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No
new way to Rome
Bilbao, October 13th, 2003.
A leaflet has appeared
in Catholic bookshops in the Basque provinces of northern Spain
entitled 'The Way to Rome'. Signed by Cardinal Rouco, the leading
Roman Catholic cleric in Spain, it contains an idea of the official
ecumenism practised by the Catholic Church in Spain.
The leaflet announced that on October 11th-12th there would
be a "National Congress of famous converts to the Catholic
Church", with the participation of such luminaries as ex-JW
Antonio Carrera, ex-Mormon Kathleen Clark, ex-Protestant Luis
Fernando Pérez, and Catholic-born Francisco Javier Casale,
who left the faith for many years but has now returned to the
fold.
The leaflet includes a couple of quotes: "We desire that
they convert to our holy Catholic faith not through compulsion,
but attracted by its beauty, and that they be saved." Comments
by Isabel I of Castille, the Queen who threw the Jews out of
Spain and made life all but impossible for all non-Catholic
minorities. Nonetheless, the quote is attributed to her as a
'Servant of God'. The second quote comes from Rouco himself
and makes much of the supposed succession from Peter.
A member of the Basque Evangelical Council, Juan Francisco Muela,
commented: "Personally, I am one who believes in ecumenical
dialogue, with many ifs and buts, and this is like having a
jug of cold water thrown over me." Quite why, though, is
not easy to see, as this is merely a recital of the classic
one-true-church line pursued by Rome over many years.
Source: J.F.Muela. Editing:
ACPress
Dalai Lama picks up Spanish
prize
Madrid, October 13th, 2003.
The Dalai Lama is back
in town. Madrid being the town in question. The Tibetan religious
leader is a bit like the wind; noone knows where he has come
from, nor where he is going, nor really why he is here at all.
Yet, as usual, he has been feted by those Westerners brave enough
to stick their tongues out at the Chinese, and has been given
another of those meaningless prizes so popular in today's society.
For the sake of accuracy, the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso,
was awarded the International Jaime Brunet 2001 prize for human
rights at a ceremony at the European Parliament's headquarters
in the Spanish capital. The panel which chose him said he was
"an apostle of non-violence, even more so at this historic
moment of social and political convulsion (sic ) on the world
scene, with the evident risk of falling behind in the necessary
defence of basic human rights."
The prize may sound obscure but comes with a cool 36,000 euros
and a history of previous prize-winners including Amnesty International.
The award is given in memory of Jaime Brunet, who left details
for the prize in his will and money to Navarre University to
this effect. Brunet died in 1992.
Source: Agencias. Editing:
ACPress
Largest Buddhist temple
in the West opens near Málaga
Benalmádena, October
13th, 2003.
The largest Buddhist
temple in the West has gone up in the southern Spanish resort
of Benalmádena, and enjoys splendid sea views.
The temple stands 33 metres tall, 25 metres wide and the same
long, and has a pointed dome with gold rings. Inside there is
a meditation room, a ground floor for future exhibitions and
a sealed-off section which houses sacred objects that are supposed
to bless the building. Missing though is the statue of Buddha
which has yet to be installed. The overall cost of the temple
exceeds 1 million euros.
The centre is designed to symbolise harmony, prosperity and
peace, and is supported by local authorities, Buddhist representatives
in Bhutan and Nepal, and the Karma Kayu Cultural Association
in Benalmádena. Thousands of pilgrims from Europe and
the Americas attended the opening ceremony, some staying in
tents erected outside the temple. The project has taken 7 years
to come to fruition, and becomes the second Buddhist temple
in the province of Málaga. The smaller Kalachakra temple
nestles up in the mountains near Vélez-Málaga.
The inspiration for the project came from the now-deceased Buddhist
leader, Rinpoche, a key figure in Nepal whose teaching has led
to the opening of 17 temples in Europe. After the tape was cut
at this, the latest of these 17 temples, the participants were
treated to some traditional Buddhist dance.
Source: Agencias. Editing:
ACPress
Salvation Army prepares
33rd anniversary in Spain
Madrid, October 13th, 2003.
Preparations are well
in hand to celebrate the 33rd anniversary of the Salvation Army
in Spain next March, with the visit of General John Larsson
and Commissioner Freda Larsson, international leaders of the
movement.
Special events will be held just north of Madrid in a conference
centre in El Escorial, and will include a concert and an anniversary
meeting.
More details will be forthcoming nearer the time. The Salvation
Army is one of the best-known international aid agencies which
seeks to spread the Gospel as well as offering physical and
material help to those in need. It was begun by William Booth
in England in 1865 and first known as the 'East London Revival
Society.' Today it numbers around 2 million members, with 2,500
full-time officers and around 100,000 corps workers.
Source & Editing: ACPress
Alcoholism among the elderly:
a hidden epidemic
Madrid, October 13th, 2003.
