c. 1996 Religion News Service

Ugandan Christian rebels go on killing spree

(RNS)-Ugandan rebels seeking to establish a Christian theocracy in the central African nation have reportedly killed dozens of people in recent days, according to the Associated Press and Reuter news agency. Reports from Uganda placed the number of those killed as high as 130.

The rebels-who go by the name of the Lord’s Resistance Army-have been fighting to overthrow the government of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni since 1987.

The rebels reportedly want to rule Uganda in accordance with their reading of the biblical Ten Commandments.

Reports Monday (March 11) said the rebels ambushed a convoy in northern Uganda the previous Friday. Sunday Vision, a government-owned newspaper, said that about 200 rebels attacked the convoy, killing 21 civilians and seriously wounding 68.

However, other Ugandan newspapers put the death toll higher. The privately owned Monitor newspaper said 130 were killed. The state-run New Vision said at least 70 died.

The Monitor said that many of those killed died after a government helicopter fired at rebels fleeing with people taken hostage from the convoy.

Fund to aid victims of terrorism in Israel established

(RNS)-American Jewish leaders Monday (March 11) announced the establishment of a special fund to help the victims of the recent terrorist bombings in Israel that have killed at least 58 people.

The special fund was set up by the United Jewish Appeal, the United Israel Appeal, the Council of Jewish Federations, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, the Jewish Agency for Israel, and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee.

Donations should be made payable to the United Jewish Appeal Terror Victims Fund and mailed to the UJA-TVF, 110 E. 59th St., New York, N.Y. 10022.

Pope calls for improved understanding among Catholics, Jews

(RNS)-Pope John Paul II called Monday (March 11) for greater solidarity and understanding between Roman Catholics and Jews.”At a time when hopes for peace have again been jeopardized by recent terrorist attacks in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, we must renew our prayer and our efforts to insist on what unites rather than on what divides and separates,”the pope said in remarks quoted by the Reuters.

At least 58 people have been killed in four suicide bombings since February 25.

The pontiff made his remarks to members of B’nai B’rith, an international Jewish association based in Washington, who were visiting Rome.

The pope said the visit was”an opportunity for us all to recommit ourselves to the joint efforts needed to build ever greater understanding and solidarity between Catholics and Jews.” Israel and the Vatican established full ties in 1994 after centuries of often hostile relations.

Ruth Graham, evangelist’s wife, in serious condition

(RNS)-Ruth Bell Graham, wife of evangelist Billy Graham, was recuperating following surgery Saturday (March 9) for bacterial spinal meningitis.

Mrs. Graham’s condition was upgraded to serious on Monday (March 11).”She is progressing well,”said neurosurgeon Ralph Loomis of Memorial Mission Hospital in Asheville, N.C.”This is a patient who is getting better. … I’m encouraged, but I’m very cautious.” The 77-year-old evangelist, who has himself been beset by health problems recently, expressed hope about his wife, who is 75.”We have the faith to believe that the Lord is going to have his way with her, and when this is over she and I will be much better servants of the Lord, because we are learning lessons of dependence on God,”Graham said.

American organists prepare for a really big concert

(RNS)-The”World’s Largest Organ Recital”will mark the 100th anniversary of the American Guild of Organists, with simultaneous concerts at 6 p.m. (EST) April 14 in churches, synagogues and concert halls nationwide.

From Washington’s National Cathedral to the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, Calif., organists will sound the notes of Johann Sebastian Bach’s”Toccata and Fugue in D Minor.” The programs also will feature works by local composers. More than 500 organists will perform in 260 locations across the United States.

Executive Director Ann McKinney hopes the guild will continue to grow.”The next 100 years will promise even more growth, as the guild begins national education programs designed to develop future generations of musicians and organ enthusiasts,”she said.

The guild’s centennial will culminate at its national convention in July in New York.

British Baptist leader blasts gambling to support churches

(RNS)-David Coffey, general secretary of the Baptist Union of Great Britain, has criticized the British government for suggesting churches should support Great Britain’s national lottery as a means of maintaining their old church buildings.

Coffey, in a March interview with the European Baptist Press Service, the news agency of the European Baptist Federation, said that while Britain has some good gambling laws, he was”dismayed”over the promotion of the UK National Lottery.”The (UK National) Lottery is symbolic of the spiritual illness which is so prevalent in our culture today,”Coffey said.

Coffey criticized Prime Minister John Major’s proposal that churches should support the lottery and then apply for one of the lottery’s charitable grants.

In January, Major said churches opposing the lottery were”mistaken,”adding:”There are many beautiful churches … where the costs of preserving them is very great. They would be helped by the lottery. … I would like to see the churches taking advantage of this.” But Coffey said Baptists think”it is profoundly wrong to fund these (charitable) projects from the fruits of the Lottery.”He said that since the lottery was created in 1994, the proportion of people giving regularly to charities has fallen from 81 percent to 67 percent of the population.

Leading Egyptian Islamic scholar dies

(RNS)-Sheikh Mohammed el-Ghazaly, a prominent preacher and scholar at Egypt’s Al-Azhar University, the Islamic world’s preeminent educational institution, has died.

El-Ghazaly, who wrote 94 books on Islam, died in Saudi Arabia Saturday (March 9) after suffering a heart attack. He was in Saudi Arabia for a conference. El-Ghazaly also held senior positions in Egypt’s Ministry of Islamic Affairs.

Al-Azhar is 1,000 years old and the opinions of its scholars are widely respected throughout the Muslim world.

Vatican 1996 yearbook reports slight increase in Catholic ordinations

(RNS)-The number of ordinations to the Roman Catholic priesthood increased slightly in 1994, according to the Vatican’s 1996 yearbook to be released this week.

The overall number of priests worldwide continued to decline due to deaths and resignations, the Associated Press reported.

The number of ordinations in 1994 rose 0.86 percent from the previous year. The number of priests joining dioceses rather than religious orders has increased 10.7 percent since dropping to a low point in 1988.

The yearbook notes that Pope John Paul II named 169 new bishops last year.

Quote of the Day: Rev. Robert L. Polk, deputy general secretary for national ministries of the National Council of Churches

Polk, during a recent trip to Knoxville, Tenn., decried the firebombings of mostly African-American churches in the southern United States. Since 1993, an estimated 25 churches have been burned, including Knoxville’s Inner City Church, which was burned Jan. 8. Polk was part of a delegation investigating the incidents.”Our country is in denial about racism but in fact the climate has really spawned these outrageous events,”Polk said.”The white hate groups are growing faster than at any time in our history.”

MJP END