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Religious
liberty under threat in Italy
Rome, September 16th, 2003 (ACPress.net).
The Italian government
wants to pass a law which would tighten restrictions on religious
minorities and oblige all evangelical pastors to register with
the Interior Ministry.
Thus far the law has not got through the different stages but
Christian church leaders in Italy are concerned at the path
the government is taking. G. Long, Chairman of the Italian Federation
of Evangelical Churches (FCEI), says "I am bitter about
a political climate in which the intolerant culture of the Northern
League seems to be the only way of thinking. In this sense,
perhaps it would be better to drop a religious liberty law before
it is turned into a law against liberty."
As to the progress of the bill, Long commented that "the
return of the bill to committee does not allow us to hope that
it will not still be passed rapidly, and frankly we consider
the lack of respect for pluralism and religious liberty in this
country very serious." Aldo Casonato, Chairman of the Evangelical
Baptist Union in Italy, said the bill "threatens the recognition
of religious minorities by the state, and the constitutional
equality of all citizens regardless of their religious beliefs."
Criticism of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi at the recent
Assembly of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, held in
Pellice, Italy, extended to his decision to pass a law which
allows him to suspend the legal investigation into the bribery
of judges who had a case against him and his friends.
A different view was put forward by J. Astfalk, Dean of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Italy. He believes the return
of the bill to committee stage offers the hope "that liberal
forces in Parliament are determined to produce and pass a law
on religious liberty worthy of the name, and worthy of the Italian
republic." Religious liberty is enshrined in the 1948 Constitution.
Source: Prensa Ecuménica, Noticias Evangélicas.
Editing: ACPress.net
Anyone
want a church building?
Hamburg, September 15th, 2003 (ACPress.net).
A study by Dortmund University
shows that soon a third of the 35,000 churches in Germany could
be empty. If all the Catholic and Lutheran church buildings
were placed together, they would cover an area equivalent to
that covered by Berlin, Hamburg, Munich and Bremen combined,
some 6.8 million square metres. Their value is estimated at
around 143 billion euros.
Some Catholic and Lutheran churches are looking into selling
parish properties such as manses and even church buildings,
because they are faced with falling income and similarly falling
congregations. In Germany, the state charges an ecclesiastical
tax and gives it to the churches as stipulated by each taxpayer
on their tax returns. The higher unemployment there is, the
less churches receive. A taxpayer is only exempt from the tax
if he declares he has no religious affiliation.
According to the German Diocesan Association, 4.2 billion euros
were recieved through ecclesiastical taxes in 2002, 50 million
down on the previous year. In 1990, the Catholic and Lutheran
Churches had a combined total of 28.2 million members; this
is down today to 26.8 million. Planners believe the sale of
churches would be a great opportunity to obtain space in city
centres. The Archbishopric of Berlin-Brandenburg, for instance,
has 97 churches and some could be sold or demolished to reduce
their debts which currently stand at 148 million euros.
Source: ALC. Editing: ACPress.net
World Council of Churches
turns its eyes on Europe
Geneva, September 16th, 2003 (ACPress.net).
The Central Committee
of the World Council of Churches (WCC) has recently completed
its latest round of meetings and spent some time looking at
the religious landscape of Europe.
The WCC places much emphasis on peace and justice and calls
on its member churches in Europe and the USA to achieve that
end. It has been very vocal in its opposition to the war in
Iraq, and it supported the decision to extend the European Union
to ten more countries from next year. However, it is concerned
that the EU's success is based mainly on a market economy. "Today
more than ever we need a heart and a soul, a rediscovery and
a renewal of values and spirituality for Europe."
The WCC also called for an eradication of racism and poverty,
and urged the EU to get the International Law Court up and running.
Predictably, it also shot a broadside at the Allies in the recent
war against Iraq by opposing anyone's right to use military
force without the mandate of the United Nations' Security Council
and outside international law. The WCC also expressed views
on globalisation, calling on the West to watch its commercial
dealings with the Third World, as free trade tends to benefit
the stronger of the two parties, they allege.
