Global Christian consultation tackles biotechnology
[Ali Symons, ACC News • December 20, 2007] Designer babies, nanotechnology, and genetically modified crops were a few of the topics covered at a Dec. 2-5 consultation in Johannesburg, SA. The Global Consultation for Genetics, New Biotechnologies, and the Ministry of the Church gathered 45 church representatives, scientists, young people, indigenous people, disabled people, and theologians to talk about biotechnology, defined as the industrial use of microorganisms or biological substances.
The international participants had much to share: a Fijian theologian spoke about the use of Tongans' DNA for diabetes research. An Indian scientist explained how portable ultrasound clinics lead to more abortions of female fetuses in India. A disabled Canadian professor articulated western society's bias towards "ableism."
"The primary thing about this conference was networking, and meeting people working in these areas," said Rev. Canon Dr. Linda Nicholls, coordinator for dialogue for General Synod and a member of the Biotechnology Reference Group at the Canadian Council of Churches (CCC). "We can now ask [our new contacts], how is this decision going to affect you? And then get feedback on that, so we can advocate more effectively."
Christians have long been at work on these issues, for example when the CCC and the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada helped block the Canadian patenting of the OncoMouse, a genetically modified mouse designed to develop cancer. But this Johannesburg consultation began to weave a global network in earnest.
The consultation sprang from a 2006 meeting organized by the CCC and the National Council of Churches USA. Then the World Council of Churches (WCC) took up the reins for the Johannesburg meeting, and there are plans for another network event in 2009, which will mark 30 years since the WCC's "World Conference on Faith, Science and the Future."
Canon Nicholls (recently elected suffragan bishop in the diocese of Toronto) acknowledges that big-picture thinking about genetics and biotechnology is not part of an average Canadian Anglican's life. But related issues of disability are a touch point with most. For example, parents may consider whether to abort fetuses that have the likelihood of Down's Syndrome, or a church may be faced with how to welcome a differently abled parishioner.
"With all this genetic possibility and choices we have, have we done the hard ethical work to be prepared to make those choices?" asks Canon Nicholls. "Do we do that together as a church, or do we just leave that to people to do individually?"
Conversation-starting resources are out there. The CCC has developed biotechnology guidelines, which Canon Nicholls has adapted for Anglicans. The CCC has also produced a book of Christian reflections, Becoming Human: On Theological Anthropology in an Age of Engineering Life, which can be ordered through their office.
Canadian Anglicans are also engaged in these topics through the Human Life Task Force, a group which has been meeting since November, 2005 to "reflect theologically on the ethical issues surrounding biotechnologies, euthanasia, and assisted suicide, reproductive technologies, and human cloning, and to monitor ongoing developments in these areas."
Posted: December 20, 2007Transmis : 20 décembre, 2007 • TagsMots clés : biotechnology
Global church groups urge reparations to atone for slave trade
[Runaway Bay, Jamaica, ENI 07-0978 • December 17, 2007]. Many churches were actively involved in the transatlantic slave trade and they need to offer reparation to descendants of those enslaved, tortured and murdered by the trade, an international church conference has demanded.
"While there have been some acts of repentance and confessional statements made by some churches, for the most part those statements have not been effective enough in eradicating white supremacy, systemic racism and the ongoing legacy of the transatlantic trade in Africans," participants at the 10-14 December meeting in Runaway Bay, Jamaica, said in a statement issued on 17 December.
The gathering was sponsored by the World Council of Churches, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and the Council for World Mission. It marked the 200th anniversary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act by the British parliament.
"The statement sends a strong message challenging churches to look at their own past complicity in the evil of slavery and the slave trade and be at the forefront of exposing modern forms of slavery and oppression of people based on caste, race, gender or economic status," said WARC general secretary the Rev. Setri Nyomi.
Jennifer Ayana McCalman, a Council for World Mission delegate, said, "What has been done in one generation has effects in the generations following. If we don’t deal with these consequences from the slave trade then we, the church, are living in denial."
Sixty theologians, church leaders and activists from Africa, the Caribbean and the Americas attended the event called "Abolished, but not Destroyed: Remembering the Slave Trade in the 21st Century.
Between the 16th and 19th centuries, an estimated 15 million Africans were forcibly removed from their homes and shipped across the Atlantic Ocean to become slaves in the Caribbean and the Americas.
"Many churches were actively involved in the transatlantic slave trade in Africans and colonialism," the statement asserted. As a result, the church's mission was "seriously compromised and betrayed" it said.
