c. 2003 Religion News Service
NCC, Muslim Groups Promise Humanitarian Aid to Iraq
(RNS) The National Council of Churches and two Muslim groups said they will provide humanitarian aid to Iraq, but not out of “acquiescence or affirmation” of the war.
The general secretaries of the NCC, the Islamic Circle of North America and the Islamic Society of North America, said in a joint statement that they were “deeply saddened” by the war and pledged to help relieve humanitarian concerns in Iraq.
“That we do this is not in any way an acquiescence to, or affirmation of this war, which we continue to view as an unjustified, unwise and preemptive rather than necessary course of action,” the March 24 statement said.
“We provide humanitarian aid as an expression of our shared commitment to all God’s people,” said the NCC’s Bob Edgar, the Islamic Circle’s Naeem Baig and the Islamic Society’s Sayyid Muhammad Syeed.
Edgar, a United Methodist clergyman and former congressman from Pennsylvania, has emerged as one of the war’s most vocal opponents. Muslim groups have expressed concern that the war could lead to future acts of terrorism.
Edgar, Baig and Syeed said they were especially concerned about the treatment of Muslims in the United States as the Bush Administration cracks down on terrorism. “Singling out groups or individuals based on ethnicity, country of origin or religion will only promote distrust and hysteria, and not make us safer,” they said.
_ Kevin Eckstrom
Archbishop of Canterbury Lament’s War’s Impact on Alliances
LONDON (RNS) Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams said Tuesday (March 25) the “greatest casualty” so far of the Iraq war has been “a coherent approach to international law and to the maintenance of alliances.”
Williams, writing in the (London) Times, said: “We urgently need clarity about the international ownership of any political solution for Iraq, including clear commitments pointing away from `imperial’ structures; we need to have road maps not only for the future of the Holy Land but for the region overall, for its countless minorities.”
These issues cannot be put on the back burner during the hostilities, he said, adding: “We should already be rebuilding those broken or threatened bonds of trust with allies not involved in military action so as to draw them into fruitful collaboration in this process.”
Turning to the effect of the war on international relationships and structures, Williams said: “The U.S. and British governments have defended an interpretation of particular United Nations resolutions that has not been accepted by others; they are understandably sceptical of the idea that interpretation can be settled by the chances of a majority vote; but what then is the means of authoritative interpretation? And how are we to understand the obligations of alliances where there is insoluble dispute on finding an authoritative reading of decisions meant to bind all parties?”
In a situation where alternatives were presented as polar opposites, there appeared to be a lack of compelling strategy for containing or disarming Iraq that did not involve direct military intervention.
“Those in the international community most critical of war might have been expected to offer something beyond open-ended inspections (let alone sanctions),” he said.
Meanwhile one of Williams fellow prelates, Bishop Peter Forster of Chester, became the first Church of England bishop to come out unequivocally in favor of Prime Minister Tony Blair’s decision to commit British troops to going to war against Iraq.
“I believe that the military action which is now being taken is both morally and legally justifiable,” he said. “Although there were and are risks in taking this action, I believe that there were greater risks in permitting the regime of Saddam Hussein to remain in power, with the consequent continuation of genocidal behavior towards his people, and access to weapons of mass destruction.”
_ Robert Nowell
Vatican Confirms Papal Trip to Spain May 3-4 to Create New Saints
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope John Paul II will travel to the Spanish capital of Madrid on May 3-4 to proclaim five new saints, Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said Tuesday (March 25).
The trip, John Paul’s 99th outside Italy in his 24 years as pope, is the first of at least four, and possibly six, the ailing, 82-year-old Roman Catholic pontiff is expected to make this year.
In Madrid, the pope will canonize two men and three women, all of them founders or members of religious orders. He will also meet with King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia and with Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar and attend a youth rally.
Plans are also under way for John Paul to visit Croatia June 5-8, Bosnia on June 22 and Slovakia on Sept. 11-14, and he has been invited to travel to Mongolia in late August and to France in the autumn to address the European Parliament at Strasbourg.
