Off the Menu
Asian and Asian North American Women's Religion & Theology Brock, Rita Nakashima, Jung Ha Kim, Kwok Pui-Lan, Seung Ai Yang, eds., Westminster John Knox Press, 2007. ISBN: 978-0-6642-3140-8
Turkey’s biggest church faces critical shortage of clergy Istanbul (ENI). Turkey’s biggest Christian church Orthodox Church, is facing a critical shortage of clergy. The church’s membership in Turkey is 82,000, 60,000 of them in Istanbul. However, the Istanbul diocese has only 28 priests, 10 of them aged over 60, for its 38 churches. Over the … Read more »… À suivre »
US nun calls for ‘responsible dissent’ on Vatican doctrine New York (ENI). A leading Roman Catholic nun and theologian in the United States has called for “responsible dissent” to the Vatican statement that Pope John Paul II’s teaching against the ordination of women is infallible. [ENI-96-0070, 476 words] Bahrain’s Christians urged to pray for end … Read more »… À suivre »
Dr. Konrad Raiser, general secretary of the World Council of Churches, has renewed his call for the main Christian churches to start, in the year 2000, a process to lead to a universal Christian council uniting all churches and Christians. He requested the bodies of the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Anglican and Pentecostal churches to make a solemn promise not to rest until such a council has been achieved. … Read more »… À suivre »
Canada’s largest Protestant church, the United Church of Canada (UCC), has launched a challenge to the nation’s multi-billion dollar gambling industry, and to the federal and provincial governments which receive massive revenue by taxing gambling. The Canadian Council of Churches and other faith groups are being approached to support the campaign for an inquiry into gambling. … Read more »… À suivre »
by Jonathan Luxmoore, Ecumenical News International [WARSAW] Minority churches in Poland plan to celebrate the new millennium by joining Roman Catholics in a mutual recognition of baptism. The churches are also considering a joint acknowledgment – with the Roman Catholic Church – of “guilt and forgiveness” for past wrongs. “Many people have warmed to these … Read more »… À suivre »
by Jerry L. Van Marter, Ecumenical News Service GENEVA – The ecumenical movement of the 21st century must focus less on church institutions and more on the church as “the whole people of God,” the moderator of the World Council of Churches‘ (WCC) central committee said on August 26. At a press conference following his … Read more »… À suivre »
by Stephen Brown, Ecumenical News Service [GENEVA] A special commission set up by the World Council of Churches (WCC) in a bid to resolve complaints by its Orthodox member churches is scheduled to hold its first meeting in December. The scheduling of the meeting follows a series of delays and apparent unwillingness by some Orthodox … Read more »… À suivre »
‘Bitter differences’ lead to dead-end, Polish ecumenist says by Jonathan Luxmoore, Ecumenical News International [WARSAW] High-level talks between the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches which ended in the United States recently were marred by “methodological deficiencies” and a “polemical atmosphere,” leaving relations between the two Christian communions at a dead-end, according to an expert on … Read more »… À suivre »
A week after publishing a document which casts doubt on the validity of Protestant Christianity and asserts Roman Catholic superiority over all other churches, the Vatican continues to draw criticism both from other churches and from within its own ranks.
The general secretaries of two organizations representing major wings of Protestantism have publicly lamented the harm done to ecumenism by Dominus Iesus, on the Unicity and Salvific Universality of Jesus Christ and the Church, published on Sept. 5 by the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The document declares that churches that do not have a “valid Episcopate [bishops] and the genuine and integral substance of the Eucharistic mystery are not churches in the proper sense.”
Another document from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith published in an Italian magazine this month orders Catholic bishops not to use the term “sister church” in reference to Protestant churches. This too has also caused dismay in ecumenical circles. … Read more »… À suivre »
Church leaders in Jerusalem have warned warring Palestinian factions they could trigger civil war and, offering to play a mediating role, they are urging an end to violence in order for them to focus on the true priority of their people – independence. “As leaders of the Christian churches in Jerusalem concerned at the present situation in the Palestinian Territories we feel we must voice our anxiety for all our people – Christian and Muslim alike – at the deteriorating relations between Fatah and Hamas leaders and the armed forces,” they said. … Read more »… À suivre »
Des responsables d’Eglise de Jérusalem ont averti les factions palestiniennes en conflit qu’elles risquaient de déclencher une guerre civile et, proposant de jouer les médiateurs, ils les ont exhortés à mettre fin à la violence afin de pouvoir se concentrer sur la priorité absolue de leur peuple : l’indépendance. En tant que responsables des Eglises chrétiennes à Jérusalem préoccupés par la situation actuelle dans les territoires palestiniens, nous tenons à exprimer nos craintes pour nos populations, qu’elles soient chrétiennes ou musulmanes, en raison de la détérioration des relations entre les leaders du Fatah et du Hamas et entre leurs forces armées,” ont-ils déclaré. … Read more »… À suivre »
Evangelical, Pentecostal and Charismatic leaders attending a world Christian forum in Kenya that has brought together many of Christianity’s diverse strands, say it offers new opportunities, but they also warn of possible difficulties ahead.
