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Evangelical
Alliance reject government legislation on homosexuality
Barcelona, January 17th, 2005
(ACPress.net).
With the Christian community
in Spain crying out for someone to take a stand against the
current wave of immoral legislation being pushed through by
the government, the Evangelical Alliance has stepped into the
breach. In a statement it says clearly that while civil rights
should be extended to all citizens regardless of their sexual
orientation, the decision to open the door to homosexual ‘marriage’
and the adoption of children by homosexuals is inexcusable.
The Vice-President of the Alliance and a psychologist by training,
Francisco Mira, says that virtually all serious research suggests
that homosexuality comes from nurture, not nature. The Alliance
statement continues: “heterosexual marriage and a homosexual
couple are completely different situations and concepts”, and
that no such “civil right” exists for gay marriage given that
it is, by its very nature, a heterosexual institution.
The statement also points out that “legality is not the same
as moral legitimacy and in this sense we understand and state
that Christian ethics conceive of human sexuality within a heterosexual
marriage relationship. Whatever sexuality is found outside this
limit is contrary to Christian ethics and God’s design as the
Creator of sexuality. Christian ethics do not condemn leanings,
but they do condemn sexual practice outside heterosexual marriage.”
As for adoption, the Alliance recognises that there have been
a few cases to date not governed by the law, but that legislation
which allowed it is being rushed through without due consideration
for the possible effects on the children involved. It adds that
the children’s rights should take precedence over that of homosexual
couples, and that it is too early to say that adoption by gay
couples will not have adverse affects on the children involved.
The statement concludes: “we are concerned that...homosexual
orientation is considered more and more a basic human right.
Any lifestyle can be criticised and questioned respectfully.
From a Christian ethical viewpoint we reject making marriage
and homosexual couples equal...and (we are) radically opposed
to the adoption of children by homosexual couples.”
Source: P+D, e-Mision.org.
Editing: ACPress.net
Christmas campaign gives hope to Christian TV producers
Madrid, January 17th, 2005
(ACPress.net).
Just before Christmas,
the Evangelical Alliance handed in a petition with more than
5,000 signatures asking for the transmission of an evangelical
Christmas service on state TV, permission for which was first
given and then retracted. The petition also requested a regular
radio programme.
When the petition was handed in, also present was the Director
of the weekly evangelical TV programme, José Pablo Sánchez,
who has been seeking a positive response from the TV company
for years. 4,000 signatures came in from churches, and a further
1,000 through the ProtestanteDigital.com website. The TV programme
is run under the auspices of the FEREDE, and the Evangelical
Alliance saw fit to support the petition out of respect and
concern at the general media situation for Christians in Spain.
Its spokesman, Pedro Tarquis, commented that the Alliance supported
any project which offered a dignified and representative portrayal
of Spanish evangelicalism.
Together with the petition were letters of support from the
European Evangelical Alliance and the Federation of European
Broadcasters, two organisations with which the Spanish Evangelical
Alliance is linked. Signatures were still coming in from churches
after the Christmas deadline passed. Spanish television said
that permission for the Christmas broadcast had been withdrawn
due to “budgetary and organisational” problems. Sánchez hopes
this year’s campaign will at least smooth the way for a broadcast
next year.
Source & Editing: ACPress
Religion referred to more on TV, but also more negatively
Madrid, January 17th, 2005
(ACPress.net).
TV programmes classified
under the dubious heading of ‘entertainment’ mention God more
frequently than they did in the 1990s, but are more likely to
be disparaging about religious institutions, according to a
new report.
The Parental Advisory Council on Television monitored prime-time
programmes over a year and noted 2,344 mentions of religion.
22% were positive, 24% negative and the rest neutral. The total
number of times religion was mentioned had tripled since 1997.
However, a reference to a religious institution or to a member
of the clergy was twice as likely to be negative as positive.
The negative references varied greatly: from Jimmy Kimmel’s
joke at the American Music Awards when he said the winners should
abstain from giving thanks to God, to the comment by an actor
playing the part of a Catholic priest in ‘The Practice’ who
said he had had sexual relations with a woman who was later
assassinated. The study concluded that the paedophile scandal
among Catholic priests had made them particularly vulnerable
to critical mentions.
Source: Agencias. Editing:
ACPress
Extra time for evangelical TV programme
Madrid, January 18th, 2005
(ACPress.net).
Despite not granting
permission for the broadcast of a Christmas service from an
evangelical church, state TV has increased the transmission
time of the weekly evangelical programme, ‘Good News TV’, to
15 minutes.
The FEREDE, which is responsible for the programme, had requested
an increase many times, but it finally comes into force this
week. The state company is also increasing the production budget
for the programme, which is the complete opposite of what has
been happening for most of the 20 years since broadcasts began
in 1985. Indeed, it is the first increase in all that time and
should help the producers improve the quality of the programmes.
The FEREDE put out a statement claiming that “this measure shows
clearly the government’s desire to advance towards neutrality
and religious equality.”
The next goal for the FEREDE is that the Catholic monopoly on
state radio religious broadcasting be broken. It also hopes
that 2005 will finally be the year in which at least one evangelical
service is broadcast on state television. There’s still a long
way to go to achieve true equality.
Source: FEREDE. Editing: ACPress
Evangelicals helping in earthquake aftermath
Madrid, January 18th, 2004.
