c. 1999 Religion News Service
Christians will close church doors to protest Nazareth mosque
(RNS) In their strongest statement on the issue to date, the three major Christian denominations in Israel and the West Bank have announced they will close church doors Nov. 22-23 in protest of an Israeli government proposal to permit the construction of a mosque alongside Nazareth’s Church of the Annunciation.
In a statement issued Thursday (Nov. 4), the Christian leaders said the Israeli decision, in effect, constitutes discrimination against the local Christian community and a government show of favoritism toward a small group of Muslim”fundamentalists.””Peaceful co-existence and confident harmony have recently been shaken by a series of sad events that have been painful and counterproductive for the majority of both faith communities,”the letter said.”Despite the ruling of the court of law in Israel that the land adjacent to the Basilica of the Annunciation is state land, the government has supported a small group of fundamentalists who are intent on building a mosque only a few meters away from the historical church of the Annunciation in Nazareth.” The decision to close the churches in midweek is intended to express the”disapprobation of all the churches at the way that their rights have been summarily violated,”added the letter, signed by the Greek Orthodox Patriarch Diodoris I, the Latin (Catholic) Patriarch Michel Sabbah and the Armenian Patriarch Torkom Manoogian.
Despite the strong wording of the letter, observers believe that the church protest will likely remain relatively limited in impact.
Israeli Minister of Public Security Shlomo Ben Ami, in a statement issued in response, expressed”regret”over the Christian move, saying”there can’t be a shadow of a doubt concerning the government commitment toward Christian freedom of worship in every site in Israel.”Any sort of damage or a threat of damage to the legitimate religious interests of the Christians in the state of Israel as a whole and especially in Nazareth will be dealt with by a firm hand, as is required in a state of law,”his statement said.
Meanwhile, plans are proceeding for a visit here by Pope John Paul II in March.”The local churches might protest, they might do something, but I don’t think it will affect the papal visit,”said Rabbi David Rosen, a liaison to the Vatican for the Israel office of the Anti-Defamation League.
House committee approves debt-relief bill; campaign continues
(RNS) A House committee approved a bill that would significantly reduce the debts of the world’s poorest countries as a debt-relief campaign by religious and other anti-poverty leaders continued.
The House Banking Committee approved the debt-relief bill by a 23-16 vote Wednesday (Nov. 3).
The Clinton administration and Congress are continuing negotiations to secure substantial help for the debt-relief initiative sponsored by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
The initiative has gained the support of an eclectic coalition that includes politicians, poverty-fighting groups, Pope John Paul II and U2 rock star Bono.
Bono, who met with House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, and other lawmakers Thursday, took part in a news conference with religious leaders on the topic.
Bishop John Glynn of the Archdiocese for Military Services, who also spoke at the Thursday news conference, called the banking committee vote”a major victory for the many organizations and individuals who have worked so hard for many years to make this happen.” Glynn, who serves on the U.S. Catholic bishops’ international committee, said the bishops long have been concerned that the burden of debt is hampering the lives of the most vulnerable members of the global society.”Too many families are going without basic health care, too many children are going without education because their governments must spend limited resources on debt service,”he said.”This is not just a social or economic problem. It is a moral challenge.” The Clinton administration would like Congress to approve $370 million this year to help pay the U.S. share of an international effort to reduce as much as $90 billion in debt that poor countries owe rich nations, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and other development agencies, the Associated Press reported.
It also hopes to get authorization to forgive $330 million of direct bilateral aid the poor nations owe the United States.
Global poll finds majority support of family, marriage
(RNS) A global poll taken on behalf of an organization interested in preserving families has found that a majority of those surveyed affirm heterosexual marriage and families created by legal marriage.
The survey of 2,893 adults by Wirthlin Worldwide was conducted in September and October for the Howard Center for Family, Religion and Society. The conservative center, based in Rockford, Ill., is one of the sponsors of World Congress of Families II, to be held Nov. 14-17 in Geneva.
The study found that 84 percent of respondents agree with the statement that”The definition of marriage is one man and one woman.”Seventy-eight percent of respondents agreed that”A family created through lawful marriage is the fundamental unit of society.” Howard Center President Allan Carlson cheered these survey results.”These findings clearly and emphatically reveal that, despite efforts to undermine the natural family in the United Nations …, the people of the world are speaking with a virtually unanimous voice in agreeing with the World Congress that the natural family is the fundamental social unit,”he said.
The survey found differing views about the future of family life. Forty-three percent of those questioned believe the quality of family life will be stronger 30 years from now while 34 percent said it will be weaker.
Sixty-nine percent of respondents said children are very important for having a strong marriage and 77 percent said having and raising a child is very important for the quality of family life.
The study also found that 50 percent of adults believe families with multiple children help improve society while 34 percent believe families with multiple children add to society’s problems.
