Rome, November 22nd, 2004 (ACPress.net).   
More secrets are slipping out of the Vatican, this time in connection with the clandestine existence of a papal secret service. The Vatican has never admitted the existence of such a group, but behind the name 'Holy Alliance', that may well be exactly what lurks.

A book by Eric Frattini, entitled 'The Holy Alliance', unveils this mystery which dates back to Pope Pius V in 1566. He relates five centuries of papal espionage led by the group which operates as the 'dark hand' of the Vatican, carrying out its sinister purposes. Exaggeration? Not according to Frattini, who says that the 'Holy Alliance', together with Sodalitium Pianum, an internal security group, and the Security Committee, plan such jollies as the assassination of kings and diplomats, the support and financing of terrorists, South American dictators and war criminals, and even money-laundering with the Mafia. And this lot claims to be the 'one, true Church...'!

The papal espionage network was first formed to fight Protestantism, what else?, and tried to murder Elizabeth I of England. Their support for Mary Stuart was an attempt to restore Catholicism to the islands. Yet this was merely the first of many such operations carried out over the centuries. Frattini comments: "John Paul II is one of the four most active Popes when it comes to using the 'Holy Alliance' as an instrument of power." One of the greatest scandals of recent years was the 'Flying Fish' operation, in which the Vatican Bank financed the rise of Lech Walesa and the Solidarity movement in Poland through the sale of missiles to the Argentinian military dictatorship during the Falklands War.

The 'brains' behind this operation (if 'brains' is the right word) was Cardinal Paul Casimir Marcinkus, who also masterminded the financing of the 'Colonels' Coup' in Greece to prevent left-wing Papandreu coming to power. The Vatican secret service is currently active in Middle East issues such as Iraq, and was apparently trying to influence the American presidential election. Frattini says that "pretty reliable" rumours say the current Head of the 'Holy Alliance' is a Spaniard, Pedro López Quintana, the Advisor on General Affairs within the Vatican's Secretariat.

London, November 22nd, 2004 (ACPress.net). 
The Christian Medical Fellowship has urged Christians to stand in the way of new laws that will allow 'Dutch-style' euthanasia to take place in Britain.

The ‘Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill’ Bill, which is currently at the Select Committee stage, seeks to legalise assisted suicide for competent adult patients who are 'terminally ill' and 'suffering unbearably'. Patients who are unable to participate in assisted suicide will be able to receive euthanasia and all that will be required are the signatures of two doctors and two witnesses to the decision. Opinion among the members of the Select Committee is divided but indications are that a majority are now in favour of the Bill. A course of action will be recommended to the House of Lords early in the New Year.

Both the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) and the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) have chosen not to oppose the Bill and in giving evidence to the Select Committee the RCP has spoken on behalf of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, without properly consulting these colleges or its own membership.  Along with straw polls of doctors' opinions conducted by the Voluntary Euthanasia Society, this appears to have influenced the committee. In fact, most professional medical bodies including the British Medical Association, the General Medical Council, Royal College of Nursing, the Association of Palliative Care Specialists and the Christian Medical Fellowship remain firmly opposed to the Bill.

Peter Saunders, General Secretary of the Christian Medical Fellowship (CMF), warned: "CMF is strongly opposed to the Bill because we believe, if passed, it would open the floodgates to euthanasia in this country. Any change in the law to allow assisted suicide (whether by doctors or relatives) would threaten the trust necessary for the doctor-patient relationship to function, place pressure on patients (whether real or imagined) to request early death, and introduce a slippery slope leading to voluntary and involuntary euthanasia. Such legislation would be impossible to police and might well undermine the development of palliative care services."

"The decision as to whether this Bill becomes law is currently poised on a knife-edge. In the strongest possible terms CMF is encouraging Christians to write, either to their MP or to members of the Select Committee at the House of Lords to register their concern, disapproval and anger at the proposed legislation."