"The process of reparations requires the restoration of relationships that affirm the dignity and humanity of all parties in order to repair what has been broken," the statement noted. "Reparation also challenges the perpetrator to confession and repentance and to minister restoration and healing to those who have been exploited."
Posted: December 17, 2007Transmis : 17 décembre, 2007 • TagsMots clés : wccwarc
Evangelization Requires Freedom and Truth
[Vatican City, VIS • December 14, 2007] This morning in the Holy See Press Office, the presentation took place of a "Doctrinal Note on some aspects of evangelization" prepared by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Participating in the press conference were Cardinals William Joseph Levada, Francis Arinze and Ivan Dias, respectively prefects of the Congregations for the Doctrine of the Faith, for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, and for the Evangelization of Peoples; and Archbishop Angelo Amato S.D.B., secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Cardinal Levada explained that the document is intended to respond "to a certain confusion about whether Catholics should give testimony about their faith in Christ. The congregation," he said, "decided to address some specific points which seem to undermine the fulfillment of Christ's missionary mandate. It does so under three general headings:" the anthropological, ecclesiological and ecumenical implications of evangelization.
In his remarks, Archbishop Amato recalled that "evangelization means not just teaching doctrine but announcing the Lord Jesus though word and deed, in other words, becoming instruments of His presence and activity in the world."
The "primary task of the Church," the archbishop went on, "is to lead mankind to friendship with Jesus Christ, in freedom and respect for the conscience of others. ... The necessary respect for different sensibilities and particular traditions cannot preclude the need for freedom or for truth, which are the indispensable prerequisites for any form of dialogue."
"Unity in truth and the exercise of freedom in charity are the arduous but rewarding paths that the Note aims to highlight, in the difficult and fascinating task of bearing witness to Christian faith at the beginning of the third millennium."
In his talk, Cardinal Arinze made a number of observations concerning the regions of sub-Saharan Africa where "African traditional religion has been the dominant religious and cultural context for centuries. It is also from that context that most converts to Christianity in these countries in the past two hundred years have come."
"The sharing of our Catholic faith with others who do not yet know Christ should be regarded as a work of love," he continued, "provided that it is done with full respect for their human dignity and freedom. Indeed if a Christian did not try to spread the Gospel by sharing the excelling knowledge of Jesus Christ with others, we could suspect that Christian either of lack of total conviction on the faith, or of selfishness and laziness in not wanting to share the full and abundant means of salvation with his fellow human beings."
For his part, Cardinal Dias commented on the Note from an "Asian theological perspective." Evangelization "in a context of religious pluralism is nothing new for the Church," he said. However, it does present "a particular challenge in modern times because we are living in an age in which people from different religions meet and interact more than in any other period in human history."
With a range of religious traditions as vast as that of the continent of Asia, said the cardinal, "Christians must seek to discover therein the action of the Holy Spirit - in other words the 'seeds of truth' as Vatican Council II chose to call them - and lead them, with no pretensions to superiority, to full knowledge of the truth in Jesus Christ."
Finally, on the subject of evangelization through inter-religious dialogue, Cardinal Dias expressed the view that "other religions represent a positive challenge for the Church; they stimulate her both to discover and recognize the signs of Christ's presence in the action of the Spirit, and to develop her own identity and bear witness to the integrity of revelation, of which she is the depositary for the good of everyone."
Posted: December 14, 2007Transmis : 14 décembre, 2007 • TagsMots clés : catholicvaticandocumentdoctrineevangelism/evangelization
Evangélisation et liberté
[Cité du Vatican, VIS • 14 décembre, 2007] Ce matin près la Salle-de-Presse du Saint-Siège, le Cardinal William Joseph Levada, Préfet de la Congrégation pour la doctrine de la foi, Mgr.Angelo Amato, SDB, Secrétaire de ce même dicastère, le Cardinal Francis Arinze, Préfet de la Congrégation pour le culte divin et la discipline des sacrements, et le Cardinal Ivan Dias, Préfet de la Congrégation pour l'évangélisation des peuples, ont présenté la Note doctrinale sur certains aspects de l'évangélisation.
Le Cardinal Levada a d'abord dit que ce document veut répondre "à une certaine confusion quand à la question de savoir si les catholiques doivent témoigner de leur foi", et qu'il envisage "certains points précis semblant entraver la réalisation du mandat missionnaire donné par le Christ".
