Mexico City, December 16th, 2003.
The National Bar of Evangelical Lawyers in Mexico has called for a special public prosecutor´s office to deal with crime against non-Catholic religious groups.

Alfonso Ferrera, Chairman of the Bar, said it was necessary to avoid different offices passing the buck from one to another, and because if evangelicals do not go to the law with money, "they ignore us". Evangelicals have been murdered in Chiapas, a pastor was attacked by Catholic extremists just last week, and there has also been persecution in Oaxaca and Mexico Provinces.

"At least 26 pastores have been murdered in these states and so far the government has done nothing because it does not know how to classify the crimes." Other evangelicals have had their property taken from them, are humiliated, yet noone lifts a finger to help them. Ferrera said a new office was necessary because many of these aggressions occur in the poorest parts of the country, to people who have little chance of being represented by anyone.

Guadalajara, December 16th, 2003.
The Mexican Museums Board is displaying an exhibition of Bibles covering the 4,000 years of history since the first parts were written. An exhibition entitled 'From papirus to the computer: 4,000 years of Bible history' has been opened in the Mexican capital.

The Chairman of the Mexican Bible Museum, Cristian García Macías, said at the opening of the exhibition that the Bible - written over a period of around 1,600 years by many different authors - remains by far the most influential book in the world. Apart from being the basis used by several different religions, "thousands of people have lived and died by it", and a quarter of the world's population believe it to be the Word of God.

Despite opposition and bans from the Catholic Church, many people have worked to translate the Bible into local vernacular languages in Mexico, often at considerable personal risk. Macías sketched the development of the Bible from being written on stone tablets, passing through copper to papyrus and then modern means of printing. Today there are around 10,000 manuscript copies of the Greek and Hebrew texts which pre-date the age of printing.

There are curiosities such as the world's smallest copy, measuring two square centimetres which can be viewed through a microfilm projector. There are also braille editions for the blind, the Bible on CD, indigenous and Chinese translations, and the first edition in French, carried out by religious refugees in Holland. Then there are parts of the polyglot edition (Hebrew, Greek, Latin and Aramaic) put together by Cardinal Cisneros in 1516, most of which was lost when his ship went down.

The Mexican Bible Museum offers seminars and tries to increase knowledge of the Bible throughout the country.

Rio de Janeiro, December 16th, 2003.
Brazilian women from different denominations have called on the churches to condemn the Press "for encouraging and contributing to a society which is ever more violent."

The appeal came from the fifth National Women's Congress, held last month in Rio de Janeiro. More than 80 women attended to discuss the subject of 'Ecumenism and peace', which coincided with the 55th anniversary of the signing of the human rights declaration. The Congress asked churches and other civic organisations to do all they can to promote peace and justice. They also called on them to join in an ecumenical gathering planned for 2005 under the heading 'Solidarity and peace.'

Unfortunately, they have taken 'Blessed are the peacemakers' as their motto, rather ignoring the fact that the context of the Beatitudes is spiritual, rather than material.

Bogota, December 16th, 2003.
As if Colombia were not suffering enough with the ongoing civil war, dramatic figures have been released relating to violence perpetrated specifically against women there.

At an inter-denominational meeting in the Colombian capital, and using the biblical story of Jephthah who made a reckless vow to the Lord and ended up sacrificing his daughter. Whether or not this was an appropriate use of Scripture is debatable, but the meeting - coinciding with the 'International Day for No Violence against Women' - used it as a socio-drama in which someone played the part of one of Jephthah's daughter's friends who shared her suffering in the 2 months' grace which her father allowed her to express her grief that she would never marry.

The main object of the meeting however was to highlight the plight of many women in Colombia who are left pregnant through rape. An investigation which began with 130 women (though 9 were unwilling to continue) between the ages of 10 and 40, mostly from the poorest sections of society, showed that 82% were single, 63% aborted rather than carry the child of a rapist, while 18% had the baby and 7% gave it up for adoption.

The date on which violence against women is remembered is November 25th, the day on which, in 1960, the dictator Rafael Trujillo ordered the execution of three sisters who were fighting against his government. The United Nations took the crime as the symbol for the fight against violence against women, and made that date the International Day.

Asunción, December 16th, 2003.
Catholic bishops are all a-flutter in Paraguay as for the first time in living memory, the President of the nation has turned down an invitation to the traditional Mass said to Mary on the occasion of the festivity of the 'Virgin of Caacupé'.

Catholic leaders are furious, making veiled comments such as talking about those who "immerse themselves in vice and pleasures", and all because President Nicanor Duarte, a Protestant and Mennonite, won't go to an activity he undoubtedly considers idolatrous. Numerous priests lined up to pronounce Mass in the town of Caacupé, from which the festivity takes its name, about 30 miles north of the capital, Asunción.

