c. 1998 Religion News Service

Tutu: Fight AIDS with same commitment that ended apartheid

(RNS) Retired Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu has called on the world community to muster the same moral commitment to ending AIDS as it brought to bear in bringing down South Africa’s apartheid system.

Tutu, speaking Monday (Nov. 30) at a United Nations’ conference on the eve of the Dec. 1 World AIDS Day, said one way to galvanize international action on the issue is to convince governments to cut small percentages of their defense budgets and to spend more on affordable health care, AIDS research and education.”We aren’t doing enough to say to governments, for goodness sake, why have so much money for death and so little for life,”the Nobel Peace Prize laureate said.

According to a new U.N. report., about 33.4 million people around the world are infected with HIV, two-thirds of them in sub-Saharan Africa, the Associated Press reported. About 6 million more people are expected to be infected in the coming year.”These are not statistics,”Tutu said.”These are people of flesh and blood., Imagine if it were your children, your son, your mother, your wife, your husband.” And, he added,”God has organized things in such a way that whether we like it or not, we are family _ we belong in one world.” In Washington, President Clinton marked World AIDS Day by pledging a package of increased assistance to nations hard hit by the spread of the deadly disease while caring for an increasing number of children who have been left orphaned.

The Clinton initiative included $10 million in grants for the care of AIDS orphans and highlighted a 30 percent increase in funding to the National Institutes of Health for research on HIV prevention and treatment around the world.”We cannot forget our profound obligation to the heartbreaking youngest victims of the disease, the orphaned children left in its wake,”Clinton said.”We cannot restore to them all they have lost, but we can give them a future.” The Washington ceremony was only one of many such observances held around the world.

In Japan, for example, the country’s Health Ministry organized rallies and charity concerts while in Hong Kong, bars, restaurants and nightclubs handed out coasters encouraging safe-sex practices.

Cuba to make Christmas an annual holiday

(RNS) The Cuban Communist Party has decided it’s okay to celebrate Christmas every year.

Last year, Cuba allowed public celebrations of Christmas for the first time since 1969, when the holiday was abolished for allegedly interfering with the sugar harvest. However, last year’s acknowledgment of Christmas was given on a one-time basis as a goodwill gesture in advance of a visit to Cuba by Pope John Paul II. The pontiff visited Cuba in January 1998.

Tuesday (Dec. 1), Cuba’s only daily newspaper, Granma, devoted the entire front page to a Communist Party statement that”from this year on”Dec. 25 should be a holiday. Since Cuban President Fidel Castro heads both the party and the government, the proposal is sure to be made official.

Cuba abolished Christmas at a time when Castro’s government was militantly atheist. It has since declared itself”secular”and given Christians and other believers increased religious freedoms.

In Tuesday’s statement, the party insisted the government had never been”characterized by an anti-religious spirit”despite”imperialist”attempts to exploit religious sentiments for”counter-revolutionary”purposes.

A spokesman for the Cuban Catholic Church called the announcement”a positive step which corresponds to the population’s religious sentiment and a tradition that existed for a long time in Cuba,”Reuters reported.

Although Christmas has not been officially celebrated, many Cuban Christians have privately commemorated the holiday for years in their homes.

Judge’s ruling on mailing list backs Greek Orthodox dissidents

(RNS) A New York judge has rejected a Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America request to stop a dissident group from using the church’s mailing list as its own.

United States District Court Judge Denny Chin said he ruled against prohibiting Greek Orthodox American Leaders (GOAL) from using the mailing list because the church had failed to show irreparable harm from its use. Chin issued his ruling Nov. 24.

GOAL is opposed to the leadership of Greek Orthodox Archbishop Spyridon, with whom it has been involved in a long-running feud over church management issues. The archdiocese contended GOAL had”misappropriated”the”confidential”membership list.

Chin agreed that the list had been used without the archdiocese’s permission. GOAL, he said, therefore cannot use the list”for commercial purposes or to solicit funds.” But Chin also said that because GOAL is comprised of church members”it would appear”to be entitled to a copy of the list. Chin said GOAL only sought”to communicate with other members of the archdiocese about issues that may be of concern to them. The archdiocese will suffer no irreparable harm if GOAL and its members merely exercise their right to express their views about church governances.” In a statement, the archdiocese said it was seeking to resolve the dispute with GOAL”without further litigation.”GOAL, in its own statement, termed the judge’s ruling”a total vindication”of its position.

