c. 2000 Religion News Service
Baptist World Alliance Urges Easing of Cuban Food Sanctions
(RNS) The Baptist World Alliance General Council adopted a resolution urging the easing of sanctions on food and medicine for Cubans and others during its first-ever meeting on the island nation.
The statement says the council “believes access to food and medicines is a basic human right and the denial of such access should not be used by nations as a tool of geopolitics.”
It calls on governments “to remove economic sanctions relating to food and medicines and so contribute to human well-being” and to “reconsider the appropriateness of the use of economic sanctions in the effort to encourage changes in political situations.”
The resolution also “welcomes initiatives to ease sanctions on food and medicine affecting the people of Cuba.”
Members of the council met with Cuban President Fidel Castro on July 8, the last day of their meeting, said Wendy Ryan, spokeswoman for the alliance, which is based in McLean, Va.
Other resolutions passed during the meeting addressed issues such as the sexual exploitation of children and racism.
The council called on its member organizations “to oppose the sexual exploitation of children wherever it exists, to provide aid and comfort to the children who are the victims of such abuse, and to pray for all children everywhere.” It called such exploitation “one of the most vile forms of child abuse” that should not be tolerated.
The council resolved to encourage member bodies to promote programs combating racism and ethnic violence and asked that they submit an annual report of initiatives addressing racism.
Council members also adopted a resolution that “laments the reality that the cost of theological education is becoming prohibitive for many leaders, especially those in the two-thirds (less developed) world,” and urged the development of systems to share theological resources across the globe.
Lutheran, Episcopal Presiding Bishops Herald `Full Communion’ Agreement
(RNS) The presiding bishops of the Episcopal Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) said Wednesday (July 12) their two churches have much to learn from each other, and heralded a new agreement joining the two churches in “full communion.”
The Rev. H. George Anderson, presiding bishop of the 5.2 million-member ELCA, joined the General Convention meeting of the Episcopal Church in Denver and celebrated the Eucharist with the Rev. Frank T. Griswold, presiding bishop of the 2.5 million-member Episcopal Church.
Griswold and Anderson exchanged communion chalices to symbolize the unity of the “Called to Common Mission” agreement ratified by the Episcopal Church last weekend. The agreement, which was approved by Lutherans last summer, allows both churches to swap clergy and participate in common mission projects.
The agreement will become official on Jan. 1, 2001, and a special joint service will be held at Washington’s National Cathedral on Jan. 6. The two churches will also form a task force to help implement the accord.
Anderson said each church will able to learn from the other in missions areas where one has flourished while the other may be lacking. He also joked that he would like to “give the Episcopalians the gift of singing all the verses of every hymn, although the presiding bishop has told me that’s not possible.”
Griswold said the Lutherans will help Episcopalians study their own church hierarchy, which is headed by a continual line of bishops stretching back to the early church. That historic episcopate was a major sticking point for many Lutherans; the agreement calls for all Lutheran ordinations to be presided over by bishops instead of rank-and-file clergy. Griswold said Episcopalians will now be forced to examine what they believe about the episcopate.
“Anglicans have always focused uncritically on the episcopate as something that doesn’t need to be scrutinized,” Griswold said. “Now we have the opportunity to look at what we’ve taken for granted as part of who we are.”
Vatican Hails House Resolution Backing Its U.N. Observer Status
(RNS) The Vatican on Wednesday (July 12) hailed a congressional resolution that strongly defended its observer status at the United Nations from attack by U.S. pro-choice groups.
“The Holy See learned with satisfaction that the Congress of the United States of America on July 11 adopted a resolution in favor of the presence of the Holy See in the United Nations,” the Rev. Ciro Benedettini, assistant Vatican spokesman, said in a statement.
The spokesman said the resolution was particularly significant because it not only supported and praised the Vatican’s role in the United Nations but also recognized the Holy See as a sovereign state “capable of acting in the international field.”
The resolution, sponsored by Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., was approved 416-1 by the House of Representatives with the Senate concurring. It commended the Vatican “for its strong commitment to fundamental human rights, including the protection of innocent human life both before and after birth, during its 36 years as a permanent observer at the United Nations.”