Monseñor Claudio Giménez, Catholic Bishop of the Caacupé diocese, claimed that Paraguayans have venerated the virgin Mary "for 150 years, since Pope Pius IX gave his bull 'Ineffabilis Deus' in 1854 which established today (December 8th) as the celebration of the (alleged) inmaculate conception of Mary. The image of the Virgin of Caacupé has been admired and visited by the faithful since 1750."

The Republic's Vice-President, Luis Castiglioni, also declined the invitation, saying he preferred to visit his home town, Itacurbi del Rosario. He announced that President Duarte would not be attending either, as he is a member of the Mennonite Church in Paraguay.

El vicepresidente de la República, Luis Castiglioni, informó que no asistió a las celebraciones religiosas pese a ser invitado porque prefirió viajar a su pueblo natal, Itacurubí del Rosario. Indicó, además, que tampoco asistió a la misa central el presidente Duarte, que es militante de la Iglesia Menonita del Paraguay, protestante. Previous leaders have made great show of attending the Mass, and Duarte considers it should revert to being a merely religious event, not one in which politicians distract the attention of devotees.

The Israeli authorities blame the Palestinian uprising, and the way it has been reported, by European journalists in particular. Silvan Shalom, Head of Israeli diplomacy, is one of many who believe that a hostile press in Europe has contributed to such atrocities being carried out as those in Istanbul. Yet Israel, which has put its embassies on maximum alert, is not ready to go into its bunker and defend itself. It is going on the offensive itself, beginning in Brussels with the lobbying of the European Union.

In Israel itself, solidarity is to the fore. More than 4,000 Jews who have come from Canada and the USA attended the opening of the General Assembly of United Jewish Communities, chaired by the nation's President, Moshe Katsav, and by Ariel Sharon. The message of this organisation, which donates more than 200 million euros a year to Israel, could not be clearer to the outside world. "We support the policies of the Israeli government", says its leader, Stephen Hoffman. "A hundred percent, whatever it does."

At the height of apartheid, when it was hard for trades union, student movements or freedom groups to meet and organise themselves, Protestant churches were one of the few democratic collectives to survive in good health. This turned them into a bastion of opposition to the regime. There was a 'church within the Church', made up of those elements most radically opposed to apartheid, and this group of pastors, theologians and church members produced the 'Kairos Declaration' in 1985.

Today the Church is divided into three groups: those who work closely with the government, a small minority which is critical of some official policies, and the majority who accept the current status quo. Neutrality is the order of the day, not to say complicity with the authorities. Now that the common enemy of apartheid is gone, the churches do not know what their role should be in the reconstruction of the nation. Complicating matters is the fact that South Africa now recognises all religions as equal, and Christianity does not enjoy any privileges, let alone the dominant role enjoyed by the Reformed Church under the previous regime.

The Catholic Church has seen something of a resurgence since apartheid, particularly where priests are active in poor parts of the cities and fight against injustice. Pentecostal Churches, mainly the fruit of American missionary endeavour, are also growing and seeking to encourage new ethical standards in the public domain. Meanwhile, the historic churches are beginning to sound their first critical notes in the face of serious problems such as Aids, the unfair distribution of land, and government corruption. There is yet time for the South African church to sound a prophetic note again.

Washington DC, December 17th, 2003.
The Food and Agriculture Department of the United Nations says the reduction in the number of starving has been halted, and that the trend is once again upward.

In the first half of the 1990s, the numbers of chronically hungry fell. By 1995, the total had fallen by 35 million, but since then it has gone up by 18 million. If UN objectives are to be met by the target date of 2015, 26 million people will have to be better fed to take them off the list of under-nourished. However, the trend is moving in the opposite direction.

Among the countries which improved but have once again worsened are India, Pakistan, Sudan, Colombia, Indonesia and Nigeria. In India's case, it is due to increased population, rather than an increased proportion of under-nourishment. Nations which have got better in the hunger stakes are Bangladesh, Haiti, Mozambique and Cuba. Results in the last-mentioned are particularly encouraging. The main cause of starvation continues to be water-related: floods or drought. Armed conflict comes next, and UN officials lament the fact that many countries spend far more on military costs than on feeding their populations.

They are pushing for an international alliance to tackle the problem of starvation in the world. They have identified five areas in which it might operate: improving agricultural productivity in poor, rural communities, developing and conserving natural resources, access to markets, improving information about the situation, and making sure food actually gets to the neediest.

According to the World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission, a church in Kotadeniyawa was set on fire. The church's woman pastor, identified only as Ayesha, was taken to hospital after some 30 men from a local Buddhist temple attacked her congregation. Additionally, Assemblies of God churches in Kesbewa, Balapitiya, Embilipitiya, Vankalai and Ja-ela have recently been threatened or attacked.

