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Fifty
years since Franco tied Spain to Rome
Madrid, 6-9-2003 (ACPress.net)
The fiftieth anniversary
of the 'Concordat' signed by the Vatican and General Franco
which still regulates relations between the two states is one
most people, including the government and the Roman Catholic
Church, seem to prefer to ignore.
Despite the fact that in 1978 the Spanish Constitution separated
church and state, some Concordat ideas remain which lay groups
insist "mortgages the Constitution and submits it to international
treaties and limits basic rights." In August 1953, Spain
and the Vatican signed an agreement which was the first step
to ending the political and economic isolation of the only fascist
regime to have survived the Second World War. Initially, the
Catholic Church supported the cruel dictatorship which followed
the Civil War but the Concordat opened cracks in the relationship,
which finally fell apart shortly before the Generalisimo's death
in 1975.
The 50th anniversary of the imposition of what Franco called
'National Catholicism' is no cause for celebration. In that
same month, the United Nations began to remove the sanctions
imposed on Spain for its support of Hitler and foreign ambassadors
began to return to Madrid. The USA decided to establish several
military bases in Spain in return for bringing powdered milk
and some industrial credit.
The Concordat began "in the name of the Holy Trinity"
and it was theologian José González Ruiz who coined
the term 'National Catholicism' to describe the marriage between
the sword and the sacristy which governed Spain with an iron
hand. Franco wanted the Concordat and was prepared to offer
money, privileges and the definition of the Catholic Church
as the "perfect society", but no power which he could
not control. Indeed, in return the dictator insisted that the
clergy must submit to his policies, provide him with whatever
religious paraphernalia he demanded, and the regime would govern
the selection of prelates.
A few stood out, such as Vicente Enrique y Tarancón who
said that the Church was not an accomplice in the bad government
of the country and the failure to provide food for the many
who were going hungry at that time. Although most Spanish bishops
were loyal to Franco, the Popes were not. When John XXIII, who
protected a number of Spanish exiles, became Pontiff in 1958
he forbade the use of the term 'crusade' in his presence, considering
it an offence to the Christian spirit. Franco, who used the
term to describe his 'liberation' of Spain, knew this and put
pressure on his bishops to oppose such measures as the declaration
of the right of religious freedom in the discussions at Vatican
II.
The Council also removed Franco's right to appoint bishops,
something he loudly denounced and refused to consider. Curiously
enough, by his own admission, Franco was not especially religious,
but his political judgment was spot on in his belief that ecclesiastical
approval would be the quickest way to legitimise his regime
in the eyes of the Western powers.
Source: El País. Editing:
ACPress.net
Spanish Anglicans reject homosexuality
Madrid, 6-9-2003 (ACPress.net)
Carlos López Lozano,
Diocesan Bishop of the Anglican Communion in Spain, has made
public a letter he has sent to members of his denomination with
regard to the appointment in the USA of a homosexual bishop,
Gene Robinson.
The letter, in no uncertain terms, states that the Spanish Anglican
Church (IERE) "in no way supports the unilateral decision
taken by the American Episcopal Church which disregards the
Lambeth resolutions." The Lambeth Conference, which is
composed of all Anglican bishops from across the world, expressed
very clearly that sexuality is a gift from God which should
only be practised within a marriage relationship between a man
and a woman.
López pointed out that "the American Church is a
minority within the Anglican Communion and although it might
seem that its decisions affect the rest of the Communion, in
fact it puts them on the edge of that Communion." The Anglican
Church worldwide is made up of independent and equal church
groupings which does not mean necessarily sharing in decisions
which other Anglican groups take.
The IERE highlights that its faithfulness to the teaching of
the Holy Scriptures is what determines its position, and that
the Bible teaches that sexuality is only to be expressed within
man-woman marriage. It adds that Church tradition and common
sense - God made two sexes to complement one another - have
also helped the IERE come to the conclusion that they do not
share the views of the American Episcopal Church, or at least
sections of it in New Hampshire, on this issue.