Whilst millions are spent
on dissuading youngsters from imbibing excess amounts of alcohol,
a recent report suggests there is a hidden epidemic of which
few people are aware: alcholism among the elderly.
Research published in the 'British Medical Journal' tries to
awaken people to the fact that alcohol abuse among the elderly
is related to physical problems which will get worse unless
urgent measures are taken soon. Hard data is hard to come by
as the elderly are usually more reticent about having a problem
with drink than their younger counterparts, and doctors trust
what the elderly tell them more than they do with youngsters.
Legal, social and work constraints on alchohol consumption by
the elderly are virtually non-existent, and very little has
been written about this subject. Yet the effects of the abuse,
given the patient's age, are usually more serious and include
a greater tendency to get ill, low self-image, depression, unsatisfactory
marriages and few social contacts.
Source: El Mundo. Editing:
ACPress
An abortion every 7 minutes
Madrid, October 13th, 2003.
Almost 70,000 abortions
were carried out in Spain in 2001 (the latest year for which
figures are available) which works out at one every 7 minutes
or thereabouts, an increase of 37% on 1995. Early next month
a pro-life Congress with 300 participants is to be held in Madrid
which, it claims, will be "the most important event in
favour of life for 20 years".
Fifteen out of every 100 pregnancies in Spain ends in abortion.
The rate among teenagers has been rising since 1992, when it
was 3.93%, and had reached 8.29% by 2001. The organisation 'Provida'
say these statistics show "that public sanitary, sexual
and birth policies need to be redirected, urgently and drastically."
More hospitals admit to carrying out abortions than before (up
from 87 in 1992 to 121 by 2001), virtually all of them private
institutions.
José Pérez Adán, Vice-Chairman of the Federation
of Provida Associations in Spain, says "abortion is big
business. Remember that a straightforward one costs 500 euros."
He is critical of the government's vagueness regarding the abortion
figures it puts out, saying that data for 2001 "is confusing,
limited and very generalised." Two-thirds of all abortions
performed in Spain are carried out before the foetus reaches
8 weeks, but one in ten happen after it has reached 3 months.
Pérez Adan says abortion is the highest cause of death
in Spain. The Health Ministry says the profile of a typical
abortee is a working single woman aged between 20 and 30 without
children. She has not had an abortion before and does so in
a private health centre or hospital, due to maternal risk. There
is a mother at risk every seven minutes?! The forthcoming Provida
Congress hopes to receive delegates from 30 countries.
Source: La Razón. Editing:
ACPress
Nigerians are the happiest
people on Earth
Madrid, October 13th, 2003.
A study carried out by
'World Values Survey' in around 65 countries and published in
'New Scientist' magazine, says the happiest people live in Nigeria
and the most miserable in Rumania.
Nigeria obtained the highest percentage of happy people, followed
by Mexico, Venezuela, El Salvador and Puerto Rico. The bottom
of the list showed Russia, Armenia and Rumania as the nations
with the lowest number of happy people. What makes a person
happy can change from one country to the next. In the USA, personal
success is considered the most important factor, while in Japan
it is meeting family and social expectations.
The compilers of the survey insist that the desire for material
gain represses happiness and that happiness levels have remained
more or less the same since the Second World War, despite the
great increase in income per capita. Among the factors which
do seem determinative in people's happiness are a genetic propensity
towards happiness, marriage, making and valuing friends, desiring
less, doing someone a favour, having faith (religious or otherwise),
not comparing oneself physically to others, earning more money
and not worrying about not being a genius.
According to the compilers, politicians are taking greater notice
of the results of the survey. Especially the factor whereby
happy voters are those who desire less, perhaps.
Source: Agencias. Editing:
ACPress
The lord of the flies is
not always the most intelligent
Madrid, October 13th, 2003.
Most parents would like
their offspring to be clever, but it may not be as economically
sound as it appears to have intelligent children. At least,
if flies are anything to go by.
Research done on flies shows that the clever ones cannot cope
when things get tough whereas the thick ones survive. Intellectual
capacity is considered a positive attribute so that in the theory
of natural selection, the most intelligent ought to survive.
However, in the animal world (including humans) there is a mixture
of brilliant brains and less blessed creatures.
The results of this study were published in the 'Proceedings
of the Royal Society of London' and are the first to support
the idea that intelligence does not automatically lead to survival.
Well, after the apostle Paul, of course, who taught this in
1 Corinthians 1. Secular humanism may have only got as far as
flies, but apparently the insect is much used to determine human
health and behaviour. Which says a lot for humans. The flies
who were quickest to learn could not compete with the less brainy
ones when it came to getting food in a situation of scarcity.
Now, there must be a lesson for the National Curriculum in there
somewhere.
Source: El Mundo. Editing:
ACPress
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