“When you share your journey and discover how others people have travelled and find similarities in the journey, that helps you to travel together,” commented the Rev. Richard Howell of the Evangelical Fellowship of India.
About 240 leaders from Protestant, Anglican, Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Evangelical, Pentecostal and other churches and international organizations attended the forum in Limuru near Nairobi.
Organizers say the gathering aimed to bring together the various streams of Christianity that have traditionally not been “in conversation” with each other.
The World Council of Churches groups many of the world’s Anglican, Protestant and Orthodox denominations but the Roman Catholic Church does not belong to the Geneva-based WCC, nor do many Evangelical, Pentecostal or Charismatic churches.
In many parts of the world, Pentecostal and so-called non-mainline Protestant churches are growing, while mainstream churches continue to lose membership.
“A new form of ecumenism is needed that is able to embrace the challenges of world-wide Christianity,” Pentecostal theologian and scholar Cheryl Bridges-Johns said in an 8 November address to participants. … Read more »… À suivre »
[ENI] Leaders meeting in Kenya belonging to all main Christian traditions, and from countries ranging from Armenia to Zimbabwe, have pledged to convene international, local and regional meetings to deepen reconciliation and understanding. “Recognising that unity is first and foremost God’s gift through the work of the Holy Spirit, our commitment is to press on in promoting ever greater understanding and cooperation among Christians, while respecting the diversity of our identities, traditions and individual gifts,” the leaders said in a statement issued at the end of the 6-9 November meeting. … Read more »… À suivre »
Catholic Church in Poland reports sharp drop in vocations
by Jonathan Luxmoore
[Warsaw • ENI] The bishop in charge of recruitment for Poland’s Roman Catholic clergy says he does not believe recent scandals are to blame for a sharp fall in vocations, after the church noted a 24 percent reduction in admissions to the country’s 84 Catholic seminaries.
“Decisions about vocations aren’t taken under the influence of short-term events,” said Bishop Wojciech Polak, who heads the church’s National Council for Vocations Ministry. “Today’s culture discourages firm life-long commitments. But we’re not yet seeing any radical, drastic drain in priestly callings, or feeling any tangible shortage of clergy.”
The church statement announcing the fall in seminary admissions also reported that the total number of seminaries in Poland had fallen by one tenth.
In an interview with Ecumenical News International on 31 January, Bishop Polak said the church would be unable to draw “competent conclusions” until longer-term trends became clear. He said, however, there was no evidence to support some media claims that the fall in seminarians reflected negative publicity about the alleged infiltration of the church by the former communist secret police, or about the alleged nationalism of the Catholic broadcaster, Radio Maryja.
“Poland is affected by Europe-wide demographic changes, and the number of potential priesthood candidates is falling anyway,” said Polak, who also chairs the European vocations service of the Council of European (Catholic) Bishops’ Conferences (CCEE).
“We should get used to having less impressive numbers than in the past,” the bishop added. “But our bishops’ conference is working hard to improve its pastoral outreach to young people and find new ways of fostering interest in the priesthood and consecrated life.”
Catholic vocations doubled in Poland after the 1978 election of Polish-born Pope John Paul II, peaking in the mid-1980s. Polish vocations are said to currently account for about a fifth of the European total, and 7 percent at the world level.
In its statement, the church said total seminary numbers dropped from 4612 in 2006 to 4257 in 2007, while 786 students started studies in October, compared to 1029 the previous year. The church also said that admissions had dropped to both male and female religious orders. … Read more »… À suivre »
Toronto (ENI). A Canadian church magazine has become the first North American sponsor of a travelling exhibit of the life and work of natural scientist Charles Darwin, whose theory of the evolution of species has long been a source of conflict between scientists and Christians who take the Biblical account of creation literally.
The exhibit, which opened at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto on 8 March, had failed to find support from the museum’s usual sponsors. Museum officials said none disagreed with Darwin’s theories but cited concerns about a potential backlash from Christians opposed to the idea of evolution.
The editor of the United Church Observer, David Wilson, decided the Canadian magazine should become a sponsor after learning that the exhibit had received no corporate support in other North American cities where it had been mounted.
In announcing the magazine’s sponsorship, Wilson said, “There is nothing in the exhibit that threatens or diminishes religion. If anything, it shines a light on the inherent beauty and wonder of a creation that is constantly and eternally evolving. The Darwin exhibit deserves support and we’re not afraid to say so.”