The Evangelical Emergency
Platform (PESE) has swung into action in the aftermath of the
earthquake off Indonesia which left at least 160,000 dead, many
more homeless, and seven countries affected.
PESE is calling on evangelicals to respond generously to the
needs faced by hundreds of thousands of people who have lost
most, if not all, of their worldly possessions. PESE also asks
for prayer for those who are trying to comfort the suffering.
Donations received by them go firstly to cover basic requirements
– food, clothing, medicine – and 10% towards the distribution
of biblical material. Later, it is hoped to begin to help with
reconstruction, both physical and spiritual.
Because the affected areas are limited to the coastal regions,
it is possible and more economical to purchase the aid in the
countries themselves rather than send them from here. Most of
the infrastructure is still intact. PESE is in contact with
organisations working there, such as the Salvation Army, Christian
Witness to Every Home and Tear Fund. PESE was set up in May
last year as a kind of ‘Protestant Caritas’. It is formed by
a series of aid organisations and supported by various denominations.
Source & Editing: ACPress
7 Gigas and climbing at emision.org
Madrid, January 18th, 2005
(ACPress.net).
Only four months old
and ACPress’s audio cousin on Internet, ‘e-Mision.org’, has
already reached the impressive download figure of 7 Gigas (at
least, those in the know on these things say this is an impressive
figure!).
e-Mision, like A.C.Press and the web magazine ProtestanteDigital,
is part of RedIMIR, the evangelical media network run by the
Spanish Evangelical Alliance. The most popular sections are
the sermons, talks, comment and interviews, as well as round-table
discussions. Songs are less popular for downloading, which shows
that the site has developed its own identity.
e-Mision includes a weekly section in English, entitled ‘Spain
Today’, in which the ‘Top Story’ from this news bulletin of
that week is discussed and commented upon. Later this year,
it is hoped to develop a digital video capacity too for the
broadcasts.
Source: e-Mision.org. Editing:
ACPress
Seville for Christ at Christmas
Madrid, January 18th, 2005
(ACPress.net).
In the week leading up
to Christmas, a majority of the evangelical churches in Seville
got together to organise an evangelistic mission in the Alameda
del Hercules district of the city, a central area yet home to
people on the fringes of society.
A large marquee was installed with evangelistic material, Bibles,
videos, music CDs and other books about the history of Christianity.
The marquee was open from 11am to 2pm, and from 5pm to 10pm.
The Christians manning the tent took 2-hour turns and were then
relieved by others. Believers were encouraged to come and help
and share the Gospel with people. The main aim was to explain
why they were there and what they believed. They gave people
a leaflet with the mission programme on, including evangelistic
concerts and children’s workshops. It also included the testimonies
of various Spanish church leaders.
Source: Lidia Ruiz Galafate.
Editing: ACPress
Unusual Catholic call for unity
Madrid, January 18th, 2005
(ACPress.net).
The Catholic Church in
Spain has made an unusual call for unity among the different
‘Christian’ confessions. Last week many churches and groups
celebrated an International Week of Prayer, and the Catholic
Bishop of Bilbao, Ricardo Blázquez, took the chance to make
his call, saying that “the current division contrasts with the
will of Jesus Christ and reduces the evangelistic capability
of the Church."
The Catholic Church has rejected moves to create a Council of
Churches in Spain, but evangelicals and Catholics do work together
on a variety of social projects, such as caring for the sick,
prison visiting and helping down-and-outs. The Catholic hierarchy
has supported moves for the government to finance certain Protestant
activities, not least because it means their own multi-million
state financing package is more likely to remain intact. Yet
relations are difficult, because official figures put those
who claim to be Catholic at 83.6% of the population, while Protestantism
and Orthodox Churches together only comprise a paltry 2.5% (and
that’s probably a generous figure).
The Archbishop of Barcelona, Lluís Martínez Sistach, has written
a pastoral letter encouraging “the unity of Christians in Europe”
with more than half an eye on the forthcoming European treaty
and the general direction in which the European Union is heading.
“Christian unity is necessary today to make evangelism credible
and to contribute towards European unity. That is why all churches
and ecclesiastical communities should be invited to see the
ecumenical path as walking together towards Christ.”
Source: ABC. Editing: ACPress
Catholic Church blasts Basque separatist aspirations
Madrid, January 18th, 2005
(ACPress.net).
The so-called ‘Ibarretxe
Plan’ on the future status of the Basque provinces in northern
Spain has been condemned by the Catholic hierarchy as threatening
the constitutional well-being of Spain.
In a statement, they quote liberally from a 2002 note entitled
‘Moral evaluation of terrorism in Spain: its causes and consequences.’
They warn that any attempt “to ignore established, historical
ties between peoples, and to submit people’s rights to national
or state projects imposed by force, gives way to totalitarian
nationalism, which is incompatible with Catholic doctrine.”
They say “endangering the co-existence of Spaniards, denying
unilaterally the sovereignty of Spain, without considering the
grave consequences which such a denial could cause, would neither
be prudent nor morally acceptable.” The Catholic bishops believe
the Plan rides roughshod over the Constitution and to do so
on the basis of a local opinion is, they say, inadmissible.
They defend a pluralist society, but only one society.
“Nations do not enjoy an absolute right to decide their own
destiny...the social doctrine of the Catholic Church recognises
the right of self-determination in the case of colonisation
or an unjust invasion, but not in the case of secession.”
Source: EL MUNDO. Editing:
ACPress
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