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What
will new Pope do about worldwide Protestant growth?
Madrid,
April 29th, 2005.
The Catholic Church is
to consider how to tackle the unstoppable, worldwide advance
of evangelical Protestantism, especially in Latin America, Africa
and Asia.
A French religious historian, Odon Vallet, says "Today, 75%
of missionaries are Americans, and the vast majority of them
belong to evangelical churches. At the end of the 19th century,
two thirds of Christian missionaries in the world were Catholics,
and half of them were French. One of the tasks of the new Pope
is to strengthen the Catholic Church in the face of evangelical
(growth)."
Worldwide there are about 1,100 million Catholics, 600 million
Protestants (many of them evangelicals, especially Pentecostals)
and 200 million Orthodox. In China, a fertile breeding-ground
for Protestant Christianity, experts say there is competition
between Catholics and Protestants. The Pentecostal movement
has become one of the main factors of evangelical, Christian
expansion in the world. Dating its origins to William Seymour
in Los Angeles around 1900, it has grown to around 300 million
members in a century.
The largest Pentecostal Church
in the world is in South Korea, where the Full
Gospel Church
pastored by Paul Yonggi Cho has about 700,000 members. Evangelicals
make up 25% of South Korea's population, even though its growth
seems to have slowed since the onset of democracy and anti-American
sentiment, according to Nathalie Luca of the National Centre
of Scientific Research in Paris. In South America, where almost
half the world's Catholics live, Pentecostals now account for
between 10% and 20% of the population in some countries, and
are particularly numerous in Brazil, Chile and Guatemala.
Experts dismiss notions of an American 'plot' and say that Pentecostalism
owes its growth to its integration of local traditions with
the Gospel, in such movements as 'samba-Gospel' and the fight
against evil spirits. Prosperity teaching has also proved more
popular than Catholic liberation theology. At first, the Catholic
Church dismissed these movements as 'sects' but more recently
has developed its own charismatic movement under leaders such
as Marcello Rossi, a priest who holds huge Masses in Sao Paulo.
Source: AFP. Editing: ACPress.net
Evangelical lecturer wins Order of Merit
Madrid,
May 4th, 2005.
Antonio Prieto, an evangelical
lecturer from Cáceres, has been awarded the Order of Civil Merit
for his work in spreading the Spanish language in Germany.
Prieto was confirmed in the Lutheran
Church in Madrid
by Juan Fliedner in 1949 and studied at their school, 'El Porvenir',
in the 1950s. He studied Theology at the then Madrid Theological
Seminary, but finding it closed when he completed other studies
in 1956, he went to work in Germany. He got a job at Heidelberg
University where he taught Spanish
and shared his love of Spain with many generations of German
students. Indeed, some of them requested that he carry on after
his official retirement age, which Prieto did for a further
five years.
Prieto is the second evangelical to receive this award. Curiously
enough, the first was his godmother, Elfriede Fliedner, the
daughter of German Lutheran missionaries who was given the Order
of Merit in 1998. At the presentation of her award, Fliedner
commented that she considered the award a positive recognition
of her whole family, and of the evangelical community in general.
In the same spirit, A.C.Press sends Antonio Prieto its hearty
congratulations.
Source: FFF Editing: ACPress.net
Juan Luis Guerra for Christ, and for you
Madrid,
May 5th, 2005.
Juan Luis Guerra shot
to fame in the Latin world about 15 years ago by turning the
'merengue' and the 'almibarada bachata' into popular music accessible
to everyone.
Guerra went on to sell millions of records, but something was
missing. "I had fame, money, Grammies but no peace. I had to
take pills to sleep. I began to feel peace when I opened my
heart to Jesus. And I had been the first to run a mile when
people used to speak to me about that." Twelve years since his
last concert in Spain, and now an evangelical Christian, Guerra
received a Latin Music Academy Prize in Madrid
last month. He was in Spain to announce his forthcoming summer
tour, and launch his latest album, 'Para ti' (For you).
The album is exceeding even the most optimistic expectations
with one track, 'Wasps' (Las avispas), his greatest hit for
years. "The song is based on the passage in Deuteronomy where
the Lord sent wasps ahead of His people to scare the enemy."
Guerra tries to incorporate new elements in every record. "It's
something I learnt from the Beatles. They never repeated, even
though people felt uncomfortable. It's one of the things I love
about music, not having a mould." He is planning to incorporate
symphonic touches to his next record, commenting that "at the
moment, Beethoven and Debussy are sending me wild."