Other churches in Kadawatha, Marandagahamula and Athurugiriya were also targeted. Intercessors for Sri Lanka (ISL) recently called for a special prayer for the nation. Pastor M.C. Mathew, ISL's coordinator, said more than 100 evangelical and full gospel churches have been attacked in the past year by Buddhist and Hindu extremists in Sri Lanka's southern and eastern regions. "Some pastors have suffered injuries by attacking mobs," ISL said. "The police are taking no action. The government is silent and continues to formulate legislation to prohibit conversion to Christianity. Believers are making appeals to foreign embassies. Most endangered churches have begun 24-hour prayer watches."

Cairo, December 17th, 2003.
The Christian husband of a Muslim convert to Christianity was apprehended trying to leave Egypt. He was held in the custody of a notoriously cruel and vindictive security official.

On Friday 28th November, Egyptian Christian Bolis Rezek-Allah was arrested trying to leave the country. This was a desperate attempt to escape the mounting persecution he is suffering at the hands of the Egyptian authorities because of his marriage to Enas Badawi, a Christian converted from a Muslim background. After being apprehended at the Libyan border he was held for 12 hours, when a police database identified him, before being released.

Rezek-Allah was again detained in early December and taken to the HQ of the Security Police in Cairo, known as the Lazghouly Office, for interrogation. He was put in the custody of Hussein Gohar, a security officer who is notoriously vindictive towards converts from Islam and those close to them. Gohar has threatened Rezek-Allah that he will find his wife Enas (who is still being sought by police) even if she has gone abroad, and that once he has done so he will kill Enas in front of her husband. Rezek-Allah was released but police say they will continue to block him from leaving the country despite the fact that he has obtained the correct documentation to leave for Canada.

Bolis Rezek-Allah was originally singled out by police persecution in the summer of 2003, when he was arrested on the charge of marrying a Muslim. In accordance with shari'a (Islamic law), it is illegal in Egypt for a Christian man to marry a Muslim woman. Enas Badawi had actually converted from Islam to Christianity before the marriage, but since the Egyptian authorities do not recognise conversions to Christianity, she was still a Muslim in the eyes of the law. Rezek-Allah was initially held in prison for three months, during which time he was also accused of helping Muslims convert to Christianity.

The couple then decided to emigrate to Canada where Rezek-Allah, who is a pharmacist, hoped to find work. On 24th September, Rezek-Allah was pulled off a flight bound for that country where he was due to take qualifying exams. On that occasion the police did not detain him, but have kept him under close surveillance since then and continue to prevent him from leaving the country.

Djakarta, December 17th, 2003.
Christians in the Sulawesi region of Indonesia fear genocide as plans are discovered to murder their leaders. On November 29th, two Christians, Ruslam and Arifin, both around 30 years old, were gunned down in front of their young families as Islamic militants raided the church service they were attending.

Two gunmen had pulled up on a motorbike outside the church in Tabamawo, 70 miles east of Poso, and fired through the door just as the service was coming to a close. The worshippers had just been praying for peace. The attackers also hit the pastor's wife, Mrs Sandra Tengker (34), who was speaking at the time. She and two others are being treated at Ampana Hospital. The attackers reportedly used Indonesian military automatic weapons.

Shortly beforehand some 20 well armed men descended upon the predominantly Christian village of Kilo Trans, west of Poso. They killed village chief, I Ketut Sarmon (46), and a close member of his family, I Made Simson (26), both Hindu migrants from Bali. They liberally strafed the houses of the village. Most Christians, however, were attending a prayer meeting in the church, which the attackers were not aware of; hence there were no Christian fatalities.

On 1st December the neighbouring Christian village of Tiwaa was attacked. Gunmen focused their fire on the house of the Christian chief. As the building was being riddled by bullets a Christian by the name of Pian rushed out into the open and was critically injured. In Poso two more people had to be taken to hospital having been shot on 5th December. As in the village of Tabamawo, the attackers arrived by motorbike.

Targeting key figures within the Christian community is the avowed intent of Muslim extremists according to a secret document that has been intercepted and passed to the authorities. An extract states "Mobilise the masses to destroy [the Christians]. Stun them with sudden and simultaneous attacks.Kill their important leaders." A leaflet being handed out in mosques bears the same message: "Join the waiting force with your finances, your soul and even your lives. We will carry out mass attacks to cause shock and kill Christian leaders."

The police are making unsubstantiated claims that Christians are handing out similar inflammatory leaflets. They would like the outside world to believe that the Central Sulawesi conflict is an equal clash between two religious communities. But in reality it is a one-sided attempt by Muslim extremists to eradicate the Christian population. There are suspicions that the Chief of Police is actually collaborating with militant Muslim insurgents in Central Sulawesi. They are well armed with the latest military equipment suggesting assistance from members of the Indonesian military as well.