The WCC recognised the contribution of religions, especially
Christianity, to the development of European civilisation, and
during their meetings some sculptures by the Ghanaian, Kofi
Setordji, which represent the Rwandan massacres of 1994, were
presented. The theme of the meetings was 'Caring for life',
and the sculptures reminded members of the gospel imperative
to work for peace and justice, and that Christian testimony
includes caring for life.
Source: PE. Editing: ACPress.net
Calls for
Church to be more welcoming to the handicapped
Geneva, September 15th, 2003 (ACPress.net).
Handicapped people are
calling on the Church to accept "that we are not a complete
community without each other". In a statement issued from
the WCC meeting in Geneva (see previous article), the 'Ecumenical
Support Network for the Handicapped' encouraged people to re-read
the parable of the banquet in Matthew 22.
"When everyone is invited to that banquet...the list will
include the physically and mentally handicapped and those with
chronic illnesses." The statement asks churches not to
marginalise those with learning difficulties in their services
because they "don't understand", to be careful in
using figures of speech such as "sin disfigures our face",
and to use sensory experiences and not just words.
More practical suggestions include providing space for wheelchairs,
having large-print Bibles and songbooks and loop systems for
the hard-of-hearing. Rev. Martin Robra, who heads up the WCC
Ethics and Ecology programme, warned about concentrating merely
on a technological solution, saying "the central issue
is what does a community lose by not allowing the complete participation
of handicapped people." The WCC goes on to attack churches
for not doing more to alleviate the suffering of the marginalised,
poor, blind, deaf and handicapped.
Source: Prensa Ecuménica. Editing: ACPress.net
First Christian book in
braille in Russia
Moscow, September 17th, 2003 (ACPress.net).
Children at the School
for the Deaf and Dumb in Sergiev Posad, an hour's drive from
the Russian capital, have become the first people to possess
a Christian book in braille in their country.
A children's Bible and Bible Stories for Children are the first
Christian books to be published in braille in Russia. Teachers
and children alike showed delight when the Bible Society presented
the books to them. Sergei, who himself attended the school as
a pupil, is now teaching braille there to a new generation of
students.
The braille Scriptures will be a great resource for the School
which is the only institution which teaches and allows deaf
and dumb children to board in the whole of Russia. Most of the
142 pupils, who are aged between 18 months and 24 years old,
have no family. The School teaches them self-worth and helps
them to find work when they leave.
Source: Bibliopress. Editing: ACPress.net
Canterbury
seeks solace in Rome
Madrid, September 16th, 2003 (ACPress.net).
The Archbishop of Canterbury,
Rowan Williams, will visit the Pope before holding a meeting
with other Anglican leaders to try and resolve the crisis caused
by the decision of the North American branch of their Church
to ordain a homosexual man as Bishop. It will be the first meeting
between the two church leaders.
The Pope has already warned the Anglican Primate that the approval
of the appointment of an openly homosexual bishop would be a
grave obstacle to Christian unity. The appointment of Gene Robinson,
who left his wife to live with a man, to the post of Bishop
in the USA, has caused a huge rift within the Anglican Communion.
Source: Agencia Católica Internacional. Editing: ACPress.net
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Catholics
making life miserable for Christians in Mexico
Mexico, September 15th, 2003
(ACPress.net).
Persecution against evangelical
Christians continues in Chiapas, Mexico, and the authorities
continue to turn a blind eye.
In Los Pinos, near San Juan Chamula, twelve families were thrown
out of their homes in January, simply because of their evangelical
faith. About 50 people have had to settle temporarily near the
city of San Cristóbal de las Casas as a result of this
terrible injustice.
In Los Llanos, every time there is a 'religious celebration'
in the town, the evangelical community spend about 3 days in
prison for refusing to take part, mainly because of the drunkenness
and idolatry involved. Although the government has sent detention
orders against those responsible for this injustice, noone has
yet been arrested. In El Puerto, the Christians who were expelled
managed to buy land for sowing near the village, but now the
local bosses want to invade this too and local authorities have
shown indifference over the rights of the evangelicals.