Puis Mgr.Amato, Secrétaire de la Congrégation pour la doctrine de la foi, a rappelé que la Note "affirme qu'évangéliser signifie non seulement enseigner une doctrine, mais aussi annoncer le Seigneur Jésus en paroles et en actions, c'est-à-dire se constituer l'instrument de sa présence et de son action dans le monde".
"La priorité de l'Eglise -a-t-il ajouté- est de conduire les hommes à l'amitié avec Jésus-Christ dans la liberté et le respect de leur conscience... Le respect dû à leurs sensibilités et à leurs traditions respectives ne permet d'éluder ni l'exigence de la liberté ni celle de la vérité qui sont les présupposés nécessaires à toute forme de dialogue".
"L'unité dans la vérité et l'exercice de la liberté dans la charité sont les voies exigeantes mais précieuses que la Note entend rappeler à propos du devoir coûteux et fascinant de témoigner de la foi à l'aube au troisième millénaire".
Pour sa part, le Cardinal Arinze a traité de certaines observations relatives à l'évangélisation dans les régions de l'Afrique sub-saharienne, où la religion africaine traditionnelle a été pendant des siècles le contexte religieux et culturel dominant. C'est en effet de ce contexte -a-t-il poursuivi- que sont issues la plupart des personnes qui se sont converties au christianisme ces deux cent dernières années.
"Partager notre foi catholique avec ceux qui ne connaissent pas encore le Christ -a-t-il affirmé- doit être considéré comme une oeuvre d'amour, à condition qu'elle se réalise dans le plein respect de leur dignité et de leur liberté. Si un chrétien ne cherchait pas à diffuser l'Evangile, en partageant la parfaite connaissance de Jésus-Christ, on pourrait penser qu'il n'est pas pleinement convaincu de sa foi, ou que, par égoïsme ou par paresse, il n'entend pas partager avec son prochain les moyens nombreux et abondants de salut".
Ensuite, le Cardinal Ivan Dias a traité de la "perspective théologique asiatique", soulignant que "l'évangélisation dans un contexte de pluralisme religieux n'est pas une nouveauté pour l'Eglise", mais qu'aujourd'hui elle "représente un défi, du fait que nous vivons plus que jamais dans une époque où se côtoient des personnes de religions différentes".
Face à un panel de traditions religieuses aussi vaste que celle du continent asiatique -a ajouté le cardinal- "les chrétiens doivent chercher à y découvrir l'action de l'Esprit Saint -c'est-à-dire à découvrir les semences de vérité, comme les a appelées le Concile Vatican II- et à les conduire, sans aucun complexe de supériorité, à la pleine connaissance de la vérité en Jésus-Christ".
Quant à l'évangélisation par le dialogue interreligieux, le Cardinal Dias a affirmé que "les autres religions constituent un enjeu positif pour l'Eglise" car "elles la stimulent à découvrir et à reconnaître les signes de la présence du Christ et de l'action de l'Esprit, mais aussi à approfondir son identité en témoignant de l'intégrité de la révélation dont elle est dépositaire pour le bien de tous".
Posted: December 14, 2007Transmis : 14 décembre, 2007 • TagsMots clés : catholiquevaticandocumentdoctrineévangélisation
Doctrinal Note on some aspects of evangelization
[Vatican City, VIS • December 14, 2007] A "Doctrinal Note on some aspects of evangelization" prepared by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith was made public today. Accompanying the publication is an English-language summary outlining the main points of the new document. Extracts from the summary are given below:
"The Doctrinal Note is devoted principally to an exposition of the Catholic Church's understanding of the Christian mission of evangelization, which is to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ," the summary begins.
"Today there is 'a growing confusion' about the Church's missionary mandate. Some think 'that any attempt to convince others on religious matters is a limitation of their freedom,' suggesting that it is enough to invite people 'to act according to their consciences,' or to 'become more human or more faithful to their own religion,' or 'to build communities which strive for justice, freedom, peace and solidarity,' without aiming at their conversion to Christ and to the Catholic faith.
"
Others have argued that conversion to Christ should not be promoted because it is possible for people to be saved without explicit faith in Christ or formal incorporation in the Church."
Considering certain "anthropological implications" the document observes that "while some forms of agnosticism and relativism deny the human capacity for truth, in fact human freedom cannot be separated from its reference to truth."
"This search for truth cannot be accomplished entirely on one's own, but inevitably involves help from others and trust in knowledge that one receives from others. Thus, teaching and entering into dialogue to lead someone in freedom to know and to love Christ is not inappropriate encroachment on human freedom, 'but rather a legitimate endeavor and a service capable of making human relationships more fruitful'."
