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Of
Protestants and Pontiffs
Rome, May 11th, 2005 (ACPres.net).
The iron man of
the Catholic Church, the man who blew Liberation Theology out
of the water, the inflexible leader obsessed with orthodoxy...such
a profile does not seem to match the significant consensus of
opinion within the conclave of Cardinals, nor with the popular
campaigns of support seen in recent days for Benedict XVI. So
who is behind the new Pope?.
The main pillar of the German’s triumph at the latest papal
election was undoubtedly his predecessor’s support; John Paul
II called Ratzinger his “trusted friend” and he was certainly
more than this - his right-hand man for 20 years. There are
those who say he inherited the headship of the Vatican even
before white smoke puffed out of its Chapel’s chimneys, because
he took over the reins of power immediately following the death
of John Paul, possibly even earlier. He decided the date and
organised the details of the funeral of the Pole, and set up
the shape of the conclave.
Alongside Ratzinger are such key Catholic players as the Chairman
of the Italian Episcopate, Camillo Ruini, the Austrian Cardinal,
Christoph Schoenborn and another Italian, Angelo Scola. Benedict
XVI guarantees continuity from John Paul, especially in matters
of ethical orthodoxy. Conservative movements such as Opus Dei
or the Legionnaires of Christ view his appointment with satisfaction
and see in him someone who will act with a firm hand to protect
an institution under attack from liberals and filled with much
confusion. The Opus Dei office in Madrid made a public statement
expressing its pleasure at the choice of new Pontiff.
A leading Spanish politican and ex-government minister, now
Leader of the Galician Assembly, agrees with this positive assessment,
admiring Ratzinger’s “spiritual firmness, intellectual rigour
and the close harmony and union he always enjoyed with John
Paul II.”
In 2000, Ratzinger said that Anglican, Lutheran and Protestant
Churches in general were ‘deficient’, something ‘El Mundo’ newspaper
thinks they have not forgotten. One wonders. The Archbishop
of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, opted for a conciliatory tone
in his initial reaction, avoiding any reference to the ‘hard
line’ of the new Pope. “I hope to meet him and work with him
to build on his predecessor’s legacy, while we promote understanding
between our churches.” That sounds as if he cannot (or does
not wish to) recall Ratzinger’s words at all.
Other Protestants have not been so kind (or naive, depending
on your point of view). Bernd Goehring, of the German Ecumenical
Church, 'Kirche von Unten', considers Ratzinger’s election “a
catastrophe”. “It is bad news, even though it was expected.
We do not anticipate any change in the coming years. I think
he will make many people turn their backs on the Catholic Church.”
Praeses Alfred Buss, of the Westphalian Evangelical Church in
Germany, says in regard to Ratzinger becoming Pope that “we
should not hold out much hope for an ecumenical openness of
the Catholic Church towards the Protestant Church.” But who
really wants that? It would be a recipe for disaster for biblical
Christianity, as has been seen in the past. So perhaps one’s
view of the new Pope depends on what one hopes to get from him.
Source: EL MUNDO. Editing: ACPress.net
President Bush leads
America in prayer
Washington DC, May 11th, 2005 (ACPres.net).
The American National
Day of Prayer is an occasion for Americans to "ask that
our nation, our leaders and our people use the freedom we have
been given wisely," President Bush said on May 5th at the
White House.
Speaking on the 54th National Day of Prayer, the president told
a gathering, "Freedom is a divine gift that carries with
it a tremendous human responsibility. We pray as Americans have
always prayed -- with confidence in God's purpose, with hope
for the future and with the humility to ask God's help to do
what is right." The morning event in the East Room marked
the fifth consecutive year the president has spoken at such
an observance in the White House. In addition to events in Washington,
observances were expected to be held at about 40,000 sites across
the country, according to the NDP Task Force. In his six-minute
speech, Bush said Americans pray for three reasons: (1) "to
give thanks for our freedom;" (2) "for help in defending
the gift of freedom from those who seek to destroy it;"
and (3) "to acknowledge our dependence on the Almighty."
A transcript of the president's remarks is available at www.whitehouse.gov/news.
After all the scoffing at and criticism of President Bush on
this side of the water, it would be nice to see a few European
leaders copy his lead and take God into account before they
try and govern their countries.
Source: Baptist Press. Editing: ACPress.net
Is the Gospel turning
a corner in France?
Paris, May 11th, 2005 (ACPres.net).
France has not
had a strong Protestant community since the persecution of the
Huguenots in the 17th and 18th centuries. Until that time, almost
half the population had embraced the principles of the Reformation.
Then the St. Bartholomew’s Massacre in 1572, the Edict of Nantes
and the ensuing persecution, reduced Protestant ranks to a very
small proportion of the population.
Some observers believe things might be changing. Whereas a few
years ago no one accepted Christian literature on the streets
of Paris, many French people now seem to have a genuine interest
in finding out about the Christian faith. In 2003, the Bible
Society sold 100,000 Bibles and 50,000 New Testaments. Recently,
a Study Bible sold 80,000 copies in just a month. Since 1950,
the number of evangelicals has grown from 50,000 to 350,000,
200,000 of whom are Pentecostals, a denomination which did not
exist in France before 1930. There are 1,850 Evangelical Churches
in France, and a further 650,000 people are what might be called
‘nominal Protestants’, though they do not attend church regularly.
As for Catholicisim, two-thirds of the population claim to be
Catholic, but only 5 million - out of a total population of
60 million - go to Mass as often as once a month. Another 5
million are Muslims, and there are 650,000 Jews. The Alpha course
is spreading and attracting more and more people to its Bible
Study groups. Another sign of healthy spirituality is the number
of French missionaries sent to other countries; this is also
increasing and there are now 350. There is a much higher number
of foreign missionaries working in France, including 750 from
the USA.
Sources: MILAMEX, Christianity Today. Editing: ACPress.net
Bible Society distribution
figures falling
London, May 11th, 2005 (ACPres.net).
The United Bible
Societies are distributing fewer Bibles worldwide. In 2002,
they gave out 578 million Bibles or Scripture portions, but
this figure was down to 431.7 million in 2003, and 390.5 million
in 2004.
No reasons are given for this decline, whether local distribution
difficulties or lack of income through donations, but much of
the world must be virtually untouched by the UBS given that
in the Americas alone, 273 Bibles were distributed, virtually
70% of the total. The UBS has 141 national branches, covering
more than 200 countries and territories. Of course, there are
other Bible distributors at work in the world, too.
Source: MILAMEX. Editing: ACPress.net
Jewish graves attacked
in Germany
Berlin, May 11th, 2005 (ACPres.net).
An unidentified
group of assailants desecrated 13 graves in a Jewish cemetery
in Western Germany.
According to the police, the attackers climbed over a cemetery
wall in Babenhuasen and caused damage estimated at about 8,000
euros. No one has yet claimed involvement in the attack.
Source: EFE. 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.
A.C.Press news items may be reproduced as long as their source
is mentioned (ACPress News) |
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