In Arbanza and other villages near San Juan Chamula, dozens
of evangelical children have been refused permission to attend
school for years due to their "religion". The 'solution'
which the authorities have come up with is that the evangelicals
set up their own school, which would mean heavy costs for them,
when it is the government's responsibility to provide education
for every Mexican child. Or do only Catholic children have that
right?
Source: MILAMEX. Editing:
ACPress.net
Catholics lament falling
numbers in Mexico
Guanajuato, Mexico. September
15th, 2003 (ACPress.net).
The Vice-Chairman of
the Mexican Catholic Episcopate, José Guadalupe Martín,
has expressed grave concern at the desertion of Catholics to
other Christian churches and "cults", blaming it on
the intransigence of his own church.
"They leave because they find the Catholic Church too demanding,
too old-fashioned, that it doesn't seem to them to adapt to
the conditions of the times (we live in) and they look for religions
which suit them. Clearly, and regrettably, we recognise that
there are those who belong to our church but are no longer with
us; they have simply become indifferent, or they have joined
another church or cult."
Martín said Mexico was a veritable supermarket of religions
in which New Age groups and the like are gaining much ground.
People can choose from a wide range of religious options. A
survey suggests that 85 million Mexicans are nominally Catholic,
but only 7% practising, while 4.4 million Mexicans attend Protestant
and evangelical churches. Perhaps if the Catholics put their
own house in order and stopped persecuting evangelicals as reported
in the previous article, some of their 'lost sheep' might want
to come back.
Source: Grupo Reforma, Milamex.
Editing: ACPress.net
Catholics launch TV campaign
to recover 'lost sheep' in Brazil
Rio de Janeiro, September 15th, 2003 (ACPress.net).
The Roman Catholic Church,
which is losing a million members a year in Brazil, has turned
to the media in order to stop the rot. A publicity campaign
seeks to halt the inexorable march of evangelicals in the nation
with the greatest number of Catholics in the world.
A film based on the life of Mary is the first step in a Catholic
plan to recover its lost sheep in Brazil. Census figures say
the number of Catholics fell from 83.3 million in 1991 to 73.9
million in 2000. The Catholic Church is also hoping to launch
170 regional TV stations linked to Catholic groups within the
next six months, as part of a major campaign to claw back adherents.
The Catholic counter-attack will begin in October when the film,
'Mary, the mother of the Son of God', will be shown across the
country. It has cost around 2.5 million euros to make - one
of the most expensive films ever to have been made in Brazil
- and is headed by one of the country's most popular actresses,
Giovanna Antonelli. Also in the cast is the priest, Marcelo
Rossi, one of the main leaders of the Catholic charismatic renewal
in Brazil. Thousands flock to his Masses, he hosts three daily
radio programmes and three TV slots, and he has sold nearly
7 million copies of religious music.
Myriam Rios, one of the Catholic TV presenters, says "Our
aim is to go after the sheep who have gone astray." So
much for ecumenism, then. Traditional Protestant churches have
around 5 million members, and new evangelical churches another
six million. This represents a virtual doubling of Protestant
/ evangelical numbers in the last 10 years. Catholic studies
suggest that evangelicals are growing most in areas where they
have evangelical TV stations.
Source: Epoca. Editing: ACPress.net
Pentecostals wanted on board
ecumenical ship
Sao Paulo, September 15th,
2003 (ACPress.net).
The Conference on Christianity
in Latin American and the Caribbean drew 740 participants from
31 countries who recognised the need to "sort out internal
affairs".
The Conference was principally organised by Catholics, though
Protestants made up between 10% and 15% of those present. Apart
from church representatives, there were academics at the Conference
too. Methodist Mexican theologian Elza Tamez said she was "positively
surprised" by the Conference, and that she considered the
1990s as a time of recession in ecumenical dialogue. "It
was as if we were all rethinking our internal situation due
to the great changes in the world."
One of the most commented books at the Conference was written
by Tamez, and is called 'The Epistle of Priscila', a book written
in Pauline style to the contemporary Church. Israel Batista,
a Methodist pastor from Cuba and General Secretary of the Latin
American Council of Churches (CLAI), said there is a need for
"an ecumenical movement within the churches", due
to divergences which exist even within the same denominations.