"Through evangelization, cultures are positively affected by the truth of the Gospel. Likewise, through evangelization, members of the Catholic Church open themselves to receiving the gifts of other traditions and cultures."
"Any approach to dialogue such as coercion or improper enticement that fails to respect the dignity and religious freedom of the partners in that dialogue has no place in Christian evangelization."
Going on to examine "some ecclesiological implications," the summary affirms that "for Christian evangelization, 'the incorporation of new members into the Church is not the expansion of a power-group, but rather entrance into the network of friendship with Christ which connects heaven and earth, different continents and ages'."
"The Doctrinal Note cites the Vatican Council II's 'Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World' (Gaudium et Spes) to say that respect for religious freedom and its promotion 'must not in any way make us indifferent towards truth and goodness. Indeed, love impels the followers of Christ to proclaim to all the truth which saves'."
Finally, on the subject of "ecumenical implications," the document "points out the important role of ecumenism in the Church's mission of evangelization. Christian divisions can seriously compromise the credibility of the Church's evangelizing mission."
"When Catholic evangelization takes place in a country where other Christians live, Catholics must take care to carry out their mission with 'both true respect for the tradition and spiritual riches of such countries as well as a sincere spirit of cooperation.' Evangelization proceeds by dialogue, not proselytism."
Posted: December 14, 2007Transmis : 14 décembre, 2007 • TagsMots clés : catholicvaticandocumentdoctrineevangelism/evangelization
Note doctrinale sur l'évangélisation
[Cité du Vatican, VIS • 14 décembre, 2007] La Note doctrinale sur certains aspects de l'évangélisation, élaborée par la Congrégation pour la doctrine de la foi, a été publiée aujourd'hui. La Note est accompagnée d'un résumé dont voici les points principaux:
"Ce document est principalement consacré à l'exposé de la mission d'évangélisation telle que l'entend l'Eglise catholique, qui est d'annoncer l'Evangile de Jésus-Christ".
"Il existe aujourd'hui une "confusion croissante" quant au devoir missionnaire de l'Eglise. Certains considèrent que "toute intention de convaincre d'autres personnes sur des questions religieuses est une atteinte la liberté". Ils suggèrent qu'il suffit d'"inviter les personnes à agir selon leur conscience" et d'"aider les hommes à être plus hommes ou plus fidèles à leur religion, et qu'il suffit de construire des communautés capables de travailler pour la justice, la liberté, la paix, la solidarité", sans avoir pour but la conversion au Christ et à la foi catholique"."D'autres soutiennent que l'on ne doit pas promouvoir la conversion au Christ, car il est possible de se sauver "sans connaissance explicite du Christ et sans incorporation formelle à son Eglise".
Dans le cadre des implications anthropologiques, on observe que "certaines formes d'agnosticisme et de relativisme nient la capacité de l'homme à connaître la vérité, alors que la liberté de l'homme ne peut être coupée de sa référence à la vérité".
"Nous ne pouvons nous engager dans la recherche de la vérité en ne comptant que sur nos forces -poursuit le document- car cette recherche demande l'aide des autres et la confiance en la connaissance qu'ils ont reçue. L'enseignement et le dialogue grâce auxquels on invite une personne, en toute liberté, à connaître et à aimer le Christ, n'est donc pas une "intromission indue" dans la liberté humaine, mais une "proposition légitime et un service qui peut rendre plus fécondes les relations entre les personnes".
"Avec l'évangélisation, les cultures s'enrichissent des vérités de l'Evangile. De la même façon, grâce à l'évangélisation les membres de l'Eglise catholique apprennent à recevoir les dons des autres traditions et cultures".
"Toute tentative d'obtenir le dialogue par la force, sans respect de la dignité et de la liberté religieuse des autres, ne peut subsister dans l'évangélisation".
Quant à l'évangélisation, le document précise que "l'incorporation de nouveaux membres à l'Eglise n'est pas l'extension d'un groupe de pouvoir, mais l'entrée dans un réseau d'amitié avec le Christ, lien entre ciel et terre, continents et époques".
"La Note doctrinale cite la Constitution pastorale sur l'Eglise dans le monde contemporain (Gaudium et Spes) du Concile Vatican II, pour affirmer que le respect de la liberté religieuse et sa promotion "ne doivent en aucune façon nous rendre indifférents à la vérité et au bien. Au contraire, c'est l'amour qui incite les disciples du Christ à annoncer à tous les hommes la vérité salvifique".
