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Euthanasia
scandal rocks France
Paris, May 27th, 2004.
The scandal of clandestine
euthanasia has broken out in France, where the news has leaked
out that Besancon Hospital has carried out 14 ‘assisted suicides’
both active and passive in under 2 years.
Technically, some of these cases could be considered murder
under French law, though the government has expressed its willingness
to revise legislation on this controversial issue. The news
comes at a sensitive moment when the French authorities are
investigating the case of Vincent Humbert, a tetraplegic man
whose mother and GP ended his life, or that of nurse Christine
Malèvre, who helped numerous patients ‘on their way’ to eternity.
The situation at Besancon Hospital has come to a head after
years of clashes between doctors, trades union representatives
and nurses over which medical techniques to apply to a growing
number of seriously-ill patients. Doctors and nurses have clashed
over how to treat these people, and two unions decided to lodge
an official complaint, which has led to the current investigation.
Apparently, doctors practised euthanasia on 14 patients in 2000
and 2001, killing four of them directly with potassium injections.
Ten others were left to die by the removal of medical care which
was keeping them alive. Some nurses are angry at the way the
doctors carried out the practice without consultation.
Source: ABC. Editing: ACPress
Dignity
and participation mark Danish royal wedding
Copenhagen, May 24th, 2004.
Prince Frederick of Denmark
married Australian lawyer, Mary Donaldson, at the Vor Frue Kirke
in Copenhagen, in a Lutheran wedding ceremony.
The 35-year-old heir to the Danish throne and the 32-year-old
Australian said their vows before the Lutheran bishop, Erik
Norman Svendsen, and 800 dignitaries and other guests. The only
‘image’ on view being a Protestant place of worship - was
a figure of Jesus with a verse from Matthew’s Gospel at His
feet. This was just one of the differences noted by the Spanish
press, who also commented on the fact that the ceremony was
much more participative than Catholic ones tend to be. For instance,
they thought it strange that the Prince and his bride sang the
hymns, which is absolutely normal in evangelical churches, but
not in Catholic weddings.
Source: Agencias. Editing: ACPress
Anglicans
considering gay fudge
Armagh, May 27th, 2004.
The Anglican Church is
considering radical changes to try and avoid an open split over
the issue of homosexual bishops. In what appears to be a classic
case of fudging, church leaders are considering the creation
of a Federation of autonomous local branches which is another
way of saying ‘Do what you like and we all live happily ever
after.’
The Irish Archbishop, Robin Eames, who chairs the Commission
examining this issue, says discord over homosexuality might
lead to a new way of organising the worldwide Anglican Communion.
Among the options are the elaboration of a formal Constitution,
o the formation of a Federation in which individual members
enjoy more freedom. Though it is hard to envisage how a local
branch, which currently can appoint homosexual bishops against
the wishes of the vast majority of the Church, could actually
have more freedom.
Many bishops and church members have condemned the appointment
of Gene Robinson in the USA, and now Jeffrey John in England,
to high positions in the Church. African Christian leaders have
been particularly energetic in their biblical stand on homosexuality.
Although the debate is often described in terms of ‘conservatives’
and ‘liberals’, the fact is that it is a question of accepting
what God’s Word teaches.
The Anglican Communion is comprised of 38 autonomous Provinces
covering 164 countries. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the
titular Head, but does not have executive power.
Source: EP/AFP. Editing: ACPress
Italian
Catholics don’t know which Protestants to talk to
Rome, May 27th, 2004.
Italian Catholics are
asking with which Protestants or evangelicals they may cooperate,
but there is much ignorance in Italy over Protestantism.
A report by the Waldensian Church one of the oldest Protestant
denominations in Italy shows that the Catholic Church does
not know who might be considered ‘valid spokesmen’ of Italian
Protestantism. The lack of understanding is truly astonishing,
as shown by the fact that most Italians believe American President,
George Bush, to be Catholic. They also respect evangelicals
more for their ‘social commitment’ rather than for any particular
connection between their lifestyle and faith.
Intellectual Catholic circles are more willing to enter into
dialogue with the historic Protestant denominations Lutheran,
Anglican, Waldense whereas they are hostile towards evangelicals,
whom they dismiss as ‘fundamentalists.’ However, such an attitude
has been strongly criticised by Waldense pastor, Giorgio Bouchard.
