Front Page

Cardinal Ratzinger Elected Pope – Benedict XVI

April 19, 2005, ROME – Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the former prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, will now be known to the world as Pope Benedict XVI. The German prelate, who entered the conclave as the dean of the College of Cardinals, and the main focus of attention among prognosticators, emerged as the 265th Roman Pontiff, in one of the quickest conclave decisions in recent Church history.

Disagreeing Without Demonizing – NCC General Secretary Challenges Planners of ‘Justice Sunday' for Attacking Fellow Christians

April 19, 2005 – A partisan political campaign to change the Senate filibuster rules has taken a detour through church-state territory, and NCC General Secretary Bob Edgar has challenged the tactics as "dangerous and divisive" to the nation's religious and public life. In a statement issued Tuesday, Edgar says: "We are surprised and grieved by a campaign launched this week by Family Research Council and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, who said that those who disagree with them on President Bush's judicial nominees are ‘against people of faith.' This campaign, which they are calling ‘Justice Sunday,' should properly be called ‘Just-Us' Sunday."

ELCA Presiding Bishop, Others, Criticize Senator, ‘Justice Sunday'

April 22, 2005, CHICAGO – The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), joined four other U.S. religious leaders in criticizing U.S. Sen. Bill Frist's (R-Tenn.) decision to participate in an April 24 teleconference which portrays Democrats as "against people of faith" for blocking President Bush's judicial nominees. The criticism came in an April 22 conference call with news reporters. Frist is the Republican majority leader in the Senate.

Archbishop Iakovos Mourned and Praised as Pastor, Ecumenist and Statesman – Hundreds Attend Funeral Service at Holy Trinity Cathedral in NYC and Burial at Holy Cross School of Theology, Brookline, MA

April 19, 2005, NEW YORK – Hundreds of worshippers from near and far filled the Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity for the funeral of Archbishop Iakovos, former Archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America, on Thursday, April 14. His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios, Primate of the Greek Orthodox Church in America, presided at the Funeral Service assisted by the Holy Eparchial Synod and four clergymen.

Earth Day Not Just for the Secular – Congregations Nationwide
Focus on God's Oceans, Seas During 2005 Celebrations

April 21, 2005, WASHINGTON, DC – Even as the Congress takes up the debate on the environment again this week, congregations across the country will be making final preparations to focus on God's sacred oceans and seas in Earth Day Sunday celebrations on April 24. Once celebrated only in the secular arena, Earth Day is now being embraced by a wide range of Christian congregations from across the nation. This year, churches have been asked to focus on environmental stewardship and the importance of protecting God's sacred oceans and seas.

General News

Hunger Program Serves up ‘Just Eating' Curriculum
Seven-Week Program Examines Links Between Faith and Food

April 20, 2005, LOUISVILLE – The Presbyterian Hunger Program (PHP), in collaboration with two other organizations, has developed a seven-week curriculum for congregations exploring the relationship between the way we eat and the way we live. Just Eating? Practicing Our Faith at the Table aims to bring into dialogue daily eating habits, the Christian faith and the "needs of the broader world" through readings, action steps and healthy eating tips.

Indigenous Anglicans Focus on Gifts Offered to Communion

April 21, 2005, PALA, California – The Anglican Indigenous Network (AIN) kicked off its 9th biannual gathering here with the traditional Native Hawaiian sounding of the conch shell and water purification rite, a Native American smudging ceremony and festive Eucharist to celebrate the multitude of gifts which indigenous people offer the worldwide Anglican Communion. About 45 delegates from New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Hawaii and the continental United States gathered April 9-15 at the Pala Casino and Resort Spa in San Diego County to discuss the roles of indigenous women, youth, elders, clergy and theological education in the church, said Malcolm Naea Chun, AIN Secretary General.