Bread for the World: End of hunger is `within reach’

(RNS) Bread for the World, the grassroots Christian anti-hunger lobby, has issued its annual Hunger Report, this year called”The Changing Politics of Hunger,”and come to a blunt _ even startling _ conclusion:”The end of hunger is within reach.” But if the goal of ending hunger at home and abroad is to be reached, the group said, the national and international community must muster the political will to do so.

In making its assertion, the group noted that over the past 25 years _ since the first U.N.-sponsored world food conference, the proportion of hungry people has dropped from one-third to one-fifth of the world’s population _ and that despite increases in the world’s population.

In the United States, the report said, 11.2 million people live in households that cannot afford enough food for their families.”Christians have not, for the most part, even begun to use their influence to insist that their own churches and their own countries lead a worldwide campaign to end hunger,”said the Rev. Arthur Simon, the founder and president emeritus of the group.”So hunger is a scandal _ not only in the sense of moral outrage, but also as a failure to give evidence of God’s love.”

Scientology pleads not guilty in Florida death case

(RNS) The Church of Scientology has pleaded not guilty to charges of abuse,neglect and practicing medicine without a license in connection with the death in Clearwater, Fla., of a member who was under the church’s medical care.

The controversial church entered the plea Monday (Nov. 30), and requested a jury trial in the case of Lisa McPherson, 36, who died in December 1995. No trial date has as yet been set.

McPherson was under round-the-clock church care after an apparent mental breakdown following her involvement in a minor traffic accident. After the mishap, she took off her clothes and walked around naked in public.

A hospital physician suggested psychiatric care, but that was rejected by McPherson in accordance with Scientology beliefs that all forms of psychological counseling are forms of secular mind control. Instead, she submitted to church care, although McPherson’s family contends she was held against her will.

After 17 days, McPherson died. An autopsy revealed she died of a pulmonary embolism caused by prolonged bed rest and severe dehydration, according to the the New York Times. The report said she had gone without fluids for at least five days prior to her death.

The church maintains McPherson was well-cared for, became violent and refused to eat or drink and that the charges are part of a long vendetta against Scientology on the part of Clearwater officials. No individuals were charged in the case.

The church faces fines of up to $5,000 on each count, although under Florida law the court may impose additional penalties. The family has also filed a civil suit against the church.

Los Angeles Jews and Muslims unveil `code of ethics’

(RNS) Los Angeles-area Muslim and Jewish leaders have unveiled a”code of ethics”that they hope will bring”civility and respect”to relations between the two faith groups.

The code was unveiled Monday (Nov. 30). It includes an appeal to reject”prejudice, hate and violence”and to”avoid stereotyping and sweeping generalities (and) words of incitement.”The code also calls upon the groups to”verify rumors and/or reports with each other before making public pronouncements.” The Los Angeles area is home to large numbers of Jews and Muslims. The region has been a leader in Jewish-Muslim dialogue efforts, although the effort has ebbed and flowed with the ups and downs of the Middle East peace process _ the main stumbling block between Jews and Muslims.

The code is intended to aid dialogue efforts as the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks approach a critical juncture.

The code is being circulated with the Los Angeles Jewish and Muslim communities for organizational approval. The Muslim Public Affairs Council and the Southern California office of the Anti-Defamation League are among the participating organizations.

Update: Christian-Muslim unrest continues in Indonesia

(RNS) Christian mobs continued Tuesday (Dec. 1) to attack Muslim property in the eastern Indonesian city of Kupang, as Muslims retaliated by hurling stones at homes used for Christian worship on Java, Indonesia’s main island.

At least two Muslim homes, a car and a motorcycle were set ablaze in the second day of unrest sparked by Christian mobs in Kupang.

The mobs were bent on revenge for earlier Muslim attacks on 22 churches in Jakarta, the Indonesian capital, on Nov. 22. Fourteen people died in the Muslim attacks.

The continuing violence raised fears that the attacks will become even more widespread as Indonesia faces increasing economic and political problems, the Associated Press reported.

Indonesia is the world’s most populous Muslim nation. About 90 percent of Indonesia’s 202 million people are Muslim. The remainder are primarily Hindu, Christian and Buddhist.

Quote of the day: Italian theology professor Paolo Ricca

(RNS)”The greatest danger for ecumenism is in fact ecumenical rhetoric _ making declarations without putting them into effect. We already have tons of documents.” _ Professor Paolo Ricca, professor of theology at the Waldensian Faculty in Rome, in an Oct. 31 speech to Lutheran and Reformed theologians in Geneva.

DEA END RNS