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Faith Leaders' Statement Following Terrorist Attacks in London

July 11, 2005 – Senior religious leaders have joined the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, at Lambeth Palace, to issue a joint statement following Thursday's terrorist attacks in London. The leaders are the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, the Free Churches Moderator, Dr David Coffey, the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, Sir Jonathan Sacks, and the Chair of the Council of Mosques & Imams, Sheikh Dr Zaki Badawi.

General News

Church of England Moves Closer to Ordaining Women Bishops

July 12, 2005 – The Church of England moved a step closer to ordaining women as bishops this week while its General Synod, the Church's main governing body, met July 8-12 in York, England. Bishop Tom Butler of Southwark, who opened the Synod debate, said, "I believe that there are good ecclesiological and theological reasons why women should now be able to be ordained bishop."

Two-Thousand Participants Expected at Orthodox Church in America Council

July 15, 2005, TORONTO, Ontario – Nearly 2000 hierarchs, clergy, and lay and youth participants are expected to participate in the 14th All-American Council of the Orthodox Church in America at the Sheraton City Centre here July 17-22, 2005. Chaired by Metropolitan Herman, the Church's ranking hierarch in North America, council delegates will consider wide range of issues spanning Church finances to parish development, clergy formation, and stem cell research during the week-long gathering, the theme of which is "The Church and the Future."

Annual Conferences Confess to Racism

Jul. 15, 2005 – United Methodists around the United States are working to reconcile past actions spurred by racism. During annual conference (regional) gatherings this spring, several of the sessions acted to remember and redeem past wrongs. In Birmingham, Ala., hundreds of people stood outside McCoy United Methodist Church on June 6 for a "Service of Confession and Recommitment to Disciple-Making." The service included a confession of the sins of prejudice and discrimination against African Americans.

Youth of Color Explore Ordination Paths
Conference Helps Each Participant Answer ‘Am I Called?'

July 11, 2005, LOS ANGELES – Deon Johnson remembers feeling skepticism, fear and trembling as he approached the first "Am I Called?" (AIC) conference in 1999. This year, he sent his own parishioner to Los Angeles for the biennial gathering, held June 24-26. "The AIC conference was the first time I ever had an opportunity to sit down and have a one- on-one conversation with a bishop," said Johnson, 27, associate rector at Christ Church in Shaker Heights, Ohio. Then, he was a Case Western Reserve University junior majoring in English and history. He attended the conference, designed to help young people of color explore vocation, at the urging of his parish priest.

Spanish News

Obispo Ramos Da Silva Es Suspendido Por El Partido
Pero Dice Que No Cometió Ningún Delito

13 julio 2005, SÃO PAULO, Brasil – El diputado federal y obispo de la Iglesia Universal del Reino de Dios (IURD), Joao Batista Ramos da Silva, fue expulsado del Partido del Frente Liberal (PFL) tras su detención el lunes (11/7) en el aeropuerto de Brasilia cuando pretendía trasladar en un avión privado cerca de cuatro millones de dólares a Sao Paulo, donde funciona la sede central de la iglesia. La expulsión fue acordada en sesión extraordinaria y con el voto unánime de la dirección nacional del PFL, partido de derecha en el que militan varios líderes de la IURD.

Obispo Dice Que Movilización De La Sociedad Civil Obligará
Al Gobierno a Luchar Contra Corrupción

12 julio 2005, LIMA, Peru – Sólo la movilización de la sociedad civil obligará al gobierno a alinearse en la lucha contra la corrupción, dijo el obispo católico Luis Bambarén, tras reunirse con diversas organizaciones sociales en pie de lucha por la ley que liberó a dos personas comprometidas en actos de corrupción en el gobierno del ex presidente Alberto Fujimori. "Seríamos cómplices en la sociedad civil si caemos en la indiferencia. No podemos admitir eso, tenemos que rebelarnos ante la corrupción," dijo el religioso al diario La República.

International News

WSC-AR Condemns London Bombings, Calls upon British Government
and European Union to Prevent Hate Crimes Against Religious Minorities

July 10, 2005 – The World Sikh Council – America Region (WSC-AR), on behalf of the US Sikh community, strongly condemns the recent heinous bombings in London. We are shocked and grieved at this human tragedy. We pray for the persons who died and those wounded in the bombings. We honor and salute the brave rescue personnel who put their own lives at risk to save the survivors. Dr. Tarunjit Singh, Secretary General of WSC-AR, remarked, "As people of faith, we abhor the brutal bombings in London. In a world being increasingly polarized along ethnic, religious, racial, and nationalistic ideologies, we must find just and peaceful resolutions to conflicts." The British Government has shown some restraint in not stereotyping any minority community with collective guilt.

Archbishop of Canterbury Statement on London Terrorist Attacks

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has spoken of his horror and grief following the explosions in London this morning. Speaking whilst on an interfaith visit to West Yorkshire, Dr Williams said: "The appalling events in London this morning have shocked us all. So I want first and foremost to extend my personal sympathy and condolences to everyone who is suffering and grieving at this time. "All those caught up in this tragedy – and that includes of course the emergency services whose selfless dedication and commitment is so vital at times like this – all are in my own prayers and in the prayers of a great many people.

Bitter Memories: 10 Years after Srebrenica Massacre, Reconciliation Remains ‘Arduous'

July 14, 2005, WARSAW – Ten years after the Srebrenica massacre, Europe's worst mass execution since World War II, reconciliation remains an arduous task, according to Mato Zovkic, vicar-general of the Roman Catholic Church in Sarajevo. "Our congregations, whether Catholic, Orthodox or Muslim, expect us to side with our own ethnic groups – to see and hear them primarily, before we look at what's happening in the neighbor's yard," said Zovkic, who represented his church at a July 11 ceremony to commemorate the massacre, in which 8,000 Muslim men and boys were killed in what is now Bosnia and Herzegovina. "Prophetic voices still represent only a tiny minority," Zovkic said.

Adventists Condemn London Acts of Terror, Pray for Victims

July 8, 2005, ST. LOUIS, Missouri – Delegates to the 58th General Conference Session of the Seventh-day Adventist Church expressed their "shock and horror at the mindless acts of terror, brutality and extremism seen in London today," according to a statement read to delegates by Pastor Ted N.C. Wilson, a general vice president of the world church. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the injured and bereaved," Wilson read at the opening of the Thursday, July 7 business session. "We are living in an increasingly unstable and dangerous world," the church's statement added.

World Sikh Council – America Region Speaks Truth to Power:
Calls upon Prime Minister of India to Act to Prevent India's Persecution of Sikh Community

July 15, 2005 – On the eve of the Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh's historic visit to the United States of America from July 18 – 20, 2005, the World Sikh Council – America Region (WSC-AR), on behalf of the Sikh community of the United States, takes this opportunity to remind the Prime Minister of the Sikh nation's long-outstanding concerns, and calls upon him not to let the Indian polity continue the genocidal era of India's state terrorism of the 1980s and 1990s against the Sikh community. Sikhs are still waiting for justice from the State of India for its genocidal policy against the Sikh community.