Lutheran World Federation Hosts North American Consultation

April 20, 2005, CHICAGO – The Lutheran World Federation hosted a consultation, "Deepening the Bonds of Communion," March 31-April 2 here for its member churches in North America. Using the churches' current discussion on matters of human sexuality, 35 participants discussed how the world's Lutheran churches are interrelated around issues of God's mission and justice.

Judson Press Promotes Religious Liberty Sunday

April 19, 2005, VALLEY FORGE, Pa. – National Ministries is encouraging American Baptist churches and regions to dig deeper into their Baptist heritage and faith beginning with Religious Liberty Sunday, June 5, 2005. To assist in the process, Judson Press, National Ministries' publishing ministry, is offering a number of Baptist resources at a 50% discount to all churches. American Baptists stand in a long line of those who have fought for religious liberty and secured it for themselves and our nation.

Episcopalians Join Ecumenical Partners Seeking to Celebrate Creation
Keggi First Recipient of Genesis Award

April 18, 2005, SANTA FE, New Mexico – The Episcopal Network for Science, Technology and Faith honored the Rev. Dr. J. John Keggi when their steering committee met April 9 at Ghost Ranch in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The citation for the first Genesis Award for Science and Religion recognized Keggi, a priest of the Diocese of Maine now retired in Massachusetts, as a "prophet and pioneering leader" in the field. Keggi, whose scientific background includes a Ph.D. in organic chemistry, had served as convener of the Episcopal Fellowship of Ordained Scientists and of the Episcopal delegation to the Ecumenical Roundtable on Science, Technology and the Church.

Inmates Draw Help from Prison's Hospice, Church

Apr. 22, 2005, ANGOLA, La. – With an average sentence of 88 years, and many life sentences without the possibility of parole, most prisoners at Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola will die here. But a hospice program, which includes volunteers from a United Methodist congregation within the prison walls, is giving new hope to dying inmates. "The hospice program fit because we're a community and a culture," said Warden Burl Cain. "And in a community and a culture, there's dying. And when there's dying, there's a need for hospice."

Ecumenical News

Benedict XVI: Kobia Prays for Renewed Commitment to Ecumenical Openness and a Dialogue of Conversion

April 20, 2005 – In congratulating the newly-elected pope, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia prayed for "renewed commitment" to "ecumenical openness" and "a dialogue of conversion." Describing Benedict XVI as a man "known for his theological integrity and ecclesial loyalty, his evangelical simplicity and pastoral sensitivity," Kobia expressed his hope that his pontificate will "constitute a time for the Roman Catholic Church to apply, in a renewed commitment, the teachings and the spirit of ecumenical openness exemplified in the Second Vatican Council to the life of her faithful and of the whole Church."

National Council of Churches Looks to Benedict for Continued Commitment to Christian Unity

April 21, 2005, NEW YORK – The National Council of Churches has expressed appreciation for Pope Benedict XVI's announcement that Christian unity will be a central goal of his pontificate. "We pray that in the years of Benedict's papacy, we in the United States will find deeper and richer ways to live out our common commitment to Christ's own prayer that we ‘may all be one,'" said Bishop Thomas L. Hoyt, Jr., president of the NCC.

Archbishop to Attend Papal Inauguration, Greetings and Prayers for New Pope

April 21, 2005 – The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Revd Rowan Williams, is to attend the solemn inauguration of the new pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday 24 April in St Peter's Square in Rome. Archbishop Rowan will become the first serving Archbishop of Canterbury to attend such an occasion, at least since the Reformation. The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity has indicated its ‘great delight' that he will be attending.

United Church of Christ Leader Offers Prayers, Expresses ‘Personal Disappointment' as Benedict XVI Begins Papacy

April 19, 2005 – Saying he prays that Pope Benedict XVI "may have the strength and wisdom sufficient for the leadership he is now called to exercise," the leader of the 1.3-million-member United Church of Christ (U.S.A.) nonetheless expressed concern today (April 19), calling the former cardinal's theological tone "rigid, conservative and confrontational."

