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Is this the end of Spain
as we know it?
Madrid,
June 3rd, 2005 (ACPress.net).
Two of the least impressive
anniversaries thrown up by the Catholic Church approach: it
is 150 years since the disastrous doctrine of Mary’s ‘immaculate
conception’ was proclaimed a dogma by the Vatican,
and 100 years since the ‘coronation’ of the virgin of Pilar
in Zaragoza Cathedral. While the mere thought that such idolatrous
ideas can still command a following might send many Protestants
scurrying for the nearest pub, Antonio María Rouco, Cardinal
and Archbishop of Madrid, took the opportunity to lecture the
faithful with a Doomsday prediction for Spain: pull up its Catholic
roots and Spain will cease to be Spain.
A packed St James’ the Elder
Church in Madrid
listened as Rouco spoke, his main subject being personal and
community devotion to Mary. He highlighted the importance of
this practice in the 20th century, and reminded his hearers
of times in recent history when Spain
(sic) consecrated itself to Mary’s ‘immaculate heart’. “Spain
will be Christian and Catholic, or it will cease to exist as
such.” According to Rouco, if Spain
loses its roots, “it will not just cease to be Christian and
Catholic, but it will cease to be Spain.”
The Archbishop of Madrid added that “many people want a non-Catholic
Spain,
but at heart, the soul of Spain
stirs through the history of its conscience, culture and all
the glorious periods of its history.” And in all these periods,
he said: “there was true faithfulness to Christ, to the search
for the Lord.” Utter consecration to the virgin Mary seems rather
to contradict this, however. Yet Rouco referred to the renewal
by Catholic bishops of the practice of consecrating Spaniards
to the ‘immaculate heart’ of Mary. “The consecration which we
are going to hold in Pilar Square
(Zaragoza) should remind us of our Christian
and Catholic roots, of our country and our history, at the place
where the virgin accompanied the first evangelisation of Europe.”
If such ceremonies really are the ‘real Spain’,
then the sooner it ceases to exist the btter. Meanwhile, Spanish
evangelicals will shrug their shoulders at Rouco’s comments
and say, ‘Business as usual’.
Source: Agencias. Editing:
ACPress.net
FEREDE leader ‘shocked’
that King might refuse to sign gay law
Madrid,
June 3rd, 2005 (ACPress.net).
Quite what Spanish evangelicals
make of declarations made by Catholic leaders (such as those
mentioned in this week’s ‘Top Story’ by Cardinal Rouco) is probably
easier to fathom than what they make of those of some of their
own leaders. The lack of a clear lead and strong statements
outlining Christian opposition to such legislation as allowing
homosexual marriage and adoption rights, angered many evangelicals
in the early months of public debate on the issues. Therefore,
many of those same people will be bewildered by comments made
by the FEREDE’s Executive Secretary, Mariano Blázquez, regarding
the potential opposition of King Juan Carlos I to the legalisation
of gay relationships.
Blázquez reminded people that the King “represents all Spaniards,
those who are Catholic as well as those who are not” and called
the possibility that the King might refuse to sign the law regulating
homosexual marriage because of his Catholic beliefs, “shocking”.
Yet isn’t that what evangelicals believe as well? The FEREDE,
although it shares Catholic opposition to the law, does not
believe in conscientious objection.
Blázquez explained that the Protestant concept of marriage includes
seeing the minister as ‘merely’ a witness to the marriage, and
Protestants recognise civil weddings too. “It is just as valid
as that officiated by a pastor, because it is what God supports.”
He added that although “the State has the right to legislate”
for all kinds of wedding, “it should bear in mind the different
sensitivities which exist in our society.” He repeated that
the government should differentiate between gay relationships
and the traditional institution of marriage.
Blázquez is out of step with the majority who have responded
to a ProtestanteDigital survey which asked ‘Could those who
are asked to officiate at gay ceremonies opt out through conscientious
objection?’ A huge 79% said they should be allowed to do so,
with only 20% against. The results are not of course exhaustive,
but represent the general feeling among Spanish evangelicals.
Source: E. PRESS, ProtestanteDigital. Editing: ACPress.netSpanish
minister presents book about evangelical Cuban revolutionary
Havana, June 7th, 2005 (ACPress.net).
