ENI-06-0953]

Church leaders worried that India now has most HIV cases

New Delhi (ENI). Church leaders in India, aware that Christian institutions are responsible for running many of the country's medical facilities, are deeply concerned that the world's second-most populous nation now has the most people with HIV and AIDS. On World AIDS Day, Protestant and Catholic archbishops had led a candlelit procession in Delhi. On the march, were Church of North India Bishop Karam Masih, Roman Catholic Archbishop Vincent M. Concessao and Vijay Aruldas, general secretary of the Christian Medical Association of India. The roman Catholic healthcare commission in its AIDS day message warned: "The impact of the stigma from HIV/AIDS can be as detrimental as the virus itself." [341 words, ENI-09-0952]

1 December 2006

Nairobi (ENI). Church leaders in Kenya demanded an end to massive indiscriminate distribution of condoms during global celebration to mark the World AIDS Day. "What we are opposing is indiscriminate distribution in public places," said Kenya's Anglican Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi.Leaders like Nzimbi said they were arguing that such distribution of contraceptives would encourage promiscuity and thereby further increase HIV/AIDS infections in Kenya. [408 words, ENI-06-0951]

Israel and Vatican to resume talks over Holy Land church rights

Jerusalem (ENI). After a protracted delay, talks will resume in January between Israel and the Vatican over the church's status in the Holy Land. These could lead to the Roman Catholic Church safeguarding ownership of its properties in Israel. Officials said the talks will also deal with issues such as confirming tax exemption status for the church and securing Israeli government participation in funding social and educational work of the church. Negotiations have been stalled since the beginning of the year. [275 words, ENI-06-0950]

US religious commission raises concern about actions in Kazakhstan

New York (ENI). An independent US agency that monitors religious freedom internationally has criticised the government of Kazakhstan for alleged actions taken against Hare Krishnas and other religious groups. The US Commission on International Religious Freedom is urging the US government to oppose a bid by Kazakhstan to chair a prominent European security commission. Felice D. Gaer, who heads the commission,said there are indications "that the government of Kazakhstan, regrettably, is moving in the wrong direction with regard to respecting the universal right to freedom of religion or belief". [292 words, ENI-06-0948]

Debt weighs heavily on Australian families at Christmas

Sydney (ENI). As Christmas approaches, Australian families are turning to church financial counsellors in increasing numbers who say that a new set of families has emerged who need help: those with steady income, but unmanageable debts. "We're seeing far more complex stories than ever before," Barbara Jones, manager of financial counselling for Mission Australia told Ecumenical News International. "We counsel people with a mortgage, a car on loan and 10 or 12 credit cards." Consumers are being drawn further into debt by increased opportunities for borrowing. [355 words, ENI-06-0949]

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