Guerra also helps children with health problems through an Association,
and is now gearing up for his '20-year tour', celebrating the
length of time he has been gracing the musical stage. The tour
includes six venues in Spain in July. In a recent radio interview,
Guerra spoke about his music and his Christian faith.
Source: EL PAÍS. Editing: ACPress.net
New Pope is an obstacle according to Evangelical Alliance
Madrid,
May 5th, 2005.
Representatives of the
Spanish Evangelical Alliance have said that the appointment
of Benedict XVI is an "obstacle" to any real understanding between
Catholics and Protestants, given his theological background
and thought.
The naming of a Pope more in line with the Council of Trent
than with Vatican II is seen as a sign of fear and insecurity
in the Vatican, with regard to change in their Church. The Evangelical
Alliance is an inter-denominational organisation that seeks
to promote serious theological debate, religious liberty and
the extension of the message of salvation in society. The European
Evangelical Alliance, of which the Spanish branch is a member,
has about 10 million members and a permanent delegate to the
European Union in Brussels.
Jaume Llenas, General Secretary of the Spanish Evangelical Alliance,
has participated on several radio programmes, including a station
based in Paris which broadcasts in Spanish, about the new Pontiff.
He says that Ratzinger's theology ignores the authority of the
Bible, and that his appointment reflects the fear of change
which exists in Rome. Pedro Tarquis, Alliance spokesman, added
that "it is an obstacle to understanding between the two confessions."
He sees Ratzinger as "Catholic conservatism at its most extreme"
and thinks that relations between the Catholic Church and Protestants
will be even poorer under Ratzinger than they were under John
Paul II.
An A.C.Press survey on ecumenical 'progress' under the previous
Pope found that only 21% thought the Catholic Church had acted
in good faith regarding dialogue, while an overwhelming 72%
said it had not. 41% said they were tired of hearing so much
about the Pope, while 6% are simply not interested. A.C.Press
apologises to this 47% for this item, which is really only designed
for the 29% who are "very interested" in matters papal, or for
the 25% who are "curious" about the new Pope.
Source: Europa Press, C.SER,
RNE. Editing: ACPress.net
Joint religious statement against homosexual marriage
Madrid,
May 5th, 2005.
The main religious organisations
representing the different confessions in Spain - Catholics,
Jews, Orthodox and Evangelicals- have sent a joint statement
to Parliament calling on the assembly not to alter the definition
of marriage to allow it to include same-sex relationships.
However, the Justice Ministry said the vote would go ahead on
a proposal which would not be changed in the light of the statement.
The Spanish branch of 'Focus on the Family' opted for another
form of protest and put together an impressive petition signed
by half a million Spaniards. The group hopes this will launch
a popular, legislative move to defend the family, marriage and
children.
The defence of traditional marriage has led the different religious
groups to bury their differences and unite in their fight against
the recognition of homosexual 'marriage'. The statement argues
that such a change requires deep reflection and a broad, social
consensus. Western culture is based on a Judeo-Christian heritage
of which monogamous, heterosexual marriage is a fundamental
pillar. The Protestant signature on the document was that of
José María Baena, Chairman of the FEREDE.
The statement added that whatever rights the government considered
appropriate for same-sex couples (or other types of non-nuclear
family), this should not alter the definition nor the essence
of marriage. Yet the government made it clear that they would
pay no attention to the joint statement, and are determined
to push the controversial legislation through, with all its
consequences. On the other hand, 'Focus on the Family' are continuing
their campaign against legislation they consider anti-constitutional,
and against the wishes of Spanish society at large.
Source: LA RAZÓN. Editing:
ACPress.net
Catholic Cardinal calls on Spanish civil servants to
rebel against gay law
Madrid,
May 5th, 2005.
Alfonso López Trujillo,
the Catholic Cardinal who heads up the Vatican's Family Advice
Unit, called on Spanish Catholics to rebel against the law allowing
gay marriage, and for civil servants to express their "conscientious
objection" and refuse to marry them in civil ceremonies. He
added that the law added up to "the destruction of the family",
while government Vice-Premier, Mª Teresa Fernández, retorted
that civil servants should obey the law.
