c. 1998 Religion News Service

Update: Smallest octuplet, named”God has my life,”dies

(RNS) The octuplet whose name in English means”God has my life,”died Sunday (Dec. 27) at the Houston hospital where she and her siblings have been cared for since their birth earlier this month.

Chijindu Chidera, who was nicknamed”Odera,”was the fifth and smallest child born to Nkem Chukwu and Iyke Louis Udobi. She weighed 10.3 ounces at birth and had been considered to be the octuplet in the most critical condition.”We are very saddened by the passing of our beloved baby, Odera,”the parents said in a statement released by Texas Children’s Hospital.”She is now safe with God in heaven and we remain most grateful to Him for having blessed our lives with hers.” The parents, who are naturalized American citizens originally from Nigeria, are Roman Catholic. The first of their babies was born at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital on Dec. 8; the seven others were born Dec. 20. They have been cared for at the adjacent children’s hospital since their birth.”We also want to thank people all over the world for their prayers for our family in this special time in which we are so blessed by our eight babies, but so sad for the loss of little Odera,”they said.”We would be very grateful if you could continue to remember us to God, with special thoughts for our departed one.” The parents also expressed thanks for the work of the medical staff at the hospital”to help Odera in her battle for life against what turned out to be overwhelming obstacles.” Chukwu, along with her mother and her husband, visited the eight babies for the first time on Saturday, just as Odera’s condition began to decline.

“The Prince of Egypt”fails to reign at the box office

(RNS)”The Prince of Egypt,”an animated story of the life Moses, has failed to reign at the box office, falling behind other holiday hits.

Although the movie competed well with other holiday films, some in Hollywood predicted two weeks after its opening that the movie might not be the megahit many predicted.”It’s still early,”an executive with a major theater exhibitor told The New York Times, speaking on the condition of anonymity.”But `Prince of Egypt’ didn’t do the kind of opening that forecasts a $100 million film.” The movie, which opened Dec. 18 and was produced by Dreamworks SKG, averaged $4,496 a screen or $14.5 million, in its first weekend.

Two other holiday-season animated films, which offered lighter plots, had higher tallies on their first weekends.”The Rugrats Movie,”produced by Viacom, opened at $10,065 a screen and grossed $76.8 million after four weeks.”A Bug’s Life,”produced by the Walt Disney Co., opened at $12,360 a screen, and has grossed almost $100 million for the same period.

An executive close to Dreamworks SKG, expects the film to gross more than $100 million. Others predicted its U.S. gross might be between $80 and $90 million.

Dreamworks SKG partner Jeffrey Katzenberg declined to comment.

Christian facility attacked, torched in India

(RNS) A Pentecostal prayer hall in western India has been torched by a mob, police said Monday (Dec. 28).

The arson attack was the latest in a spate of violent incidents aimed at Christians in the area since Christmas, when mob attacks on churches and a missionary school disrupted Christmas Day festivities, Reuters reported.”Some miscreants late last night (Sunday) burnt a prayer hall near Ahwa and we are in the process of establishing the identity of those responsible for the attack,”a police official said.

Ahwa is about 170 miles south of Ahmedabad, the capital of Gujarat state.

Christian leaders have blamed Hindu extremists for the attacks while Hindu activists say the violence has been provoked by forced conversions to Christianity.

The”situation is very tense and attacks are continuing despite the presence of police,”said Cedric Prakash, coordinator of the United Christian Forum for Human Rights. The Forum says it has recorded more than 60 cases of violence against Christians, including incidents of Bible burning and rape, in the past year.

A spokesman for the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, one of the militant organizations Christians blame for the attacks, linked the violence to the conversion issue.”These attacks are in retaliation to the forceful conversions,”said VHP official Jaideep Patel.

The Christians say they are only working to help the poor and are not engaged in forcible conversions.

Pope thanks Castro for Cuban Christmas

(RNS) Pope John Paul II has thanked Cuban leader Fidel Castro for allowing Christmas to be celebrated as an official holiday.”I want to express to you my deep appreciation for the decision to give back to Christmas its holiday character for all Cubans, conforming to tradition,”the pope said in a telegram to Castro. He also wished Castro a happy holiday, the Associated Press reported.

The telegram was sent to Castro on Dec. 23 but only made public by the Vatican on Monday (Dec. 28).

In 1997, Cubans were officially allowed to celebrate their first Christmas since the Castro-led government abolished it as a recognized holiday in 1969. The celebration was meant to be a gesture of good will by Castro in anticipation of the pope’s January 1998 visit to the island-nation.

In November, the Cuban government declared Christmas an official holiday and this year allowed the local Roman Catholic Church the rare privilege of broadcasting a national greeting on state radio.

John Paul, in his telegram to Castro, said he was praying that”this noble country, always present in my heart, can consolidate its way toward a more prosperous, just and fraternal society.”

Quote of the day: David Ehrenfeld, professor of biology at Rutgers University

(RNS)”When people and communities become mere management units and nature is only something to exploit, what is left worth striving after? We become no better than our machines, and just as disposable.” _ David Ehrenfeld, professor of biology at Rutgers University in an article,”The Coming Collapse of the Age of Technology,”in the January/February issue of Tikkun magazine.

DEA END RNS