Au plan oecuménique, le document "réaffirme le rôle important de l'oecuménisme dans la mission évangélisatrice de l'Eglise".
"Quand l'évangélisation catholique s'effectue dans un pays où vivent des non catholiques -lit-on encore dans le texte explicatif- les catholiques doivent accomplir leur mission en accordant la plus grande attention au "véritable respect pour leur tradition et pour leurs recherches spirituelles", dans un "esprit de coopération sincère... L'évangélisation avance par le dialogue, et non par le prosélytisme".
Posted: December 14, 2007Transmis : 14 décembre, 2007 • TagsMots clés : catholiquevaticandocumentdoctrineévangélisation
Steps Forward for Anglican - Methodist Relations
[ACNS 4351 • December 14, 2007] A consultation has been held in London to review the progress of the report of the Anglican - Methodist International Commission "Sharing in the Apostolic Communion", which was received by the World Methodist Council in 1996 and the Lambeth Conference in 1998. The meeting was chaired by the Revd Professor Robert Gribben, Chair of the Standing Committee for Ecumenics and Dialogues of the World Methodist Council, and Bishop Harold Miller, Bishop of Down and Dromore in the Church of Ireland, nominated by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Secretary General on behalf of the Anglican Communion. Five members were nominated by each church for the purpose of this review. The meeting took place from 30 October to 1 November 2007 at the historic Wesley's Chapel.
The consultation noted the fruits of the international dialogue in two recent Covenants in Britain and Ireland, an agreement for Interim Eucharistic Sharing between the Episcopal Church and the United Methodist Church in the USA and conversations in other parts of the world. Recommendations are now being considered by the World Methodist Council's Standing Committee and the Joint Standing Committee of the Anglican Consultative Council to set up an Anglican - Methodist Commission for Unity in Mission (AMICUM) with the principal task of advancing Anglican - Methodist unity, monitoring dialogues and relationships between the two churches, gathering information and insights, reviewing and evaluating agreements and theological statements, and then sharing the best practice learned.
The Commission intends to be a resource for ecumenical conversations around the world, and in all possible ways to encourage closer relationships between Anglican, Methodist and United and Uniting churches related to them. A detailed set of guidelines or terms of reference has been set out for the work of the Commission, addressing specific, practical issues, such as ways of defining 'membership', the transferability of 'members' between the churches, aspects of eucharistic sharing, the use of common liturgical rites, and steps towards a common Ministry. It is proposed that there be ecumenical consultants to the Commission, particularly from the (Roman Catholic) Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Lutheran World Federation. It is hoped that the first meeting might be held late in 2008.
Archbishop of Canterbury names new Representative to the Holy See
[ACNS 4350 • December 10, 2007] The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, and the governors of the Anglican Centre in Rome are delighted to announce the appointment of the Very Revd David Richardson as the Archbishop's Representative to the Holy See and Director of the Centre. David Richardson is Dean of St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne Australia and was previously Dean of St Peter's Cathedral, Adelaide. David Richardson succeeds the Right Reverend John Flack, former Suffragan Bishop of Huntingdon, as the Archbishop of Canterbury's personal representative in the Holy See. Bishop John retires in February. David Richardson will take up his appointment after Easter.
Dr Williams congratulated David Richardson on his appointment: "I am delighted that someone of David Richardson's stature will be carrying forward the much-valued work of his predecessor, Bishop John Flack. His role at this important time builds on four decades of dialogue between Anglicans and Roman Catholics. It will be exercised in the context of the 'many area of witness and service' which call for 'closer co-operation between us', as Pope Benedict and I affirmed in our Common Declaration last year."
David Richardson responded saying "I am delighted to accept this appointment and honoured that the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Governors of the Anglican Centre have placed this trust in me.
I am also very pleased that this means the Anglican Church of Australia is able to be represented at this key level of the vitally important area of ecumenism.
Archbishop Rowan and Pope Benedict are two of the great spiritual and intellectual visionaries of our time - men of profound intelligence, learning and holiness - and I am looking forward very much to doing whatever I can in this position to work with the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and Lambeth Palace in the cause of the Gospel and our shared ecumenical endeavour. I am also looking forward to promoting through the work of the Anglican Centre mutual understanding at every level, particularly in areas of divergent views, and to strengthening the bonds of affection and trust between our two communions.
For the complete news report and a biography of David Richardson, please see the ACNS website.
Posted: December 10, 2007Transmis : 10 décembre, 2007 • TagsMots clés : ecumenismanglicancatholic
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