Catholics for a Free Choice, an independent organization at odds with the Vatican on reproductive rights, has been leading what it calls a “See Change Campaign” to strip the Holy See of permanent observer status, which does not carry a vote but permits Vatican diplomats to speak in debates and participate in U.N. conferences.
The group wants the Holy See to be downgraded to a non-governmental organization with no official capacity.
CFFC and its supporters object to Vatican opposition to abortion and birth control in U.N. debates and at the U.N.-sponsored conferences on population in Cairo and women in Beijing. The Vatican in recent months fought distribution of condoms to help contain the spread of AIDS in Africa and the “morning-after” pill as emergency contraception for rape victims in Kosovo.
The National Conference of Catholic Bishops earlier this year dismissed the argument of Catholics for a Free Choice as a “rejection and distortion of Catholic teaching” and said the group “merits no recognition or support as a Catholic organization.”
In a statement on the congressional resolution, Bishop Joseph Fiorenza of Galveston/Houston, president of the NCCB, hailed the vote and said it is “unfortunate” the Vatican’s status “has become a matter of ideological and partisan debate.”
The resolution said Congress “strongly objects” to the campaign against the Holy See by “certain organizations that oppose the views of the Holy See regarding the sanctity of human life and the value of the family as the basic unit of society.”
Congress, it said, “believes that any degradation” of the Vatican’s status at the United Nations “would seriously damage the credibility of the United Nations by demonstrating that its rules of participation are manipulable for ideological reasons.”
Protestant Church in Germany Acknowledges Using Forced Labor
(RNS) Admitting it used forced labor during World War II, Germany’s Protestant Evangelical Church promised Wednesday (July 12) to contribute to a newly established reparations fund for survivors of Nazi atrocities.
“This was complicity in a regime based on force and removed from the rule of law,” church council president Manfred Kock declared in a statement. “We recognize this guilt.”
The church’s statement came amid historical research showing church parishes in World War II Berlin established a forced labor camp and forced people, mostly from Eastern and Central Europe, to work as gravediggers and in similar positions, Reuters news agency reported.
“There is evidence that forced labor was used by the church, particularly in areas such as forestry and in the churches’ social services,” said a spokesman for the church, which has also agreed to donate about $4.9 million to a new fund created by German businesses and the German government to compensate Nazi victims worldwide.
The Roman Catholic Church may also have employed forced laborers, a Catholic Church spokesman said, though it has no immediate plans to give money to Germany’s compensation fund.
One Berlin church official said that in 1943 two Catholic and 26 Protestant church parishes founded a forced labor camp in Berlin that used about 100 workers from Russia and east Europe.
“It is astounding how systematically church parishes used forced labor to compensate for labor shortages, in this case for urgent work in graveyards,” Berlin Bishop Wolfgang Huber said in a statement, adding “They were inasmuch tied into the Nazi system of oppression.”
During Hitler’s era a number of church leaders who spoke out against him were arrested and imprisoned in concentration camps. Some others were forced to sign individual declarations of loyalty to the dictator and still others fully cooperated with the Nazi regime.
Brooklyn Pastor’s Book Named Christian Book of the Year
(RNS) A book authored by the pastor of a prominent Brooklyn church has been named the 2000 Charles “Kip” Jordan Christian Book of the Year by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association.
“Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire,” by Jim Cymbala with Dean Merrill, was published by Zondervan Publishing House. Cymbala is pastor of Brooklyn Tabernacle Church, home of the Grammy Award-winning Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir. The book details how his church grew from 20 to 6,000 in his 25 years as its pastor and how others can experience spiritual renewal.
The award, named for a former publisher of Word Publishing who died in 1997, was announced during a banquet July 8 in New Orleans. Winners of Gold Medallion Awards were honored in 20 categories:
Bibles: “The Knowing Jesus Study Bible, NIV” edited by Ed Hindson and Ed Dobson (Zondervan Publishing House); Bible Study: “Moses” by Charles Swindoll (Word Publishing); Biography/Autobiography: “Fingernail Moon” by Janie Webster (Doubleday); Christian Education: “Boundaries GroupWare,” a combination kit of resources from the Boundaries series on healthy relationships, by Henry Cloud and John Townsend (Zondervan Publishing House).
