The Anglican Church Calls on Zuma to Help Gay Couple

On Wednesday, the Anglican Church in Southern African requested President Jacob Zuma and the South African government to lobby for the release to the two Malawian men who were sentenced to 14 years hard labour for their homosexual relationship.

The Synod of Bishops of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa said: "We urge them to press for the swift release of these two, who have committed no act of violence or harm against anyone; for the quashing of the sentence against them; and for the repeal of this repressive legislation.

"As we have previously stated, though there is a breadth of theological views among us on matters of human sexuality, we are united in opposing the criminalisation of homosexual people.

"We see the sentence that has been handed down to these two individuals as a gross violation of human rights and we therefore strongly condemn such sentences and behaviour towards other human beings. "

Stephen Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga were arrested last December at a party they held to celebrate their engagement. The court which sentenced them stated that they had committed "unnatural acts and gross indecency".

The Anglican Church believes that the South African government has a responsibility to lobby for the rights of this couple through the the Southern African Development Community treaty to promote human rights, and also because of the principles enshrined in South Africa’s own constitution, says News24.com.

(To read the full story, please go to http://news24.com)

‘Secret’ Muslim-Christian Killings Continue in Nigeria

A desire for greater political power seems to be behind the continued rise in Christian-Muslim clashes and killings. There are worries however that the situation could eventually destablise Nigeria, which is the third greatest supplier of oil to the US. The spate of latest killings shows that even a heavy military presence is failing to control the conflict.

Although, the military presence has succeeded in preventing large-scale attacks, ‘secret killings’ have now become more common, in which a lone Muslim or Christian is lured to either a Christian or Muslim part of town and then killed. Most of the conflict is still centred around Jos, a city in central Nigeria which is sandwiched between the country’s largely Muslim north and mostly Christian south.

"We have started receiving reports of corpses being found here and there. It started happening after the March 7 incident," says Femi Oyeleye, the head of the state's criminal investigation department, referring to coordinated mob attacks by Muslims on members of the mainly Christian Berom ethnic group.

According to Mr. Oyeleye, 25 corpses unrelated to any major attacks were found in Jos during March and April – far above the average rate of three corpses a month during the 12 months leading up to February. Lawal Ishaq, a local lawyer who documents secret killings against Muslims, recorded 36 deaths in March and April.

Death tolls are sensitive in Jos – and also highly unreliable because both sides have a tendency to inflate them. Religion is just one aspect of the conflict because ethnicity and politics are also definitely part of the problem, says the CS Monitor.

(To read the full story, please go to http://csmonitor.com)

Approximately 100 Clerical Sex Abuse Cases Reported in Italy

A top ranking Catholic Church official says that around 100 cases of clerical sexual abuse cases have been reported in Italy over the last 10 years. That amounts to an average of ten a year.

Mariano Crociata, a top ranking official in the Italian Bishops conference refused to say how many of the cases had resulted in disciplinary action against the priests involved. “It is the number that gives you an idea of the situation,” he said.

The sex abuse scandals continue to engulf the Catholic Church throughout American and Europe. The Vatican has been accused of covering up these scandals by victims and human rights groups.

In other news, Bishops in England and Wales have called for Catholics to set aside special days to pray for both the victims and abusers caught up in these scandals.

A statement from the Catholic Bishop’s Conference read:
"We pray for all who have suffered abuse; for those who mishandled these matters and added to the suffering of those affected."

And the Church also asked for prayers to be said for the abusers themselves, adding: "From this prayer we do not exclude those who have committed these sins of abuse.
"They have a journey of repentance and atonement to make."

(To read these stories in full, please go to http://sify.com and http://bbcnews.com )

Evangelicals Arrested in Alexandria

13 evangelicals were arrested this week in Agami, Alexandria for proselytizing. The president of the Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights described the arrests under Emergency Law as illegal, due to the fact their arrest had nothing to do with terrorism or drugs, which make up the entire scope of the Emergency Law.

A senior security official confirmed the arrests and added that Egypt is “not in need of another source of tension.” The arrests of the 13 mainly youth were made at a meeting with Father Antonios of the Orthodox Church. The arrests are part of a major clamp down on evangelical organizations in Egypt in an attempt to tone down simmering religious tensions. The Coptic Orthodox Church instructed its media committee to carefully monitor its TV and radio channels to prevent unwanted controversy and shut downs, says Almasryalyoum.com.