The study had a margin of error of plus or minus 1.8 percentage points. It included interviews with adults from the United States, Asia, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America.
Ecumenical council praises new”Global Sullivan Principles” (RNS) The National Council of Churches has praised the development of new”Global Sullivan Principles”that call for business practices to be based on support of human rights.
The new principles were announced at the United Nations Tuesday (Nov. 2) and were created by the Rev. Leon H. Sullivan, who worked with multinational corporations across the globe to create them.
Companies are asked to commit to eight principles including these objectives: supporting economic, social and political justice by companies with which they do business; supporting human rights and equal opportunity at all employment levels; training and promoting disadvantaged staffers; and assisting with greater understanding among different groups of people.
The Rev. Joan Brown Campbell, general secretary of the National Council of Churches, said the standards are”both moral and achievable,”and should be applied around the world.”They call on corporations to seek a higher goal than simply building profits,”she said.”Rather, corporate conduct needs to be grounded in universal human rights.” She highlighted the principles’ calls for compensation of employees so they can meet their basic needs.”It is a disgrace when apparel, footwear, toy or electronic companies pay a poverty wage that does not allow an employee to adequately feed, clothe or house their families,”said Campbell.”And unfortunately too many prestigious international companies still pay such poverty wages.”
Religious book publisher releases list of century’s top 100 books
(RNS) HarperSanFrancisco, a publisher of books on religion and spirituality, has released a list of the”100 Best Spiritual Books of the Century.” The top 10 include works by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran minister killed by the Nazis; American expatriate poet T.S. Eliot; and St. Therese of Lisieux, a Catholic saint.
The list, which features titles from more than 25 publishing houses, was compiled by Philip Zaleski, editor of HarperSanFrancisco’s annual Best Spiritual Writing series.”It will guide readers to books that will enrich their souls, serve as a reminder of the 20th century’s enduring spiritual legacy, and spark conversation about the blossoming genre of spiritual writing,”said Stephen Hanselman, vice president and associate publisher of HarperSanFrancisco.
The books cited as”The 10 Best Spiritual Books of the Century”are:”Black Elk Speaks”by Black Elk;”Letters and Papers From Prison”by Dietrich Bonhoeffer;”I and Thou”by Martin Buber;”Orthodoxy”by G.K. Chesterton;”The Four Quartets”by T.S. Eliot;”The Sabbath”by Abraham Joshua Heschel;”Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind”by Shunryu Suzuki;”The Phenomenon of Man”by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin;”Story of a Soul”by St. Therese of Lisieux; and”Waiting for God”by Simone Weil.
The list, arranged in alphabetical order by author, also includes works by Dorothy Day, Mohandas Gandhi, Thich Nhat Hahn, Pope John Paul II, Carl Jung, Martin Luther King Jr., C.S. Lewis, Malcolm X, Huston Smith and Elie Wiesel.
Zaleski said the list includes a diversity of books from a variety of religious traditions as well as from different literary genres.”I think it’s safe to say that every book on the list is a spiritual gem, a gift for the soul, and reading even just one title would enhance your life,”he said.”They are great spiritual books; they are also simply great literary books.”
A magnifying glass and $29,500 needed to read this Bible
(RNS) Most Bibles don’t sell for $29,500, but when one is small enough to fit inside a dollhouse, it can.
The tiny holy book known as the Thumb Bible was sold at an auction in London on Wednesday (Nov. 3), said auctioneer Dominic Winter.
It may be the smallest Bible in the world, measuring 1.75 inches by 1.25 inches.
Simon Finch Rare Books of London bought the Bible after making the bid by telephone that was $3,280 below the figure predicted by auctioneers, the Associated Press reported.”Our estimate was punchy and to get anything like it for such a high price was a very good achievement,”said Winter, who is based in Swindon, west of London.”There are just a small handful of people bidding for it, which wasn’t surprising because of the price. It’s got fairly limited appeal as well.” The miniature Bible was written in verse by poet John Taylor in 1614. It was discovered recently by an English woman who collects dollhouses.
There are two other copies of the Thumb Bible. One was sold by Christie’s in New York for $22,000 in 1989. The other is at Aberdeen University in Scotland.
Quote of the day: the Rev. Thomas A. Langford, retired dean of the Duke University Divinity School
(RNS)”We are all sinners, and, as sinners, none of us stands as final judge of other sinners. Consequently, we begin with humility. I emphasize this because both sides in this homosexual debate often claim the moral high ground. Let us for a moment, then, quiet down, recognize the awesomeness of God’s grace, and be humble.” _ The Rev. Thomas A. Langford, retired dean of the Duke University Divinity School, addressing the United Methodist Church’s Council of Bishops on Nov. 2, on the divisive issue of homosexuality and same-sex marriages.
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