Christian Living: “Fresh Faith” by Jim Cymbala with Dean Merrill (Zondervan Publishing House); Christian Ministry: “The Upside Down Church” by Greg Laurie (Tyndale House Publishers); Christianity and Society: “How Now Shall We Live?” by Charles Colson with Nancy Pearcey (Tyndale House Publishers); Devotional: “Wow _ The Big Picture: The Bible in 7 Minutes a Day” by J. Carl Laney, Jeff Schulte and Lloyd Shadrach (Nelson Bibles).
Elementary Children: “Because I Love You” by Max Lucado (Crossway Books/Good News Publishers); Family and Parenting: “Just in Case I Can’t Be There” by Ron Mehl (Multnomah Publishers); Fiction: “A New Song” by Jan Karon (Penguin Putnam); Gift Book/Poetry: “The Art of God” by Ric Ergenbright (Tyndale House Publishers); Inspirational: “The Bible Jesus Read” by Philip Yancey (Zondervan Publishing House); Marriage: “Boundaries in Marriage” by Henry Cloud and John Townsend (Zondervan Publishing House).
Missions/Evangelism: “Finding Common Ground” by Tim Downs (Moody Press); Preschool Children: “The Rhyme Bible Storybook for Toddlers” by Linda Sattgast (Zondervan Publishing House); Reference Works/Commentaries: “Holman Bible Atlas” by Thomas V. Brisco (Broadman & Holman Publishers); Spanish: “Nuevo Diccionario De La Biblia” by Alfonso Lockward (Editorial Unilit); Theology/Doctrine: “The Story of Christian Theology” by Roger E. Olson (InterVarsity Press); Youth: “What’s the Big Deal? About Sex” by Jim Burgen (Standard Publishing).
Rastafarian Policeman Suspended for Hairstyle
(RNS) A Rastafarian police officer removed from active duty for refusing to cut off his dreadlocks claims his department’s hair policy is unconstitutional because the dreadlocks are a form of religious expression.
Antoine Chambers, a six-year veteran of the police force in Baltimore, was suspended in late June and limited to administrative work after his commander rejected the claim that dreadlocks are a form of religious expression, the Associated Press reported.
Rastafarians wear dreadlocks in imitation of one of the religion’s dominant figures, former Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie, also known as Ras Tafari.
Chambers has been growing dreadlocks for about 12 months, said an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, which has threatened to sue the police department. The attorney said Chambers’ dreadlocks are not unkempt and can be easily hidden by a police cap.
But a police spokeswoman said every uniformed officer must abide by the department’s hair policy, which is meant to create a uniform and professional appearance.
Vietnamese Archbishop Urges Debt Forgiveness
(RNS) A Vatican statesman who is also an exiled Vietnamese archbishop says he hopes world leaders will move closer this year to forgiving the international debts of poor countries and that Jesus would have been a poor businessman.
“If other people are poor, who will buy the products?” said exiled Saigon Archbishop Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan, who was arrested in 1975 and spent the next 13 years in communist prisons. Now living in exile in Rome and the president of the Holy See’s Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Thuan was in Los Angeles for the July 6-9 “Encuentro 2000” gathering of some 5,000 U.S. Catholic priests, nuns, lay workers, youth and bishops.
“We have organized many meetings with the World Bank, the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and the Inter-American Bank,” he told Religion News Service. “They listen and they think that the contribution of the church is very good.”
Thuan told an Encuentro audience that Christ would forgive the debt of poor nations “because he is love. Authentic love does not reason, does not calculate, does not measure, does not put up barriers, does not lay down conditions, does not set up boundaries and does not remember offenses committed.”
Canceling international debt is a Vatican priority during the Roman Catholic Church’s Jubilee celebrations this year marking the 2,000th anniversary of the birth of Jesus. Bishops from poor countries, Thuan said, are flown to meetings with global bankers and, “they manifest the misery of their people.”
Quote of the day: The Rev. Susan Russell
(RNS) “It’s not the whole enchilada but there’s enough guacamole that I can go for it.”
_ The Rev. Susan Russell, associate rector of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in San Pedro, Calif., speaking Tuesday (July 11) on the Episcopal Church’s adopting a resolution rejecting rites blessing same-sex relationships but affirming the church’s support for all committed monogamous relationships.
DEA END RNS