Source: IERE. Editing: ACPress.net
Port
authorities ban Bible distribution to Muslims
Algeciras, 6-9-2003 (ACPress.net)
This year many young
evangelicals did not spend part of their summer break distributing
New Testaments and other Christian literature to Moroccans returning
to their country for the holidays. The annual mission at the
southern port of Algeciras was halted this year as port authorities
refused permission, apparently for fear of fuelling religious
conflict.
'Operation Maghreb' has been running since 1998 in which thousands
of volunteers hand out Bibles, videos, cassettes and literature,
in Arabic and French, to Moroccan holidaymakers who pass through
Spain. They also give each person a bottle of water. The operation
has run smoothly in previous years which makes it all the most
surprising that the port authorities in Algeciras alleged that
the handout of leaflets was incompatible with the smooth loading
of ferries. However, none of the port management was prepared
to speak directly to the 'El Pais' newspaper, though they claimed
that passengers and ferry operators had complained at the nuisance
the campaign had caused them in earlier years.
Spanish Bible Society representative, José Melero, does
not believe the explanation, and puts it down to the concern
of the port authorities not to upset Moslem feelings. He adds
that very few Moroccans were unwilling to take the literature
and most did so happily. On the other hand, a Moroccan who lives
in France said the distribution was almost a provocation for
many of his countrymen. The Moroccan press rages from time to
time against clandestine proselytism by evangelicals in Morocco,
where only foreign nationals are allowed to practice any religion
other than Islam openly. Meanwhile, on the other side of the
Straits of Gibraltar, Moslems are allowed to proseltyse freely
and mosques are going up. As Melero observes: "In Europe
we have religious freedom and Muslims can proselytise without
difficulty. In Andalusia, they are growing. But woe betide any
Moroccan who shows any interest in our faith!" A good opportunity
to help them in the port of Algeciras was removed this summer.
Source: El País. Editing:
ACPress.net
Rent-a-church
operating in Valencia
Valencia, 6-9-2003 (ACPress.net)
Around a million non-Catholic
Christians visit the Valencian region each year, while others
live there. Because of this, the Catholic Archdiocese was one
of the pioneers in allowing other religious groups to use their
buildings. Now the building designed as an ecumenical flagship,
a huge centre in the town of Oliva, is going up and will include
a stone blessed by the Pope.
A diocesan spokesman, Vicente José Sastre, said "the
letting of churches is not just a question of meeting a need
but to set in motion a common task for all Christians."
The issue is ecumenism rather than generosity in itself. The
groups which use the facilities are Anglican, Lutheran and Orthodox
churches who are themselves interested in ecumenical cooperation.
Groups not motivated thus exclude themselves, and the Catholic
authorities insist that users have identifiable, hierarchical
leaders, and grant a licence for 5 years at a time.
Source: ESD. Editing: ACPress.net
Breaking
up is easy to do in August
Barcelona, 7-9-2003 (ACPress.net)
If you are a couple and
you are still together in September, you have done well. Apparently,
the intensity of being together so much during the traditional
holiday month is too much for many and is one of the reasons
why a quarter of all separations occur in August.
The counsellor Antoni Bolinches has studied more than 500 couples
and has identified three types of person among those who go
to him in times of crisis. The most common is that which has
tired of the relationship having got past the passionate early
years of courtship. The couple find that the third summer holiday
together is just not as exciting as the first, when they could
not bear to be apart.
The second type are what he calls 'saturated couples', involving
couples who bring an excess of negative feelings along the lines
of never getting used the one to the other. Throughout the year,
each finds enough mechanisms to avoid the things in their partner
which they do not like, but this becomes impossible in August,
when they are together most of the time. Bolinches has discovered
that in these cases it is often the woman who comes to the point
of saying 'I can't go on', whilst the man feels impotent in
a conflict with which he is unable to deal.
The third model found among couples are known as 'divergent',
in which the partners have matured and taken different paths.
