c. 1998 Religion News Service
British bioethicist: U.S. `libertarian’ view might lead to human cloning
(RNS) A leading British bioethicist has warned that the”libertarian”views of some scientists in the United States could lead to the first attempts at cloning humans.”The position in Europe (against attempts at cloning humans) is reasonably assured, but the concern is the more liberal view that some take in the United States,”Dr. Donald Bruce told Ecumenical News International, the Geneva-based religious news agency.
Richard Seed, a Chicago physicist, provoked international outrage in January when he announced plans to begin cloning humans. And in early March, a South African newspaper reported that a doctor there is also preparing to clone humans, ENI reported. Most European nations, however, have already banned human cloning.
Bruce said he believes the scientific community is divided about the ethics of cloning human embryos for medical research.”The ethics of creating something knowing you’re going to destroy it seems to represent confused thinking,”he said, adding that by permitting such research the scientific community puts itself on”an obvious thin end of a wedge.” Church of the Brethren names woman as top executive officer
(RNS) The Rev. Judy Mills Reimer, a former moderator of the Church of the Brethren, has been named as the new executive director of the historic peace church.
Reimer, of Goodview, Va., succeeds Donald Miller, who retired as general secretary in 1996. The post _ the church’s top day-to-day executive _ has not been filled on a permanent basis since then.”I do feel that this is God’s call through this board,”Reimer told the denomination’s general board, its key decision-making body between meetings of its Annual Conference.”… I am thrilled, I am honored, I am excited …” Reimer, founding pastor of Smith Mountain Lake Church of the Brethren in Moneta, Va., where she served as pastor since January 1996, has been active at all levels of the denomination.
In 1993, she was chosen by the Annual Conference to serve as moderator, the denomination’s top elected official during 1994. She also served on the denomination’s General Board from 1985 to 1990, serving as chair during her last two years.
Reimer is a graduate of Bethany Theological Seminary and was ordained in 1994.
Calling all film buffs, Catholic bishops want to hear from you
(RNS) Have an opinion on which film should win this year’s Academy Award for best picture? The nation’s Roman Catholic bishops want to hear from you.
From now until March 20, film enthusiasts are invited to call the U.S. Bishops’ Catholic Communications Campaign’s toll-free movie review line to vote for their best picture choice. And callers are not limited to the academy’s five nominees.”We’re curious to know what people who use our line think about the types of films Hollywood is releasing these days,”said Patricia Ryan Garcia, who supervises the line.”We’re giving them a chance to voice their opinion of the Academy Awards selections and to suggest some alternatives to the five best picture nominees.” The bishops’ movie review line, initiated in 1996, offers filmgoers information on the content of Hollywood’s latest releases with Catholic morality in mind. Films are rated from A-I _ denoting its suitable for all ages _ to O, for morally objectionable. Of the 269 films reviewed last year, just eight received the A-I designation and 45 received an O.
The movie review’s toll-free number is 800-311-4222. The Academy Awards are presented on March 23 and the results of the bishops’ poll will be announced on March 27.
Angolan churches urge outside pressure on government, rebels
(RNS) Churches in Angola have called for increased international pressure on both the Angolan government and the rebel Unita movement to comply with a 1994 agreement aimed at bringing peace to the country.”Despite delays in implementing the (peace) protocol, prospects for a negotiated peace are still high,”Augusto Chipesse, secretary general of the Council of Christian Churches of Angola told Ecumenical News International, the Geneva-based religious news agency.
But Chipesse said he was concerned there is declining interest by the world community in Angola and in enforcing the peace agreement between the government and the Unita rebels.
In recent weeks there has been growing tension between the two sides, particularly in the wake of Unita’s failure to meet a March 5 deadline for demobilizing its armed forces.
Chipesse said that a similar peace agreement collapsed in 1991, leading to a new round of fighting between the government and Unita, and he expressed concern the pattern could be repeated.”This is why we (the churches) are insisting on complete demilitarization of Unita. … We want one combined army.” Chipesse said nearly all services to Angola’s 10 million people _ divided into eight main ethnic groups and several smaller ones _ have been disrupted by the war that began in 1975, when Portugal ended its colonial rule over the country and many areas of the country remain inaccessible because of poor roads and the presence of land mines.”The church has an important role to unify all these groups of people,”he said.
Turkish Armenian patriarch dies
(RNS) Patriarch Karekin II, the spiritual leader of Turkey’s dwindling Armenian Apostolic Church, has died at age 71.
Karekin died Tuesday (March 10) at a hospital in Istanbul from an unspecified illness, the church reported.
Karekin led some 50,000 Turkish Armenians, survivors of a community estimated at 2.5 million people prior to 1915, when Ottoman Turks launched attacks on the community. Some 1.5 million Armenians died and most of the rest emigrated.
Born Bedros Kazanjian in Istanbul, Karekin served his church in Jerusalem, Australia and New Zealand prior to returning to Istanbul in 1990 to become the 83rd patriarch of the Turkish Armenian Apostolic Church.
The election of a successor will take place in April, the Associated Press reported.
Polish government returns synagogue to Jewish community
(RNS) Poland has returned to its Jewish community a synagogue located near the former Auschwitz Nazi death camp.
The synagogue, just miles from the death camp in the city known in Polish as Oswiecim, was seized in 1946 under a communist decree that stripped Jewish communities of buildings and land, the Associated Press reported.
The Polish government’s Jewish Community Regulating Commission, formed last year to return such property, decided March 2 to return the synagogue.
About 20,000 Jews live in Poland. Prior to World War II, some 3.5 million Jews lived in Poland. About 250,000 survived the Nazi occupation. Most of the survivors fled Poland because of the Polish communist government’s anti-Semitic policies.
Because Jews no longer live in Oswiecim, the synagogue is scheduled to be turned into a Jewish museum.
Quote of the Day: Baptist World Alliance official Denton Lotz
(RNS)”From an all-white men’s club, we have become more international and reflect that, but the BWA must become more than an extended NATO alliance. We must truly be international and find ways of engaging leaders from all six continents in the deliberations as to the future mission of the church and the BWA’s role in fulfilling that mission.” Denton Lotz, general secretary of the Baptist World Alliance, speaking to BWA’s executive committee during a recent meeting.
DEA END RNS