(To read the full story, please go to http://almasryalyoum.com)

Convicted American Missionary Freed from Haitian Jail

The leader of the ten U.S. volunteers who were accused of illegally removing dozens of children from Haiti was convicted on Monday, but then immediately released to return to the United States. The judge reasoned that she had already served her time in prison and was therefore free to return home.

Last April, the judge dropped the charges of kidnapping minors against all ten volunteers, but as the leader of the missionaries, Laura Silsby was ordered to face further charges of “arranging irregular travel.”

The case has been dragging on since January, when Silsby and her fellow volunteers from a Baptist church in Idaho were arrested for trying to transport thirty-three children to an orphanage in the Dominican Republic. The children lacked the proper documentation for their removal from Haiti. The volunteers were attempting to help the children whose lives had been devastated by the massive earthquake in Port-au-Prince.
During the trial it turned out that the children they thought were orphans all had at least one living parent. The parents had voluntarily given their children to the Americans in the hope it would lead to a better life for them.

UNICEF estimates that more than 20,000 children lost their parents in the quake and its aftermath, says the Christian Post.

(To read this article in full, please go to http://christianpost.com)

Hundreds of Thousands Attend Christian Ecumenical Event in Munich

May 10-16 saw massive crowds of Christians from all over Europe attend the 2nd Ecumenical Kirchentag in Munich. The event aimed to draw Catholics and Protestants together to consider how Jesus followers from different backgrounds can successfully lead a Christian life in and for the world in this day and age. The event was characterised by the large proportion of young adults who attended. Tens of thousands alone attended the opening service.

Over the course of the 6 days, more than 3,000 separate events were held which focussed on different key areas relating to faith; such as addressing political questions, environmental issues and Christian unity. Extensive cultural programmes including music concerts and theatrical performances were also held. The overall theme of the Kirchentag was Damit ihr Hoffnung habt (‘So that you may have hope’).

One very popular event was a bible study led by Margot Kässman, the charismatic and immensely popular former Chair of the Council of the Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland. After only four months in office, she felt compelled to resign – along with her post as Bishop of Hannover – after having driven through a red light when well over the permitted drink-drive limit. This was her first major appearance since her resignation and while she initially looked tense, the massive affection with which she was greeted relaxed her tremendously. Kässman’s return to public ministry has been celebrated by the local media with whom she has gained a massive amount of credibility throughout her long ministry, and particularly since her mistake and resignation, because she dealt with the fallout with such humility, grace and transparency. Kässman’s bible study was followed by huge numbers of TV cameras and press photographers, and she was regularly interrupted by public applause throughout her talk.

Kässmann called for Christians to stop talking endlessly about (and take their focus off) their divisions and offer the world instead images of hope of a future – a bit like planting a tree in a desert, building a house during a war or buying a field when you are about to be thrown out of the country.

Another highlight event was the dialogue between Hans Küng (82) and Jürgen Moltmann (84), two giants of late-20th century German theology. Küng is Catholic while Moltmann is protestant. This event proved so popular that thousands arrived early to ensure a place in the auditorium, and yet still many more were locked out than could get in.

(For more on the 2nd Ecumenical Kirchentag go to http://www.oekt.de/english/home_english.html)

Laura Bush Opposes Her Husband on Gay Marriage and Abortion

In an interview on CNN’s Larry King Live, Laura Bush revealed that she differed with her husband, former President George W. Bush on the key issues of gay marriage and abortion. She supports these issues while her husband is opposed to them. While they disagreed, Bush felt that they both understood and respected each other’s position.

“There are a lot of people who have trouble coming to terms with that because they see marriage as traditionally between a man and a woman,” Bush stated: “But I also know that, you know, when couples are committed to each other and love each other, that they ought to have, I think, the same sort of rights that everyone has.”

The former first lady stated she could accept gay marriage and she believes the legalization of same-sex marriage will eventually occur in the United States.

For political reasons, and to support her husband, Laura Bush had previously kept her personal opinions to herself on these contentious issues during their 8 year term in the White House. Bush also outlined how she disagrees with her husband about Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that legalized abortion on demand.

“I think it’s important that it remain legal, because I think it’s important for people, for medical reasons and other reasons,” she said.

While in office, President Bush was a strong opponent of abortion and gay marriage, says the Christian Post.

(To read the full article, please go to http://www.christianpost.com).