According to public opinion surveys, significant numbers of Christians in North America oppose Darwin’s theory that humans evolved from simple life forms over many millennia. In the United States, school boards in as many as 25 states have been challenged in recent years to include what is called “intelligent design” in science studies, a view that its critics say encourages students to doubt the theory of evolution.
The Rev. Paul Fayter, a professor of science and religion at York University in Toronto and a parish minister with the United Church of Canada, told Ecumenical News International, “The Observer has shown great leadership. This small gesture speaks to the centuries-long, deep and mostly supportive relationship the Church has had with the world of science.”
:: Darwin: The Evolution Revolution runs from 8 March to 4 August in Toronto before moving to the Natural History Museum in London, Britain, in time for celebrations marking Darwin’s 200th birthday in February 2009. … Read more »… À suivre »
Canadian churches welcome PM’s apology on residential schools
[Kristine Greenaway • ENI] Church leaders in Canada hope action will follow a public apology by Prime Minister Stephen Harper to victims of a policy whereby aboriginal children were placed in residential schools run by churches under a government policy of enforced assimilation.
Archbishop Fred Hiltz, the leader of the Anglican Church of Canada, said he was moved by the apology given by Harper in Ottawa on 11 June in the lower house of the Canadian parliament on behalf of the government, followed by apologies from other party leaders.
“I was very encouraged by their determination to make sure that this apology is seen as a beginning, and that it will be accompanied by actions that will significantly improve the quality of life for First Nations people in this land,” Hiltz said in an interview with the Anglican Journal after the prime minister’s statement.
A law passed by the government of Canada in 1920 made it compulsory for aboriginal children aged 7-15 to leave their communities and live in residences at schools run by churches including the Catholic, Anglican, Presbyterian and United Church of Canada. The last of the schools closed in 1996.
During the 1980s former students began making allegations of sexual and physical abuse inflicted on them in the schools. In 2006, a class action suit on behalf of a group of students resulted in the awarding of the largest financial settlement in Canadian legal history.
“The treatment of children in Indian residential schools is a sad chapter in our history,” Harper said in his parliamentary speech. “Today, we recognise this policy of assimilation was wrong, has caused great harm, and has no place in our country. The government of Canada sincerely apologises and asks the forgiveness of the Aboriginal peoples of this country for failing them so profoundly.”
The moderator of the United Church of Canada, the Rev. David Giuliano said his denomination hoped the apology would spark a substantive grass-roots response. “The 11 June apology offers the opportunity to begin the process of healing, forgiveness, and reconciliation,” said Giuliano.
The 2006 settlement included provision for a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the first time the model used after the demise of apartheid in South Africa has been applied in a stable democracy.
The commission, headed by an aboriginal judge, Justice Harry S. LaForme, has a five-year mandate to travel throughout the country to meet former students. LaForme, a member of the Mississauga tribe, is joined by commissioners Jane Morley, a lawyer, and Claudette Dumont-Smith, an aboriginal nurse from the Algonquin tribe.
“We know what occurred,” said LaForme. “What we now want to hear are the stories from themselves not so we can punish, but so we can walk forward into the future and build a new relationship.”
In Geneva on 13 June the general secretary of the Lutheran World Federation, the Rev. Ishmael Noko welcomed the Canadian government public apology to the First Nations, as a significant indication of the willingness to confront painful legacies of injustice against Indigenous Peoples.
“Honest examination of past wounds is a necessary step to the healing of memories. I pray that these apologies represent the beginnings of an open process of deeper reconciliation between Aboriginal and non-indigenous peoples,” said Noko, who is a Zimbabwean. … Read more »… À suivre »
A member of the (Anglican) Church of England‘s general synod who supports a greater female role in the church has predicted that within 10 years half of all full-time clergy will be women, but says moves to consecrate female bishops is not keeping pace.
The prognosis came from U.S-born Christina Rees, a writer, broadcaster and public speaker and chairperson of Watch (Women and the Church), started in 1996 as a forum for promoting women’s ministry in the Church of England. … Read more »… À suivre »
The membership of Germany’s two largest churches is shrinking, but the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), the country’s biggest Protestant grouping, has dropped below 25 million members for the first time since the unification of Germany in 1990.
At the end of 2007, EKD members accounted for 24.83 million of Germany’s 82-million people, the German Protestant news agency epd reported on 17 November. The EKD now has more than a million fewer adherents than it did five years ago. … Read more »… À suivre »
Bishop Hilarion Alfeyev, an Oxford-educated cleric who served as the Moscow Patriarchate‘s representative to European organizations in Brussels, has been appointed as head of the Russian Orthodox Church‘s Department of External Church Relations.
Read the 2015 joint statement of the Evangelical-Roman Catholic dialogue in Saskatoon, Called to Common Witness
Off the Menu
RSS feed for ENI
Permanent link: https://ecumenism.net/?p=8550