Ties Celebrated, Strengthened Between Episcopal Church and Philippine Independent Church

April 18, 2005, MALIBU, California – Representatives of the Philippine Independent Church, meeting here this week to revision a 44-year Concordat agreement with the Episcopal Church in the United States, said they also hoped to focus worldwide attention on and garner support to end violence against the church in their homeland. "We have become the voice for the voiceless and the church has been included on the list of enemies of the state because of our solidarity with the poor and oppressed in the Philippines," said the Rt. Rev. Tomas A. Millamena, the Obispo Maximo of the Philippine Independent Church, or the Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI).

From Passover to Papal Mass, Weekend Brings Interfaith Focus
Los Angeles Seder Dinner Will Mark New Jewish, Episcopal Collaboration

April 22, 2005 – Passover, an 8-day observance commemorating the freedom of the Hebrews from Egypt, officially begins on Saturday, April 23, and is a time of family gatherings and lavish meals called Seders. The weekend also brings the Sunday Mass marking the new ministry of Pope Benedict XVI, rites to be attended by numerous interfaith and ecumenical leaders, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, and Episcopal Church bishops Christopher Epting and Pierre Whalon representing Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold. Epting is the Presiding Bishop's Deputy for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations, while Whalon is the Paris-based bishop of the Convocation of American Churches in Europe.

Statement of CEC General Secretary on the Election of New Pope

April 20, 2005 – The General Secretary of the Conference of European Churches (CEC), the Rev. Dr. Keith Clements, has issued the following statement on the election of the new Pope: The Conference of European Churches greets the election of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as Pope of the Roman Catholic Church with heartfelt prayers for the blessings of God's strength, guidance and wisdom upon his pontificate. The cardinals who have elected him have chosen a person of forceful personality and intellectual ability to lead their Church into a future which poses many challenges within that Church, in relations with the other Christian Churches and in the world at large.

Spanish News

Un Papa Profético Y Evangélico, Piden Católicas Por El Derecho a Decidir

18 abr 2005, SAO PAULO, Brasil – Después de evaluar el pontificado de Juan Pablo II, la organización Católicas por el Derecho a Decidir (CDD) de Brasil declaró que espera que el nuevo Papa "se renueve con el espíritu del Vaticano II y sea profético y evangélico." Esta organización católica destaca que el proyecto del papa Juan Pablo II todavía va a perdurar por muchos años, pero anota que "la presencia de una ideología conservadora no es obra solamente del Papa."

Elección De Benedicto XVI Suscita Esperanza Pero También Frustración

19 abr 2005, PORTO ALEGRE, Brasil – Aunque la mayoría de iglesias y organizaciones protestantes expresaron esperanzas y buenos augurios ante la elección del cardenal Joseph Ratzinger, que asumió el título de Benedicto XVI como nuevo Papa, no faltaron pronunciamientos críticos. El obispo primado de la Iglesia Episcopal Anglicana de Brasil (IEAB), Orlando Santos de Oliveira, declaró sentirse frustrado por la elección del alemán Ratzinger como nuevo líder de la Iglesia Católica.

Benedicto XVI: Kobia Ora Por Un Compromiso Renovado Hacia La Apertura Ecuménica Y Un Diálogo De Conversión

20 abr 2005 – En su felicitación al recién elegido Papa, el Secretario General del Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI), Rev. Dr. Samuel Kobia, ha rezado por un "compromiso renovado" hacia la "apertura ecuménica" y "un diálogo de conversión." Describiendo a Benedicto XVI como un hombre "conocido por su integridad teológica y lealtad eclesial, su sencillez evangélica y sensibilidad pastoral," Kobia expresó la esperanza de que bajo su pontificado "la Iglesia Católica Romana aplique, con un compromiso renovado, las enseñanzas y el espíritu de la apertura ecuménica ejemplificados en el Concilio Vaticano II a la vida de sus fieles y a la de toda la Iglesia."