_ Peggy Polk
`Evelyn,’ `Doc’ Named Movieguide’s Top Movie, TV Show
(RNS) The movie “Evelyn” and PAX TV’s “Doc” won the top prizes at the 11th annual Movieguide Awards.
The movie, starring Pierce Brosnan and Julianna Margulies, won the $25,000 Epiphany Prize for Most Inspiring Movie of 2002. Brosnan also won a Grace Award for Most Inspiring Movie Acting in 2002 for his role in the movie about a Christian father trying to get back his children after an Irish court puts them in orphanages.
“Doc,” a show about a country doctor adjusting to a Manhattan medical practice, won the $25,000 Epiphany Prize for Most Inspiring Television Program of 2002.
The awards were presented at a March 18 ceremony in Beverly Hills, Calif.
Sean Patrick Thomas of CBS’ “The District” won a Grace Award for Most Inspiring Television Acting in 2002 for his role in an episode titled “Faith.”
Other winners included “Spider-man” for best family film; “We Were Soldiers,” for best film for mature audiences; and “The Magic Never Ends: The Life and Work of C.S. Lewis,” a PBS broadcast, for best documentary.
The awards are sponsored by the Christian Film & Television Commission, an organization based in Camarillo, Calif., that publishes the biweekly Movieguide, a family-oriented guide to movies and entertainment.
_ Adelle M. Banks
Rigali Delays Prostate Cancer Surgery
ST. LOUIS, Mo. (RNS) St. Louis Archbishop Justin Rigali was forced to delay last week’s scheduled surgery for prostate cancer because he has been diagnosed with shingles.
Rigali said he’s in good spirits, though the new infection has to be treated before he can undergo any care for prostate cancer.
Nearly two weeks ago Rigali, 67, announced he’d have his prostate removed.
During his routine physical about a month-and-a-half ago, Rigali’s prostate-specific antigen test came back higher than normal.
Subsequent tests indicated the cancer hadn’t spread and that surgery would be Rigali’s best option for full recovery.
Monsignor Richard Stika, one of the three vicars general in the archdiocese, reported that Rigali’s surgery is now set for March 31.
Stika and the other vicars general in the archdiocese will fulfill Rigali’s duties while he is recovering.
Stika said Rigali is eager to get on with the surgery and begin recovery.
“When it was postponed, he was disappointed,” Stika said, adding while Rigali’s case of shingles required treatment, it was not serious enough to cause a major delay. Rigali was originally scheduled for surgery on March 19.
Rigali had previously said he hoped to return to a full schedule by Easter. _ Hillary Wicai
Pope Expresses `Sadness’ at Death of Scandal-Tainted Austrian Cardinal
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope John Paul II expressed “sadness” Tuesday (March 25) at the death of Cardinal Hans Hermann Groer, who was forced to resign as archbishop of Vienna in a pedophilia scandal.
Groer, who was 83, died on Monday of pneumonia in a hospital in Sankt Polten, Austria.
In a condolence message to Cardinal Christoph Schonborn, Groer’s successor, the pope expressed his sadness and said he would pray for Groer “with the hope that the Lord has reserved for him the recompense that he assures his faithful servants.”
Born in Vienna in 1919 and ordained a Benedictine priest in 1942, Groer became archbishop of Vienna in 1986. John Paul made him a cardinal in 1986.
Groer presented his resignation to the pope on Sept. 14, 1995, after former seminary students accused him of molesting them in the 1970s. The cardinal denied the accusations but retired to a Benedictine monastery.
“Beyond the shadows at the time of farewell, the merits of the priest and bishop must be recalled,” Schonborn said in Vienna.
With Groer’s death, the College of Cardinals has 170 members, including 112 who are under the age of 80 and eligible to vote in an eventual conclave for the next pope.
_ Peggy Polk
Quote of the Day: Habitat for Humanity Founder Millard Fuller
(RNS) “God is broadcasting, young folks. If you will extend your spiritual antennas, God will reveal to you your unique ministry, and what it is that God wants you to do.”
_ Habitat for Humanity founder Millard Fuller, speaking at an ecumenical conference for college students in Albuquerque, N.M. He was quoted by Presbyterian News Service.
DEA END RNS