A book about Frank País,
a young evangelical who played a leading role in the Cuban revolution
and who was murdered, has been written by a Spanish minister,
Juan Antonio Monroy, and presented in the Cuban capital.
The book is entitled ‘Frank País: an evangelical leader of the
Cuban revolution’, and was born out of the author’s discovery
“of the story of the young Baptist who was assassinated by the
dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista during the bloody days before
Fidel Castro’s victory in 1959.” Frank País was the son of a
Spanish evangelical pastor, Francisco País. Monroy said what
moved him to write about País was that the young man “had the
courage of his convictions to the extent that he was prepared
to die for them.”
Monroy sees something of Don Quixote in País, a man prepared
to tell his executors to kill him rather than renouncing his
beliefs. Frank País was a poet and a pianist, as well as an
evangelical Christian, and a member of the First
Baptist Church
in Santiago, Cuba,
but died at the age of 23, on July 30th, 1957. He was shot by Batista’s
forces in the so-called ‘Wall Passage’ in Santiago,
in eastern Cuba.
Source: ALC. Editing: ACPress.net
Religious debate over gay
marriage is losing the plot
Madrid, June 7th, 2005 (ACPress.net).
Various Protestant pastors
joined Quakers, Muslims, progressive Catholics, Jews and Unitarians
in a motley religious protest against “the efforts of certain
religious institutions to appropriate the concept of marriage,
which are causing confusion regarding civil and religious weddings.”
The language is almost as confusing as the issue, but is a response
to a joint statement made by (other) Protestants, Catholics,
Jews and Orthodox representatives on April 20th, in which they
opposed the calling of legally formalised homosexual relationships
as ‘marriages’. This latest communiqué comes from the more liberal
wing of the aforementioned religious groups, and includes Carlos
Capó, a minister in the combined Lutheran/Methodist Church (IEE,
to give its Spanish initials). The communiqué complains that
the FEREDE, Catholic Church and others are trying to interfere
in politics and they criticised the joint statement against
homosexual marriage.
They did at least recognise the ‘right and duty’ of religious
groups to express their opinions but not “to interfere in the
legislative process of a democratic and pluralist society.”
They also expressed their regret that “certain religious institutions
have decided to unite for the first time in Spain
just to try and deny rights to people who historically have
been persecuted and discriminated against.” In fact, the (other!)
joint statement had defended the principle of not discriminating
against anyone on the basis of their sexual orientation, while
at the time asking that gay relationships not be confused with
marriage.
Aside from the moral tragedy which the regulation of homosexual
relationships undoubtedly is, the religious debate over the
issue is in serious danger of losing the plot completely.
Source: EFE. Editing: ACPress.net
Having a bash at finding
world peace
Santiago de Compostela, June 7th, 2005 (ACPress.net).
Meanwhile, another inter-religious
group has been meeting in the northern Spanish city of Santiago
to try and promote peace.
Alberto de la Hera, ex-Director of Religious Affairs in the
Spanish government, was one of the speakers, saying “world peace
is not possible without dialogue between religions.” He encouraged
debate, in which people learned to respect the beliefs of others
without having to renounce their own. Hera, who held office
under José María Aznar, now works for the Catholic Archishopric
in Madrid.
Another speaker, Marcial Martinez, from the ‘Three Religions
Forum’ in Valencia,
wondered whether a joint statement (much in fashion at present,
see previous articles) might be possible. If different religions
could work together for peace, they would be more likely to
attract non-believers and agnostics, he thought. This apparently
sits well with the increasing trend in Europe
of religious syncretism. The Director of the Sociological Centre
of Religions in Strasbourg,
Jean-Pierre Bastin, said that 30% of Europeans now believe in
ideas from different religions at the same time, such as reincarnation
and resurrection.
Hera also commented on ‘worrying trends’ in Europe,
such as the banning of religious symbols in public places in
France,
or making proselytising a crime in Greece.
He said religious groups should enjoy the same rights and respect
as political parties.