Iglesias Evangélicas Latinoamericanas Piden a Dios Por El Nuevo Papa

20 abr 2005, PORTO ALEGRE, Brasil – Walter Altmann, pastor presidente de la Iglesia Evangélica de Confesión Luterana en el Brasil (IECLB), en mensaje cursado desde Porto Alegre, dice que la IECLB une sus plegarias a las del pueblo católico para que Dios proteja y oriente al nuevo Papa en su difícil misión, en estos nuevos tiempos. Reitera el compromiso ecuménico de la IECLB y expresa su ardiente deseo de que bajo el pontificado de Benedicto XVI las relaciones ecuménicas, que en los últimos años pasaron, en varios aspectos, por un compás de espera e incluso de tensión, puedan recibir, dentro del espíritu del Concilio Vaticano II, nuevos impulsos y nuevas iniciativas.

Una Mujer Presidirá La Iglesia Discípulos De Cristo

21 abr 2005, NUEVA YORK – La reverenda Sharon E. Watkins, desde hace tiempo dirigente de la Iglesia Cristiana (Discípulos de Cristo), fue designada nueva presidenta de la denominación. Será la primera mujer encargada de dirigir a los 770.000-miembros de la iglesia. Su nombramiento, como la primera mujer que dirige una gran denominación en Estados Unidos, se espera que sea aprobado en la convención que tendrá lugar del 23 al 27 de julio próximo en Portland, Oregon, declaró un portavoz de la iglesia.

Dos Iglesias Luteranas Buscan Sanar Heridas

21 abr 2005, LLANQUIHUE, Chile – En una convención conjunta, celebrada el 16 y 17 del corriente mes, en esta ciudad del sur de Chile, la Iglesia Evangélica Luterana en Chile (IELCH) y la Iglesia Luterana de Chile (ILCH), conversaron sobre la unidad de ambas, después de treinta años de separación. Fue la segunda convención conjunta, auspiciada por el Consejo de Iglesias Luteranas de Chile (CILCH) y asistieron un centenar de personas, con el propósito de sanar las heridas que llevaron al cisma a ambas iglesias en 1974.

Mujeres Líderes De Iglesias Mesoamericanas Establecen Estrategia S De Trabajo.

21 abr 2005, MANAGUA, Nicaragua – Luchar contra la violencia hacia la mujer, dar pasos para descubrir una sexualidad sana y una declarada ofensiva para evitar la propagación del VIH/SIDA, son los principales derroteros que las 45 mujeres líderes de ministerios femeniles definieron en la capital nicaragüense, del 14 al 18 de abril, en un encuentro convocado por el Consejo Latinoamericano de Iglesias (CLAI).

¿La Teología Al Poder?

20 abr 2005, MEXICO DF, Mexico – Ahora que acaba de darse a conocer quién es el nuevo dirigente mundial de la Iglesia Católica, convendría hacer algunas reflexiones acerca de las características de quienes acceden a los sitios de preeminencia en las diversas confesiones cristianas. El hecho de que el nuevo jerarca católico-romano sea alguien que ha demostrado sobradamente su capacidad para la reflexión teológica obligaría a pensar que, en efecto, existe una relación estrecha o, por lo menos cercana, entre el saber teológico y el poder.

International News

Colombian Takes up Cross for the Poor
Worker Cleared of Murder Charges Vows to Continue Rights Work

April 21, 2005, LOUISVILLE – Mauricio Avilez talks softly about dying. The dying that leaves one dead. And, paradoxically, the dying that leads to new life. He has a poignant acquaintance with both. On June 10, 2004, Avilez was arrested by Colombian authorities and jailed for 130 days, accused of sedition, murder and guerrilla activity. The district attorney ordered his release from prison last October when no evidence was produced to warrant a criminal charge, although the investigation was ongoing.