Over the years, this process has seen them distance themselves
from one another, until they reach the conclusion that there
is no point in remaining together. The counselling rooms fill
up in September, although not all of them end up in the same
position. Bolinches says that not all couples come to sort things
out, but in some cases one partner wants to break up while the
other does not.
Source: Voz de Galicia. Editing:
ACPress.net
Ozone destruction cut by
half
La Coruña, 7-9-2003
(ACPress.net)
The rate at which the
ozone layer is destroyed continues to slow down. American scientists
led by Michael Newchurch of Alabama University have detected
that the 8% destruction rate recorded for about 20 years had
fallen to 4% in the last decade.
Despite this good news there is still a long way to go to restore
the layer. The same scientists estimate that it will take at
least 50 years to re-establish the ozone layer as it was before.
They collated information from the three international observation
stations and three NASA satellites. Newchurch is convinced that
the cause of the drop in destruction is the Montreal Protocol
of 1987 which banned the use of chemical components such as
chloro-fluoro-carbons (CFCs), found in aerosols and fridges,
which were particularly harmful to the ozone.
Research also shows that the loss in ozone is more marked in
the higher reaches of the stratosphere, less so nearer Earth.
Newchurch says this is the best example of how an international
agreement like Montreal can help, but adds that we must not
become complacent, as the recovery is still too slow. He and
his team would like their discoveries to lead to further agreements
between nations to increase the protection of the ozone layer,
and to reduce further the emissions of noxious gases.
Source: Voz de Galicia. Editing:
ACPress.net
Family and
marriage are pillars of society
Madrid, 7-9-2003 (ACPress.net)
The environment is one
of the great concerns in the developed world, leading some to
prefer to put a brake on development in order to protect nature.
Meanwhile in the Third World the tendency is the opposite, where
the desire to develop outweighs other considerations.
This is the view of Ronald Inglehart, Coordinator of the World
Study on Values. Those countries which have 'made it', are now
concerned to protect the quality of their lives, enjoy their
leisure and protect the environment in which they live. Undeveloped
nations can only dream of such objectives and want to drive
forward in such areas as industrial growth.
The conclusions of this study refute the ideas so fashionable
after the September 11th terrorist attacks that the world was
heading for a clash of civilisations; first the West against
Islam, and then against the oriental cultures. Inglehart has
examined more than 100 countries and shows that traditional
values based on subsistence economies are being replaced by
individualism and the acceptance of new values. However, what
remains permanent in most societies is the family and the institution
of marriage.
Source: Agencias. Editing:
ACPress.net
Mouth studs can make teeth fall out
Madrid, 7-9-2003 (ACPress.net)
'Rings on her fingers,
rings on her toes, she shall have music wherever she goes',
sang the old nursery rhyme. Nowadays this has become 'rings
on her lip, rings on her nose, she shall have doctors wherever
she goes.'
The fashion for sticking bits of metal into any and every facial
protuberance is causing inflammation, damaged teeth, infections
and even the loss of teeth, not to mention controversy in and
around the medical profession. A report published by the Journal
of the American Dental Asociation (JADA) says that people who
put studs in their mouths - tongue or lips usually - risk suffering
serious gum problems for which, currently, there are no surgical
solutions.
One of the commonest results of 'oral piercing' is the contraction
of the gums which leaves the tooth unprotected and prone to
falling out. One participant in the research was a 19-year-old
who had worn a bar-shaped ring for a year. Dentists found that
her gum had retracted by 6 centimetres, increasing to 8 cm by
the time of a second check-up five months later. Dr Brooks of
Maryland University in the USA recommends all those with mouth
pieces (studs or rings) to visit the dentist more regularly.
The most common form of oral piercing is a tongue stud (81%
of cases) which mainly causes damage behind the lower gum. Lip
studs (38%) affect the front part of this gum. Other dangerous
facial 'adornments' include ones in the cheek or on the tip
of the tongue, though these are less common. Studies have shown
that 17% of people who have pierced their mouths have health
problems.
Source: El Mundo. Editing:
ACPress.net
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