London, November 22nd, 2004 (ACPress.net).  
Reaction continues to pour out in Europe as it seeks to come to terms with the huge popular mandate given President Bush in the recent American election. Joel Edwards, General Director of the British Evangelical Alliance, offers his personal reflection:

‘Tony Blair's visit to the George Bush this week is as calculated a statement about their partnership as you can hope to make. No doubt it will fan the embers of the debate both in the United States and in the UK and Europe, about whether the re-election of George Bush is 'a good thing'. What most people seem to accept is that religion was an important factor in the Presidential election, with 'moral values' a key issue for Americans. Indeed, one in five voters apparently registered at the exit polls the priority of moral values over the economy or terrorism as the major election issue.

‘Post-election analysts have noted that John Kerry's failure to embrace publicly his Catholic faith and instead maintain a strict separation between religious values and secular government may have cost him the election. By contrast, George Bush's clear and unambiguous focus on a values programme employing religious language to shape the election agenda seems at the very least to have conferred remarkably political advantage.

‘However, serious questions are now being asked about perceived huge divisions opening up in American society. Not only are there warnings of the threats posed to secular neutrality by the rise of the religious right focussing narrowly on abortion and gay 'marriage', but also some religious groups are asking themselves whether President Bush is in fact 'good news'. In this internal debate an apparent conflict between personal and social morality appears to separate many liberals and fundamentalists. Not surprisingly, questions are now being asked about whether Britain will see the emergence of a growing religious lobby which may potentially destabilise the so-called 'secular consensus'.

‘Evangelical Christians are now engaged in dialogues considering the implications of George Bush's re-election on such a values-driven mandate. Is the re-election of George Bush such bad news? Not necessarily. Let us not forget that the President was re-elected by receiving more popular votes than anyone else in American history. This was liberal democracy in action, with virtually record turnout, in which a large majority thought they were voting for a common-sense return to values they believe sustain the common good in the face of illiberal trends, especially in the form of gay 'marriage', abortion, and stem cell research. Some commentators have observed that the secular media largely missed or ignored fundamental cultural shifts in American society which have been reacting to and challenging the assumed power base of structural secularism. People seem genuinely worried about the direction in which their American society appears be heading over the next 10 years and beyond.

‘This was confirmed by the fact that voters overwhelmingly agreed that same-sex 'marriage' should be banned in every one of the eleven states balloted. And the fact remains that there is broad support amongst Americans in general on issues that tend to be associated especially by the media with so-called 'bigoted' evangelicals. With regard to abortion and gay 'marriage', for example, there is a clear consensus for restraint.  All the evidence confirms that Tocquevilles' 19th Century evaluation that American society was shaped by religion and 'habits of the heart' despite its materialistic tendencies, was correct.

‘Christians and non-Christians alike must ask; 'what are the important religious and moral issues of today?' This is not simply an argument about whether God is a Republican or a Democrat. Nor is it a discussion about those with or without moral values. In American political terms, it is a debate about the middle ground, the heart of Christian beliefs and ethics, as opposed to ideological extremes. This is now a global debate in which religious convictions and political behaviour can no longer be separated. As Voltaire once remarked, "To believe in God is an impossibility. Not to believe in God is an absurdity." 

‘In a liberal democracy it is simply naïve - and undemocratic - to expect any political leader to separate out their political and personal beliefs from their core convictions. There is no such thing as values-free politics. That kind of ideological dualism leads to the conclusion that no one with religious beliefs should have any place in the public life - a conclusion that some have argued led to the rejection of Rocco Buttiglione from the European Commission. Frankly, William Wilberforce, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Lech Walesa, would all struggle with that political absurdity.

‘The election showed that alongside their very real concerns about matters of security, the American people are worried about the cultural and moral values by which they define themselves as Americans. Consequently, it seems they placed those moral issues even higher on the agenda than the war in Iraq or the economy. Christian opinion on the authenticity of George Bush's faith should give no succour to the secular cacophony which appears to deny him his right believe or indeed to be a Republican leader. But we all have a responsibility to ensure that he does not present God as a Republican mascot or a member of the Republican Party. Indeed as the American evangelical activist, Jim Wallis, has reminded us 'God is not a Republican or a Democrat.'

