|
Mission
director against legalisation of prostitution
Madrid, February 6th, 2004 (ACPress.net).
The Spanish government is considering
the legalisation of prostitution, but the Director of Madrid
City Mission, Juan Simarro, whose organisation has many prostitutes
among its customers, finds such a proposal hard to understand.
Simarro asks if sex is just
one more normal product for sale. It would be, he says, if it
were not also a type of slavery. "One could legalise prostitution,
if one understands that the exploitation of people can be legalised.
A woman who enters the labyrinth of slavery goes round in circles
until society or Christians offer her a way out, a viable alternative."
Simarro believes such an alternative must be sought, given that
prostitution is caused by such factors as necessity, poverty,
anxiety and oppression.The Head of Madrid City Mission says
that Jesus was sensitive to the prostitutes of His day. "He
let one anoint his feet and wipe them with her hair." When
Simon the Pharisee rebuked Jesus for his actions, Jesus put
him in his place, and told the prostitute: "Go in peace;
your faith has saved you." Simarro believes Christians
today should offer this two-fold salvation: eternal forgiveness
in Christ, and rescue from the slavery of prostitution.
How can this be done? Simarro thinks by joining in protest against
a system which allows prostitution, supporting new political
values, and through the evangelising of the culture. The full
article, in Spanish, can be found on the ACPress website (ProtestanteDigital.com).
Simarro is also the author of several books on the subject of
Christianity and social action.
Source: ProtestanteDigital.com. Editing: ACPress.net
A new generation of grave-robbers
at work
Valladolid, February 6th,
2004 (ACPress.net).
It sounds like something
from an Ealing comedy but police fear there may be something
much more sinister behind the spate of tomb-breaking in the
northern city of Valladolid.
Police are investigating a recent crop of attacks on graves
at the Carmen-outside-the-walls Cemetery to see if they may
be connected to the rituals of a Satanic cult. Graves have been
opened and bones strewn around the city. The Mayor of Valladolid,
Javier León, condemned the attacks as "appalling and lamentable",
and added that "it is behaviour more suited to (examination
by) psychologists than the police. It is not just vandalism,
but it is very hard to prevent."
Source: Efe. Editing: ACPress.net
Religious clashes are not
the most dangerous threat to peace
Madrid, February 6th, 2004
(ACPress.net).
"Killing a man is
not defending a doctrine; it is killing a man." In such
bare terms is how a hundred or so specialists from different
religious groups expressed their desire to eradicate war and
promote dialogue between them.
Voltaire, in his day, estimated that 12 million people had died
in Europe in religious wars, and the French writer placed most
of the blame on the Roman Catholic Church. The idea that the
clash of religions is the greatest threat to peace remains today,
fuelled in part by such manifestations as Islamic suicide bombers
and terrorists. However, renegade Catholic theologian, Juan
José Tamayo, rejects this notion and says the real danger comes
- not from religious fundamentalism - but from political, economic
and cultural fundamentalism.
Delegates at the inter-religious conference said that religious
traditions which incite or justify violence, especially those
who do so in the name of God, "cannot consider themselves
revealed, nor impose (violence) as normative on their followers."
Tamayo reminded his audience that the Bible describes God as
"slow to anger and rich in mercy", and the Messiah
as "the Prince of peace." Riay Tatari, Imam at the
central mosque in Madrid, insisted that the Koran - despite
the interpretations many radical Muslims put on it - does not
teach violence.
Yet the conference could not escape political comment and in
a clearly anti-American stance and response to Western criticism
of Islamic terror, Tatari seemed to try and disguise what is
happening across the Muslim world by saying that "all deaths
caused by religion in the Muslim world do not add up to those
caused in a single day in the Second World War." There
was one Protestant representative at the conference; Anglican
Bishop in Madrid, Carlos López.
Source: EL PAÍS. Editing:
ACPress.netCatholic
archbishops 'invite' their flocks to vote for the government
Madrid, February 9th, 2004
(ACPress.net).
The Catholic Church has
always known how to keep in with those in power, and it obviously
has its preferences. This time however, as a general election
approaches, it is showing its colours. Two of its Archbishops
have 'invited' their congregations to vote for the governing
- and blatantly pro-Catholic - Popular Party.
The Archbishops of Valencia and Toledo have broken the tradition
of (official) neutrality, and have invited Catholics in their
diocese to vote for the centre-right Popular Party. Agustín
García, who wears the purple in Valencia, says: "Those
of us who value the positive role of teaching Religious Education
(in schools) are free to express ourselves publicly and at the
ballot box against those who would curtail our freedom."
The Popular Party has said R.E. will once again become compulsory
in September, but if the opposition Socialist Party wins the
election, they say they will retain its optional status. García
says though that "those who reject religion in schools
and only allow the state to teach (suffer from) old ideological
principles which insist on rejecting the liberating dimension
of religious life."
Meanwhile, the Catholic Primate of Spain, Monsignor Cañizares,
says another factor to be borne in mind is "the unity of
Spain, (which is) a moral good and the bishops should teach
it in a set course." Not all agree; Auxiliary Bishop of
Catalonia, Joan Carreras, is one who says the Catholic Church
should keep out of such political issues.
Source: EL MUNDO. Editing:
ACPress.net
ACPress making its mark
Madrid, February 9th, 2004
(ACPress.net).
Five months old and growing
fast, ACPress has reached the total of 10,000 subscribers, and
its digital magazine sister, ProtestanteDigital.com, has almost
tripled the number of hits received against those it had in
its first month.