Despite being a ‘progressive’ minister himself, he recognises
that Pentecostal churches offer “ a new and legitimate interpretation
of Christian piety” against a backdrop of moral relativism and
rampant materialism. Bouchard calls on Catholic intellectuals
to drop their age-old prejudice that every evangelical group
originating in the USA is really a cover for the CIA.
Source: ACI. Editing: ACPress
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Sex,
drugs and rock ‘n’ roll in Brazil
Porto Alegre, May 24th, 2004.
The X ‘Communication
Week’ at the Lutheran University of Brazil had as its motto,
‘Sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll. The coordinator of the event,
Cintia Carvalho, said the aim was to stimulate debate and discuss
the situation in the communications field.
The Week seeks to help journalist and advertising students identify
the key issues in their respective areas. This year, they looked
at how the media deals with subjects like sex and drugs, still
considered taboo to some extent. The students had some say in
the composition of the event, which included a discussion on
women. There were panels, cinema workshops, animation techniques,
radio, advertising and Esperanto among the many subjects covered.
Source: ALC. Editing: ACPress
Church numbers
not enough to have impact on society
Lima, May 26th, 2004.
Presbyterian minister
Oswaldo Prado says the church must understand the changes in
society if it is to evangelise effectively in the 21st century.
“Today we see the advance in globalisation, increasing urbanisation,
new technology in the communications industry such as Internet,
changes in the labour market and even in the way we live out
our spirituality.” Prado, who has been training leaders in church
planting for the last 20 years, was speaking at the 2004 Congress
of ‘Peru for Christ’.
Prado noted that the aim of a Christian project in Brazil
with 170 million inhabitants and 150,000 evangelical churches
is to see the number of churches grow to 250,000 by 2010.
Organisers of ‘Brazil 2010’ have the vision of a church in every
city, province and tribe. But the numerical increase of churches
is not enough to have a significant impact on society. There
are more than 30 million evangelical believers in Brazil (17-18%
of the population), but Prado asked if the nation had undergone
a significant change because of this.
Injustice, poverty, child prostitution and family crisis were
still rampant, and the church should not be out of touch with
this, but bring the love of Jesus to bear on these situations.
It has to preach the Gospel, serve people and promote holiness.
Source: ALC. Editing: ACPress
Luther statue
commemorates 180 Lutheran years in Brazil
Nova Friburgo, May 26th, 2004.
A bronze bust of the
German Reformer, Martin Luther, has been unveiled in the Brazilian
town of Nova Friburgo, in commemoration of 180 years of Lutheran
witness there. It is the oldest Lutheran community in Brazil.
Rolf Schünemann, a local Lutheran minister, said the aim of
the bust was not to worship the Reformer, but pay homage to
a person called by God to give witness to evangelical truth
with great courage. The bronze sculpture was made by Otávio
Teixeira, and financed by Luterprev, who also donated works
by Luther to the local library. May 3rd, 1824 is considered
the date when the Lutheran Church was founded in Brazil, with
the arrival of the first German and Swiss immigrants.
Pastor Sauerbronn was among those who arrived on two sailing
ships, the ‘Argus’ and the ‘Caroline.’ He lost his wife in childbirth
on board ship, and the child died 2 weeks later. Thus the first
Lutheran service in Brazil was the funeral of the pastor’s son.
Yet Sauerbronn pastured the congregation at Nova Friburgo for
40 years, followed by the Swiss theologian, Johann Casper Meyer.
Source: ALC. Editing: ACPress
Law of seismic
proportions for Colombian churches
Bogotá, May 26th, 2004.
Evangelicals in Colombia
are concerned that a new law will not help religious freedom
there, despite the fact that Christian faith is a bulwark against
the high level of violence in the country and stops it being
even higher.
The Bill would make it compulsory for all new buildings to include
features giving protection from earthquakes. The seismic-resistant
legislation gives existing churches 18 months to modify their
buildings to bring them into line.
One MP, Reginald Montes, said many places of worship were merely
propped up by four sticks but were places where “faith is felt
and expressed.” Montes expressed his hope that Parliament would
not introduce an unjust law. Luis Enrique Salas, an evangelical
pastor, said all church ministers should be alert to a law which
would attack the fundamental rights of believers. He said it
would lead to the destruction of 1,500 church buildings and
at least 150,000 Christians would be left ecclesiastically homeless.
A Muslim imam, Julián Arturo Zapata, said it was a pity the
government had not consulted religious leaders first, and that
the measure appeared to be designed to allow the Catholic Church
to recover the power it lost in the constitutional changes of
1991.