The Catholic Archbishop of Dijon,
Roland Minnerath, commented: “If Muslims, Jews, Christians and
all other religions consider terrorism immoral, then we can
reach conciliation, but only through dialogue.” He said this
could be applied to the Basque problem, as violence can only
“be eradicated through respect, talking to one another and getting
to know one another.”
Source: La Voz de Galicia. Editing: ACPress.net
Mayor turns down invitation
to Madrid’s 1st
Protestant Congress
Madrid, June 7th, 2005 (ACPress.net).
The Mayor of Madrid,
Alberto Ruiz Gallardón, has turned down an invitation to attend
the Protestant Congress planned for November. However, the leader
of the Madrid Regional Assembly, Esperanza Aguirre, says she
will go though has yet to confirm it in writing.
Gallardón is one of the very few leading politicians who have
attended evangelical events, such as the signing of an agreement
between Madrid Evangelical Council and the regional authorities,
or a visit to the Rumanian
Church in Arganda
after it had suffered an attack by neo-Nazis. On that occasion,
the Mayor showed his support and provided state funds towards
the repairs. However, he will not be in evidence at the Congress.
Source: CEM. Editing: ACPress.net
FEREDE distances itself
from complaint over mockery of Jesus
Madrid, June 8th, 2005 (ACPress.net).
The FEREDE has denied
any knowledge of the content of a Catholic communiqué complaining
about the mockery of Jesus’ death by two Catalan politicians,
Carod Rovira and Pascual Maragall, on an official visit to Jerusalem,
as reported last week in this bulletin.
“The only journalist who has consulted us and asked our opinion
on this issue is from the news agency, Europa Press, and (we
said) we did not want to give an opinion though we took the
opportunity to ask that when journalists talk about the Catholic
Church, they say ‘Catholic Church’, not just ‘Church’, as there
are several ‘churches’ in Spain, apart from the Catholic one.
This repeated comment offends us, as it denies us the identity
of Church.”
Photos published in the Press showed the two politicians laughing
and joking with a replica crown of thorns, made for the tourist
trade, and the Catholic Church quite rightly made an energetic
protest. However, the representative evangelical group, the
Federation of Spanish Evangelical Organisations (FEREDE), does
not seem to want anything to do with it. Europa Press put out
the news that the evangelical, Jewish and Islamic communities
had showed solidarity with the Catholic leadership over this
issue. They quoted Mariano Blázquez, Executive Secretary of
the FEREDE, as saying that “one should show respect towards
all religious convictions”. However, the latest statement from
the FEREDE suggests quite the opposite and that they do not
share the concern over the lamentable action of the two politicians.
Source: FEREDE. Editing: ACPress.net
20,000 Bibles bound for
Cuba
Madrid,
June 8th, 2005 (ACPress.net).
Representatives of the
Assemblies of God in Spain have travelled to Cuba this week
together with the Chairman of the Spanish Bible Society to distribute
20,000 Bibles.
The operation is being carried out through the Bible Commission
of the Cuban Council of Churches. The Bibles are partly financed
by the Bible Society and donated by the Missions Department
of the Assemblies of God. There is a huge need for basic materials
in Cuba,
and many Christians do not have easy access to a Bible.
Source: Bibliopress/SBE. Editing: ACPress.net
Tackling the bottle culture
with the Gospel in Córdoba
Córdoba, June
8th, 2005 (ACPress.net).
Saturday night usually
sees the Paseo Cervantes in the southern town of Montilla full
of youngsters, who congregate to drink and while the night away.
However, on May 17th, they were joined by other youngsters,
Christians from all over Córdoba province and even from as far
away as Germany,
ready to share an alternative lifestyle with them. They presented
the Christian message through a Christian music concert, dance
and mime. The event was organised by Montilla
Evangelical Church.
The concert included songs by the Córdoba Youth Choir, a group
comprising of 30 singers and 30 dancers, all aged between 12
and 25. Two young musicians from Montilla
Church, Sergio and
Laura, also took part, as did a German
street drama group and a girl called
Marisa offered a session of salsa-aerobics. The theme of the
evening was ‘freedom’. One choir member said: “It is not necessary
to drink or take drugs to feel free. The one who gives me true
freedom is Jesus.”
Source & Editing: ACPress.net
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