Trujillo pointed out that only three countries allowed homosexual
marriage (Holland, Belgium, and now Spain), whereas "all men
in all cultures throughout history have considered the family
as the union between a man and a woman." He said it all started
with couples who live together, who created a legal fiction
whereby they were considered married, even though they did not
want to get married. This, he said, opened the door to homosexuals,
and now any kind of relationship, rather like a club, can be
a family. Trujillo said Ratzinger, before becoming Pope, had
spoken clearly on the ills of such legislation, and said that
people cannot be forced to obey a law as iniquitous as this
one.
Trujillo then called on all Catholics who work in areas affected
by the law to rebel against it on the grounds of conscience,
just as they call on doctors and nurses to rebel against abortion.
In a call reminiscent of evangelical theology, he said: "All
Catholics should be willing to pay the highest price, even the
loss of their jobs." Mª Teresa Fernández, at a press conference,
replied that civil servants are required to obey the law, claiming
that this legislation does not harm anyone, and that everyone
is free to choose the marital option that best suits them. The
end of the book of Judges comes to mind.
Source: EFE. Editing: ACPress.net
Islamic Commission welcomes government clampdown on female
mutilation
Madrid, May
5th, 2005.
The General Secretary
of the Spanish Islamic Commission, Mansur Escudero, has welcomed
a government initiative to charge all those involved in the
genital mutilation of women, even if the practice happens outside
Spain.
Escudero claimed that the Islamic Commission, and institutions
such as Al Azhar University in Cairo, has long denounced such
practices which, he said, go against Islamic teaching. Genital
mutilation is practised most widely in parts of Africa. The
practice is already outlawed in Spain, but the government now
wishes to close the loophole which might allow people to live
freely in Spain, having been involved in the practice in another
country. The modified law will allow the police to prosecute
in any case where the accused is resident in Spain, and chase
criminals abroad as they do in cases involving drug trafficking,
prostitution or terrorism.
The Socialist Party would like to go a step further, to allow
police to arrest suspects who are merely travelling through
or visiting Spain. Others believe however that the law should
focus on the protection of girls living in Spain. The issue
came to light when several immigrant girls asked their teachers
for help, out of fear their families would mutilate them when
they returned to their countries of origin on holiday. Other
immigrants have gone to health centres requesting the mutilation
of their daughters. Experts estimate that around 135 million
girls have had their clitoris mutilated, and that each year
sees 2 million new cases.
Source: webislam. Editing:
ACPress.net
Catholic priest apologises for his treatment of evangelical
funeral
Málaga, May 5th, 2005.
Last week in this bulletin,
it was reported that a Catholic priest had interrupted the funeral
of an evangelical in Málaga and more or less hustled them out
of the building, which is used by various religious confessions.
The priest has now had the dignity to apologise for his actions.
The priest concerned spoke to the family of the deceased person
and apologised for his behaviour. The fact that the Press gave
wide coverage to the event thanks to the testimony of an eye-witness,
Isabel Pavón, undoubtedly influenced the priest's decision.
Yet he is of course to be congratulated for his willingness
to put things straight.
Source & Editing: ACPress.net
And another Catholic priest lends his building for an
evangelical funeral
Palamós, May
5th, 2005.
Meanwhile, in the small
town of Palamós, a very different story has emerged. The small
evangelical chapel there was not large enough to accommodate
all those expected at a recent funeral, so the pastor asked
the local Catholic priest if they might borrow his church building
to hold the funeral. The priest was delighted to accede to the
request and the funeral was indeed held in the Catholic church.
More than a question of labels or ideology, as Jesus said, 'By
their fruits you shall know them'.
Source & Editing: ACPress.net A.C.Press:
The News Agency of the AEE (Spanish Evangelical Alliance)
Digital magazine at the website: www.ACPress.net
Telephone: 91 747 14 89; Fax: 91 747 59 24; E-mail: noticias@ACPress.net.
Postal address: Apartado 59198, 28080 Madrid, Spain.
Co-ordinator of A.C.Press News: Jonathan Dawson, E-mail: jdawson@acpress.net
A.C.Press is part of the Spanish Evangelical Alliance, whose
E-mail is: oficina@AEEsp.net (www.AEEsp.net)
The Alliance is a forum for fellowship, reflection and the development
of Christian thought, produces various publications, and is
involved in the struggle for religious liberty. It is also part
of the European and World Evangelical Alliances.
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