c. 1998 Religion News Service

Black church coalition, FEMA agree to work on church arson prevention

(RNS) Officials of the Congress of National Black Churches and the Federal Emergency Management Agency signed a memorandum of understanding Thursday (Nov. 5) to work together on arson prevention measures aimed at congregations in the South.”We are moving towards enhancing arson prevention both for the churches and possibly for the individual members at home,”said Carrye B. Brown, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s U.S. Fire Administration.

Brown said she hoped the in-kind contributions”worth at least $50,000″will help inform African-Americans, who are 2 1/2 times more likely than others to suffer fire deaths or losses.

Sullivan Robinson, the congress’ executive director, said the arson prevention materials that will be distributed through the joint effort will include practical tips and videos on how to prevent arson in existing church structures and those under construction.”It is our plan to reach 100,000 churches in each of the six most heavily hit states,”she said. Those states are South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas and Florida.

The work with FEMA continues the congress’ Church Rebuilding and Arson Prevention Initiative, which aims to rebuild churches that have been burned in a spate of arsons, often in the South. The $12.8 million initiative, which began in 1997, also is working on preventing church arson and promoting ecumenical and multi-racial relations.

Niathan Allen, program executive for the initiative, said 32 churches have been rebuilt and others are in the process of reconstruction.

The Congress of National Black Churches is a coalition of eight predominantly African-American congregations, including the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, the Church of God in Christ, the National Baptist Convention of America, the National Baptist Convention, USA, the National Missionary Baptist Convention and the Progressive National Baptist Convention.

Update: Vatican has no plan to enter dispute over Pinochet arrest

(RNS) The Vatican said Thursday (Nov. 5) it has no intention _ for the time being _ of entering the international dispute that has flared with the arrest of Gen. Agusto Pinochet, the former dictator of Chile who seized power in a bloody coup in 1973.”For the time being, I don’t see any (Vatican initiative)”to resolve the dispute prompted by Pinochet’s arrest Oct. 16 in England at the request of the government of Spain, Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran told an Italian newspaper, Reuters reported.

Spain wants to extradite Pinochet, who is accused of being responsible for the death of Spanish citizens during his 17-year reign. The current government estimates that some 3,000 political opponents were either killed or”disappeared”during the Pinochet era.

A British court, however, ruled that Pinochet’s arrest was illegal. On Wednesday, a panel of five judges from Britain’s House of Lords began hearing an appeal of the court ruling.

Tauran, asked whether there would be any Vatican mediation, said,”No, not for now.” The Vatican also sought to downplay a meeting between Chilean deputy foreign minister Mariano Fernandez and Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Agostino Cassaroli earlier this week.

In a statement, the Vatican said that Fernandez had sought the meeting”to be able to inform the Holy See on his trip to Europe and his recent talks in Madrid and London over the well-known Chilean case.”

Study finds anti-Semitism on the rise in Switzerland

(RNS) At least partially because of the bitter public debate about neutral Switzerland’s role during World War II, anti-Semitism is on the rise in that country, the nation’s human rights agency said Thursday (Nov. 5).

The agency, the Federal Commission against Racism, urged all Swiss to combat the rising anti-Semitism which it said some politicians had made”socially acceptable.””The commission has determined that latent anti-Semitism is again being increasingly expressed in public by word and deed,”the agency said.”There often emerges a dangerous differentiation between `the Swiss’ and `the Jews.'” It said the new wave of anti-Semitism was fueled in part by reaction to Jewish groups’ calls for the country to compensate Holocaust victims for their wartime suffering, Reuters reported.

The report said underlying anti-Semitism burst into public view after Jewish groups called for compensation following the government’s acknowledgment that there was an anti-Jewish immigration policy during World War II and that some Swiss banks failed to give back wealth in dormant accounts of Holocaust victims.

Some Swiss politicians labeled the Jewish calls”blackmail.” The report said anti-Semitism in Switzerland stems from the traditional Swiss fear of being swamped with foreigners.

It said while the report was addressed first of all to the government, it was meant to be food for thought for everyone.”In the commission’s opinion, all people _ whether in public or private life _ can only help reduce anti-Semitism by acting consistently,”it said.

Southern Baptist missionary found guilty in Kenya traffic accident

(RNS) A judge in Kenya has found a Southern Baptist missionary guilty in connection with a 1995 automobile accident in which a 16-year-old female pedestrian was killed.

Terry Bell was found guilty of”causing death by dangerous driving”and”failing to stop after an accident, fined about $540 and told not to drive in Kenya for three years, Baptist Press, the Southern Baptist Convention’s official news service, reported Thursday (Nov. 5). He could have received a 10-year prison term.

The judge’s decision, delivered in October, allows a civil suit filed by the dead girl’s parents to proceed against Bell’s insurance company.

Bell and his wife, Twylia, serve as Southern Baptist missionaries in Tanzania, where he works in agricultural development.

Bell admitted leaving the accident scene. But he said he had been advised in advance of the accident to leave any accident scene and go directly to a police station for his own safety.

Chinese city to crack down on philandering husbands

(RNS) Officials in the Chinese city of Guangzhou have decided to get tough on wandering husbands: they’ve threatened to send married men who keep mistresses or frequent prostitutes to prison labor camps.

The Chinese Xinhua news agency reported Thursday (Nov. 5) that the action was taken to support marriage and protect women. Officials said married men who financially support mistresses or prostitutes would be considered bigamists. Under Chinese law, police can send criminals to labor camps for up to three years without trial.

Officials said they may not wait to receive complaints from wives, but instead may take action on their own against wandering husbands in cases”deemed harmful to society.” Guangzhou is the capital of Guangdong province, which borders Hong Kong, and is a center of freewheeling Chinese-style capitalism and new-found wealth.

Quote of the day: The Rev. Douglas Oldenburg, moderator of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

(RNS)”I want us to get beyond a win-lose mentality. I want to see us seeking the mind of Christ, where all are striving to listen to each other, to be open to each other, (where) we all hold our convictions with humility because we may be wrong.” _ The Rev. Douglas Oldenburg, moderator of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in an interview with Bill Lancaster of the Presbyterian News Service, deploring the politicizing of divisions in the denomination over such issues as homosexuality.

DEA END RNS