Batista said this did not mean an end to Protestant-Catholic
dialogue "but our interest at CLAI has been to recover
our evangelical face. Sometimes we are more interested in talking
with others than with the evangelical next to us." Next
year, CLAI is organising discussions on ecumenism which will
include denominations who say they are not ecumenical as well
as some Pentecostal groups.
The drive to get more Christian churches involved in the process
seems to be motivated by the minority status of Christianity
in the world (even though it is by far the largest religious
grouping). Rolf Schünemann, a Lutheran pastor in Brazil
and one of their leading administrators, said "the Pentecostal
view of spirituality will be seen in the restructuring of historical
churches, without harming their involvement in society at large."
He added that they had to find a way to get these groups to
break down barriers and prejudices, and said that the fact that
Christians were not a majority in the world meant that its credibility
depended upon its sorting out its internal affairs without denying
its different emphases.
Protestants who attended the Conference recognised the need
to include Pentecostals and other new movements if ecumenical
initiatives are to go forward in Latin America.
Source: ALC. Editing: ACPress.net
Latin America's first Bible
Centre to open in Rio
Rio de Janeiro, September
15th, 2003 (ACPress.net).
The 'Bible Centre' in
central Rio is to be refurbished and turned into the 'Bible
Cultural Centre', the first in Latin America, with three floors
devoted to exhibitions, presentations and workshops related
to God's Word.
The ground-floor shop is being modernised and next to it there
will be an exhibition room and a video hall. A meeting-point
café is also planned, to be called 'Café Almeida',
in honour of one of the translators of the Bible into Portuguese.
On the third floor there will be an auditorium and elsewhere
in the building a chapel and other facilities. Historical exhibitions
planned will be in conjunction with the Bible Museum at Barueri,
Sao Paulo, which is also the headquarters of the Brazilian Bible
Society.
Source: ALC. Editing: ACPress.net
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Gay
activists step up attacks on clergy
Washington DC, USA. September
18th, 2003 (ACPress.net).
In a worrying trend,
homosexual activists have made several physical attacks on clergymen
who disagree with the appointment of Gene Robinson, the gay
Anglican vicar who has recently been named Bishop of New Hampshire,
in the USA.
In Ohio, USA, after the minister of Westlake Resurrection Church
had spoken on the issue of Robinson's appointment, three homosexuals
attacked church caretaker, Richard Bilski. One of them shouted
"this is a message for the pastor." The minister in
question, Paul Endrei, said his sermon had been based around
the premise that "we love homosexuals but reject the sin."
He told his congregation that "the gospel of Gene Robinson
is not the Gospel of Jesus Christ."
An Anglican vicar in Texas, also in the USA, reported that his
church had been vandalised and part of it set on fire in an
apparent reprisal attack by gay activists because faithful Christians
remained loyal to traditional (ie. biblical) teaching. The police
said the only clue to the attackers was some graffiti left on
the wall, saying "God and Jesus love homosexuals."
Meanwhile, in London a visiting bishop from Kenya was attacked
in the street by two 'colleagues' from the Church of England
because he opposed Robinson's appointment. Passers-by had to
separate the men and go to the rescue of Simon Oketch who was
in London attending an international seminar. One wonders where
all this is going to end, if even clergymen start mugging one
another. However, it is clear that the gay activists have no
argument to put forward if they have to resort to bullying tactics
and physical violence.
Source: ACI. Editing: ACPress.net
American Indians take Gospel
to Muslim world
New Delhi, September 18th,
2003 (ACPress.net).
Bryan Nube Brillante,
an Apache Indian from the USA, dressed in traditional costume
complete with his plume of feathers, held a large crowd spellbound
as he preached the Gospel. At the end, more than 100 people
came forward to accept Christ.
Where did all this occur? In Islamic Pakistan. Indigenous Americans
area finding that people in Europe, Asia and the Middle East
are more open to listening to them than to their more Westernised
counterparts. Nube and others believe it is because they identify
with the fight for survival by the North American Indians. They
do not face the usual hostility which Americans encounter in
the Muslim world.
Source: COMIBAM. Editing:
ACPress.net
Six Anglican missionaries murdered in Solomon Islands
Melbourne, September 18th,
2003 (ACPress.net).