‘Bush's return to the Oval office is important for all of us.  It is profoundly important for those of us with an evangelical Christian faith. For now more than ever, we must work to promote a political analysis which puts clear water between a legitimate Republican ideology and an evangelical fundamentalism which behaves as a new imperialism and distances people from the living God who belongs to everyone. In the UK, as in America, evangelical Christians will do well to stress a biblical range of Christian values it puts forward into the public arena aimed at furthering the common good. Clamour and censoriousness are to be avoided. Let it never be said that evangelical Christianity, which by definition means 'good news to all people', should ever become the very opposite.’

The Hague, November 22nd, 2004 (ACPress.net).  
A large explosion rocked an Islamic school in the Dutch city of Eindhoven in the early hours of the morning, which is why there were no victims.

The police believe the bombing is linked to the murder of film producer, Theo van Gogh, as the principal culprit is a Muslim with joint Dutch-Moroccan nationality and links to radical Islamic groups. Van Gogh had produced a documentary about Islam.

The explosion seriously damaged the school entrance and Muslim activities in the area are now being held with police protection. The Mayor of Eindhoven, Alexander Sakkers, said people living in that district were in a state of shock. The attack is likely to be a reprisal for the murder of the film producer.

Lisbon, November 24th, 2004 (ACPress.net).  
More than 100,000 Portuguese people, among them the President, Jorge Sampaio, are to make a handwritten copy of the Bible.

Another 50 or so luminaries are due to go to to the main lecture hall in Lisbon University to write out a few verses of the Bible, as part of the Portuguese Bible Society’s ‘Manuscript Bible’ initiative. Alfredo Abreu, the Director of the Society, says the aim is to moblise people from all walks of life, social strata and beliefs, and to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Bible Society worldwide.

It is also just over 250 years since the first edition of the Bible was printed in Portuguese, the ‘Joao Ferreira de Almeida’ edition of 1753. There are already three hand-copied Bibles in the Portuguese language.

London, November 24th, 2004 (ACPress.net).
Since singer Britney Spears and footballer David Beckham were photographed wearing rosary beads, sales have rocketed in the UK, but not exactly for religious reasons.

The Catholic Church is not pleased. It treats rosaries as objects worthy of great devotion and fears they will be trivialised by this rush to purchase them merely because a couple of famous people have been seen wearing one. So they have published a special leaflet instructing people on how to use it ‘correctly’. Father Allen Morris, Secretary of the Christian Life and Worship Department (!) in the Catholic Church, admitted that although the bank account was healthy, “it’s a great shame they are being used for decoration and not for pious purposes.” God may beg to differ, of course.

He agreed that Spears and Beckham were not doing anything wrong nor leading anyone astray, “I am sorry that people are using them as fashion accessories and are not aware of their religious significance.” Ignorance is bliss, for once.

London, November 23rd, 2004 (ACPress.net). 
The World Association of Christian Communicators (WACC) has protested at the seizure of hard discs belonging to two London servers in the Indymedia network, by order of the American Justice Department.

After denouncing the move as an attack on the freedom of the Press, the WACC has called on Christian communicators worldwide to send condemnatory notes to the officials involved in the seizure, in Britain, the USA, Switzerland and Italy. The General Secretary, Rev. R. Naylor, said that Indymedia is a global news network which gives space free to broadcast independent and informative news, photos, audio and video material, especially that having to do with politics and social justice.

On November 7th, the American authorities, apparently with the collusion of their Swiss and Italian counterparts, ordered that the hard discs of two servers belonging to the London-based branch of Rackspace, an American web company, be seized. The legal reason for the confiscation has not been given, and thus far all the countries concerned have maintained a complete silence about the matter. Indymedia still has received no confirmation as to who ordered the seizure, why, or whether it could happen again.

WACC claims the action contravenes Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It also wants the names of the people and organisations involved in the confiscation to be published. It calls for all copies of the confiscated information to be destroyed and that a list of those who have had access to the material be made.