ProtestanteDigital hosted 22,300 visitors in January, compared
to 8,000 in September, its first month in existence. Meanwhile,
ACPress has also seen growth in its different sections. Its
International Bulletin now has 2,400 subscribers against 800
last September, with a grand total of over 10,000 subscriptions
to all its bulletins.
Both the magazine and the news agency are part of a new communications
project called 'RedIMIR', a network under the auspices of the
Spanish Evangelical Alliance, and supported by various Christian
organisations around Spain. The team who puts it all together
now numbers 15, and they are all volunteers doing it in their
spare time, with the hope that the wider world gains a Spanish,
Christian perspective on the news - both national and international.
Source & Editing: ACPress.net
Royal flowers for the virgin
Madrid, February 9th, 2004
(ACPress.net).
Heir to the throne, Prince
Felipe, and his fiancée, Letizia Ortiz, will offer a bunch of
flowers to a statue immediately following their wedding in May
this year. The bouquet is destined for the virgin, 'Our Lady
of Atocha', which is also the name of the main railway station
in the Spanish capital.
Atocha is a district in the southern part of Madrid, and the
couple will head there after their marriage in Almudena Cathedral,
which is expected to be attended by 1,400 people. Ortiz will
thereby maintain a tradition followed by a series of Spanish
queens who took the flowers to the virgin who is supposed to
be the protector of the Royal family. In fact, she has 'looked
after' the Spanish monarchy since 1643, when Felipe IV proclaimed
her thus. So the Prince and Ortiz's offering will keep the idea
of royal devotion to her alive.
Indeed, Felipe himself was presented to her a few days after
being born, as was his sister, Princess Elena. The royal family
is probably hoping that 'Our Lady of Atocha' will do a better
job of things in the 21st century than she managed over the
last 100 years. The 20th century saw two Republics, and forty
years of dictatorship under General Franco, until the monarchy
was restored in 1975.
Source: AFP. Editing: ACPress.net
Inquisition was alright
- it stopped spread of Protestantism
Madrid, February 9th, 2004
(ACPress.net).
Talking of queens....Isabel
I, the one so 'Catholic' that she instituted the Inquisition,
"may well be beatified before November 26th, the 500th
anniversary of her death", according to José Antonio Vaca,
historian and Spanish Ambassador to the Vatican.
Apparently, the Pope wants to see the process completed this
year, and the only problem is his poor health. According to
Vaca, the process would have to begin all over again were a
new Pope to be installed before Isabel was raised to 'sainthood'.
Vaca, author of 'Great Spanish monarchs of the Middle Ages',
says the objections raised by some historians to Isabel's recognition
are irrelevant. He believes the expulsion of the Jews was not
her fault, but that "the whole country demanded it"
and anyway, "the Jews today have forgiven the decision."
Oh well, that's alright then.
As for the Inquisition, Vaca says this was not her fault either,
but the fault of the French! He says "it was imported from
France and used for political ends." Then comes his great
excuse which clearly, in his mind, justifies the Inquisition
in all its terrible glory: "It was the weapon which prevented
the spread of Protestantism." What a relief! Well, not
exactly for the Protestant martyrs who suffered its tortures
and burnings at the stake. Yet Vaca is not finished. He claims
that Isabel and husband Ferdinand were far from cruel monarchs.
"She hated slavery", says the Ambassador. One shudders
to think what they would have done had they been cruel, then.
"Their decisions had as their priority the defence of the
Catholic Church and that, in that period, had an importance
which is impossible to understand today." A convenient
way of excusing almost anything. Yet in fact, in some ways,
not so much has changed after all.
Source: Colpisa. Editing:
ACPress.net
Silver-coloured cars are
the safest
Madrid, February 11th, 2004
(ACPress.net).
Red, blue, white...but
especially metallic silver. If you are thinking of buying a
car, perhaps you ought to consider which colour of car has the
fewest accidents. Research in New Zealand shows that silvery-grey
is the safest, whilst brown, black and green are the most dangerous.
Investigators studied all traffic accidents in the Auckland
area from 1998-1999 in which there were serious injuries or
fatalities. Other factors apart from the colour of the car were
taken into consideration, including the age, sex, racial background
and study record of the driver. They also considered whether
the driver had drunk alcohol or taken drugs in the six hours
before the accident, whether he was wearing a seat-belt, the
speed he was driving at, road condtions, weather, visibility,
and whether he had current insurance and a driving licence.
The results of the research, published in the 'British Medical
Journal' show that silver cars are 50% less likely to be involved
in a serious accident than white ones. Even so, white is only
'mid-table' in the dangerous car colour league, together with
yellow, grey, red and blue. The most dangerous colour is brown,
followed by black and then green.
Source: EL MUNDO. Editing:
ACPress.net
European Union accuses Spanish
state TV of manipulation
Madrid, February 11th, 2004
(ACPress.net).
The Parliamentary Assembly
of the Council of Europe has said what everyone in Spain already
knows; that Spanish state television (TVE) is an example of
how political influence is wielded in the media. It was specifically
criticised for the way it covered the national strike of two
years ago.
The Council of Europe stated that "the manipulation of
news under political influence led to unprecedented criticism
of TVE for its coverage of the general strike in Spain held
in June 2002." The comments come in the light of a Council
recommendation to highlight the fact that state news services
face political pressure in Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain.
It complains that state political interests have not allowed
the complete emancipation of public broadcasting services.
Apart from the Spanish situation, the Council said "the
BBC was attacked by the government for its coverage of the war
in Iraq", and it was also critical of the Italian case
where the three main TV stations are shared out among the main
political parties. It argued for greater Press independence
and called on governments "to abstain from any interference
in editorial independence."
Source: EL MUNDO. Editing:
ACPress.net |