The international peace-keeping
force deployed in the Solomon Islands has announced the murder
of six Melanesian Anglican missionaries who had been kidnapped
by the Guadalcanal militia.
The deaths were confirmed after the first meeting between the
Commander of the international force, Rick Warner, and the chief
of the Guadalcanal militia (FLG), Harold Keke. Warner said Keke
had promised to hand in the FLG's arms if the rival militia
on the island of Malaita did so too. However, the FLG has strengthened
its force through aid from guerrillas in Bouganville, in neighbouring
Papua New Guinea.
In July, an Australian-led international force arrived in the
Solomon Islands to try to end four years of conflict between
the Guadalcanal and Malaita militias. Malaita suffers from overcrowding
but those who have moved to Guadalcanal have not been welcomed
by the inhabitants there. Ethnic clashes led to the forming
of rival militias, a civil war and a coup which toppled the
Prime Minister, Bartolomé Ulufa, in June 2000. A peace
treaty was signed later that year, but Keke reneged on it and
took up arms again.
Source: Efe Editing: ACPress.net
Zechariah's tomb found in Jerusalem
Jerusalem, September 18th,
2003 (ACPress.net).
The monument which has
been venerated for centuries as the supposed burial-place of
David's rebellious son, Absalom, might in fact be the place
where Zechariah, father of John the Baptist, was laid to rest.
Archaeologists have found an inscription on one of the walls
which mentions the name of Zechariah. Situated in the Valley
of Kedron between the walled city and the mount of Olives, the
monument was built in the 1st century AD. The inscription has
been dated to the 4th century and is written in Greek, the most
common language in Jerusalem during the Byzantine period.
The find is two lines long and contains the words: "This
is the tomb of Zechariah, martyr, holy priest, father of John."
Luke tells us that John the Baptist's parents were called Zechariah
and Elizabeth. The inscription was discovered by chance when
a group of archaeologists noticed writing high up on one of
the walls, about nine metres above ground level, which had not
been noticed before.
Joe Zias, who works with the Israel Antiquities Department,
discovered that the letters can only be deciphered at dusk in
summer, when the sun falls on the inscription at a certain angle.
This explains why it has not been discovered until now.
Source: El Correo. Editing:
ACPress.net
I think, therefore I might
avoid Alzheimer's
New York, September 18th,
2003 (ACPress.net).
American scientists at
Columbia University in New York have discovered that intellectual
activity is the best antidote to the onset of Alzheimer's disease,
an incurable degenerative neuronal illness which is characterised
by progressive memory loss and that of intellectual faculties.
In an article published in the 'Journal of Clinical and Experimental
Neuropsychology', scientists claim that the constant use of
the brain is the most effective help in combatting the disease.
Studies have shown that those who keep up intellectual activities
such as doing crossword puzzles or playing chess are more likely
to avoid getting Alzheimer's. This has led to conjectures as
to whether some people have a brain 'reserve' which protects
them from neuronal degeneration. Others postulate a larger brain
in some people, and so on.
However, Dr. Yaakov Stern, Professor in Neuro-psychology at
Columbia University, says that scans have shown that it is not
the size of the brain that matters, but rather the use one makes
of it.
Source: CNN. Editing: ACPress.net
1.2 million children affected by human trafficking each year
London, September 18th, 2003
(ACPress.net).
The United Nations' children's
agency, UNICEF, says that trafficking of children affects 1.2
million children each year, which is nothing short of a "global
crisis" which must be stopped.
In a report announced in London, UNICEF says at least half a
million women and children are smuggled into Europe each year.
Most of them come from the East, and 200,000 children are 'exported'
from West Africa. Human trafficking is a booming industry for
mafia bands who make around 8,500 million euros a year from
the business.
Child prostitution in Thailand has increased by 20% over the
last three years, while in China around 250,000 women and children
are victims of such trafficking. The aims of this trafficking
are the use of children as cheap labour, in sexual exploitation,
in domestic service, as drug-carriers, beggars or messengers,
as well as other activities.
Source: Efe. Editing: ACPress.net
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