Source: ALC. Editing: ACPress
The whys
and wherefores of persecution in Chiapas
México City, May 27th, 2004.
An analysis of the origins
and development of persecution by traditionalist Catholics against
indigenous evangelical Christians at a panel organised by the
Mexican section of the Latin American Theological Fraternity
and the Presbyterian Theological Seminary.
Carlos Martinez García gave a talk entitled ‘Protestantism,
human rights and tolerance among the Indian peoples of Chiapas’.
Evangelicalism put down roots among these groups in the early
part of the 20th century, but many of them have suffered persecution
over their right to change religion. Martinez believes the issue
at heart is one of human rights and tolerance; whether people
may choose for themselves how they wish to live, as well as
what to believe.
Astonishing though it may seem, evangelicals are seen as a threat
in Chiapas, where traditional religious belief is a mixture
of Catholicism and ancient animist ideas. A bizarre innovation
of recent times is the role of Coca-Cola in ritual practices.
Religious belief is a key component of the indigenous person’s
way of thinking.
The element of threat comes because people who become evangelicals
are seen as breaking the indigenous unity of the community.
Such a viewpoint is upheld by social scientists and some politicians
and Catholic priests. However, as Martinez pointed out, forcing
the Indians to retain religious unity is to deny them the right
of religious freedom. Other sectors of society are allowed to
be diverse; why not they?
Another accusation is of altering local customs, as Christians
no longer participate in animist nor idolatrous practices. This
has led to widespread expulsions, calculated at 33,531 in the
Los Altos region alone. Evangelicals are turned out of their
homes and off their land, and forced to move elsewhere. Yet
it is evangelicals in the most pure Reformation tradition
who have promoted and legitimised the ability to read and
write among indigenous people.
Source: ALC. Editing: ACPress
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China
coming to terms with Aids
Peking, May 27th, 2004.
More money yet more deaths,
is the way some experts sum up the current situation on Aids
worldwide.
Medicine offsets the effects of the illness in the West, but
the virus is reaching epidemic proportions in sub-Saharan Africa,
South-East Asia and Eastern Europe, according to the World Health
Organisation. China has 840,000 HIV carriers, 80,000 of whom
have Aids, which represents a large increase in recent years.
Most cases are put down to blood transfusions, but numbers of
sexually-transmitted infections are also on the up. More children
are catching the illness from their mothers.
Although drug addicts are at risk, so are groups of people who
would not normally be considered in danger. Experts predict
infections will reach 10 million by 2010 unless effective prevention
measures are taken, but this sounds like scare-mongering. However,
the Chinese government is beginning to take Aids more seriously,
setting up control centres and introducing new legislation.
In March last year, the Prime Minister visited Aids patients
in an attempt to show they should no longer suffer social discrimination.
Source: EL PAÍS/ E. PRESS. Editing: ACPress
Methodists
reject practising homosexuals as ministers
Pitsbury, USA. May 27th,
2004.
The maximum authority
of the United Methodist Church, the Council, has decreed that
practising homosexuals cannot serve as pastors in their denomination.
In March, Karen Dawmann a lesbian Methodist minister was
acquitted by a court in Washington state, USA, after having
been accused of infringing Methodist law. Now the Methodist
Council has decided that “a bishop cannot ordain someone who
has been declared a practising homosexual.” Conservative Methodists
believe Dawmann may keep her status as a minister, but that
she will never be appointed to serve in a church.
The Methodist Council read out its decision in solemn tones
to the 100 delegates meeting in the American town of Pitsbury.
The delegates represented the 10 million or so members the United
Methodist Church has around the world, of which 8.3 million
live in the USA. This type of Congress is held every 4 years
and deals with projects, plans and the spiritual direction of
Methodism worldwide.
Council members responded to a series of questions from delegates
in order to clarify the application of Methodist rules relating
to the issue of practising homosexuality.
Source: Asociated Press. Editing:
ACPress
Great Rabbi
suggests United Nations of religions
Jerusalem, May 27th, 2004.
During a visit to Madrid,
the Great Rabbi Asquenazi of Israel, said a “United Nations
organisation of religions” should be established.
The Rabbi, Yonah Metzger, said anyone could go to the organisation
with their ambassador. Rather than representing countries, they
would represent the different religious faiths. This is the
first visit to Spain by the Great Rabbi and he met the Foreign
Minister, Miguel Angel Moratinos.
Source: Europa Press. Editing:
ACPress
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