Cultural, Political Prejudices Inhibit Many Potential Women Leaders in Africa
Inter-faith Peace Initiative Focuses on Women's Role in Peace Building

April 21, 2005, JOHANNESBURG, South Africa/GENEVA – "We don't get peace and then make unity. That's putting the cart before the horse!" Ms Yvonne Fitzpatrick-Moore, a long serving management executive and crusader for women's rights, made these remarks when she addressed over 100 women from across Africa, meeting near Johannesburg to deliberate on the role of women in peacemaking in the context of inter-faith cooperation. Unity must precede peace if any society has to prosper, Fitzpatrick-Moore told delegates attending the three-day "Mothers and Daughters" pre-summit.

Kobia Shares WCC Viewpoint on UN Reform Report with Kofi Annan

April 21, 2005 – A memorandum sent today by the World Council of Churches' (WCC) general secretary, Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, to the United Nations secretary-general, Kofi Annan, shares WCC points of view on issues dealt with in Annan's report on reforming the UN. Annan's report is entitled "In larger freedom: towards development, security and human rights for all." The WCC memorandum critiques particular sections of the report, as well as an earlier report on threats, challenges and change by the UN High Level Panel (HLP) established by the UN secretary-general, and the report of the UN Millennium Project.

Religious, Secular Leaders Call for New Attitudes, Renewed Acceptance
for a Healthy Africa Second IFAPA Summit: Working Together for Peace in Africa

April 22, 2005, JOHANNESBURG, South Africa/GENEVA – The Second Inter-Faith Action for Peace in Africa (IFAPA) Summit opened here on April 21 with religious and secular leaders affirming the need for concerted efforts toward preventing conflicts and averting human-made catastrophes. A "healthy Africa" cannot be achieved unless conflict and instability is resolved and prevented, said IFAPA convenor Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko, General Secretary of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF).

Religious Differences Should Not Be Emphasized
Mauritanian Dignitaries Stress Need for Tolerance

April 21, 2005, NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania/GENEVA – Speaking serenely but firmly, Sheikh Khalil Ould Cheikhny emphasized: "We need a reformation, not fanaticism, to solve the problems in Africa." The Muslim dignitary was speaking to an audience of 500 people seated inside a large Bedouin tent discussing what interfaith dialogue entails, together with the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) General Secretary, Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko, and members of his delegation. Inside the tent sparsely lit with neon lights, oversized transparent banners revealed the Muslim village community's willingness to be engaged in open discussion.

Partners Unite to Fight AIDS, Family Violence in Romania

April 20, 2005, BUCHAREST, Romania – Romanians and Americans have joined forces in an ambitious partnership to fight HIV/AIDS and family violence in Romania, a country that faces an alarmingly high level of HIV-positive teen-agers. The project brings together the Romanian Orthodox Church, International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Romanian Ministry of Education.

Reviews

Art Simon Unpacks and Illuminates Hidden Treasures in the Lord's Prayer

April 20, 2005, MINNEAPOLIS – In Rediscovering the Lord's Prayer, award-winning author Arthur Simon offers his personal reflections on the well-known prayer, describing how it can enrich one's spiritual life. While coping with his divorce, Simon turned to prayer in a way he had never done before. Through the Lord's Prayer he found a way to come to God for healing. His story inspires all Christians to pray the prayer with more attentiveness and understanding of its power.

Judson Press Introduces New Book on Judsons

April 21, 2005, VALLEY FORGE, Pa. – National Ministries' Judson Press has announced the April release of Bless God and Take Courage: The Judson History and Legacy by Rosalie Hall Hunt. Since the publication of the Judson biography To the Golden Shore in the 1950s much has been learned about the life and legacy of America's pioneering overseas missionaries. Hunt relates never-before-published discoveries about Adoniram, Ann, Sarah and Emily Judson and the lasting legacy of these four extraordinary people who made Burma their home as they ministered on behalf of the Gospel.