c. 2004 Religion News Service
Reuters subscribers: Check the RNS photo Web site at https://religionnews.com for a photo to accompany this first item.
Pope Urges Iraqi Leader to Respect Ethnic and Religious Diversity
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope John Paul II urged Iraq’s interim prime minister, Ayad Allawi, Thursday (Nov. 4) to establish democratic institutions that fully respect his country’s ethnic and religious diversity.
The Roman Catholic pontiff made a special plea for the dwindling Christian community, which he noted has been “present in Iraq from apostolic times.” He said he was confident that Iraqi Christians would work for democracy and peace.
The pope and the prime minister spoke privately in English for almost 10 minutes in John Paul’s study. Earlier Allawi met with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who pledged to keep Italy’s 3,000 troops in Iraq as part of a multinational stabilization force for as long as required.
Allawi, making his first visit to Italy, stopped in Rome en route to Brussels where he will appeal Friday for political and financial aid from the European Union and North Atlantic Treaty Organization as Iraq prepares for elections in January.
The Iraqi leader in a recent interview described John Paul as “the figure who represents peace at a global level.” John Paul energetically opposed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
“I wish to encourage the efforts made by the Iraqi people to establish democratic institutions which will be truly representative and committed to defending the rights of all, in complete respect for the ethnic and religious diversity, which has always been a source of enrichment for your country,” the ailing pope told Allawi in a statement read for him by an aide.
“I am confident that the Christian community, present in Iraq from apostolic times, will make its own contribution to the growth of democracy and the building of a future of peace in the region,” the pope said.
Vatican spokesman Joaquin-Navarro Valls said that Allawi also met with Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Vatican secretary of state, Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo, foreign minister, and other Vatican officials.
They discussed “the prospects for pacification and reconciliation that would permit the healing of the deep wounds of the past and reflections on peace in the region” as well as the contribution of the Christian community “to the moral and material reconstruction of the country,” the spokesman said.
Navarro-Valls said Allawi “deplored” recent attacks on Christian churches and said his government would see to their restoration.
Allawi was accompanied to the Vatican by his wife Thana’a, Minister of Planning Mahd Hafedh, Minister for Human Rights Bikhtiar Amin and five aides.
The pope remained seated as Allawi entered the study, but he opened his arms wide in greeting. “Thank you. Holiness, many thanks,” the prime minister said before leaving.
_ Peggy Polk
Former Disciples of Christ Moderator Resigns From His Pulpit
(RNS) The former moderator of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) has announced his plans to resign from a prominent Washington pulpit.
The Rev. Alvin O. Jackson, 54, said Thursday (Nov. 4) in a letter to his congregation that he would resign as senior pastor of National City Christian Church as of Nov. 30.
In 1998, Jackson came to Washington from Memphis, Tenn., to become the first African-American pastor of the mostly white church that had been frequented by presidents and other powerful Washingtonians over the years. His goal was to make the congregation more multicultural.
“While not impossible, it is particularly difficult for a congregation with a long history to move beyond its past to embrace the future of a truly inclusive church,” Jackson wrote in the letter. “I remain committed to that vision, but for now, it is a vision that eludes us at National City.”
At the time he came to the church, the congregation was about 85 percent white. African-Americans and Hispanics now represent more than 30 percent of the congregation, said Melinda Mains, a spokeswoman for Jackson.
She said his departure did not have anything to do with his admission last year that he had used other ministers’ sermons without giving them credit. Jackson took a leave of absence from his ministerial duties shortly after apologizing to his congregation last fall.
Earlier in that same year, National City’s board voted to permit Jackson to perform a same-sex union ceremony, drawing criticism from an evangelical group within his denomination.
Jackson said in his letter that he expects to write, preach and teach while “discerning how a multicultural ministry might be realized in the nation’s capital.”
_ Adelle M. Banks
Abortion Foes Criticize Passage of Calif. Stem Cell Measure
(RNS) Abortion opponents have criticized the passage of Proposition 71, a California ballot measure that permits $3 billion of embryonic stem cell research.
“California has voted to support embryonic stem cell research, jeopardizing both their moral and financial standing,” said Tony Perkins, president of the Washington-based Family Research Council, in a statement. “As a country we cannot afford to let this type of egregious disregard for human life to become common and accepted practice.”
The American Life League agreed, calling the vote a poor use of taxpayer money.
“Sadly, the people of California are headed down a path of death and destruction with the passage of Proposition 71,” said Judie Brown, president of the Stafford, Va., anti-abortion organization. “The bottom line is, human embryonic stem cell research is always immoral and unethical. One can never do evil, even if a purported `good’ might come as a result.”
While supporters hope embryonic stem cell research may someday cure ailments such as Alzheimer’s disease, opponents disapprove of the research because it involves the destruction of embryos.
_ Adelle M. Banks
Korean Missionaries Advised Not to Travel to Iraq
(RNS) The South Korean government warned Christian missionaries in the country Wednesday (Nov. 3) not to travel to Iraq after five South Koreans were taken into protective custody and flown home.
“Asians stand out because of the difference in appearance from people from other countries and they will easily be spotted by terrorists if they ever go looking,” Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon told reporters, Reuters reported.
“I want to stress that there is a limit to how much the government can do to protect the citizens if they to enter (Iraq) without concern for their own security,” he said.
South Korea has more than 12,000 missionaries in 145 countries _ second only to the United States, according to the Korean World Missions Association, and many are known for their efforts to spread Christianity to communist and Muslim nations, Reuters said. South Korea also has the third largest foreign military contingent in Iraq, behind the United States and Britain.
A South Korean interpreter, who was also a devout Christian, was beheaded by militants in June.
Officials said while the government cannot legally stop citizens from going to Iraq, it is intensifying its warning following the weekend beheading of a Japanese hostage.
A group of five missionaries was flown home on Tuesday after being taken into the protection of South Korean officials, the news agency said.
“The missionaries said they were prepared to die when they entered the country,” Ban said. “The current situation in Iraq is not one that will allow them to accomplish what they set out to do.”
According to the Korean Yonhap news agency, the missionaries flown back to Seoul had name tags with the word “martyr” after their name.
_ David Anderson
Quote of the Day: Transatlantic Relations Expert Pierre Hassner
(RNS) “Bush looks like a preacher to many Europeans, and Kerry like a lawyer _ somebody able to adapt to a situation, not be stubborn. The majority of Europeans prefer the lawyer.”
_ Pierre Hassner, an expert on transatlantic relations at the Center for International Studies and Research, in Paris. He was quoted in a Religion News Service story transmitted Thursday (Nov. 4) and slugged RNS-ELECTION-EUROPE.
MO/JL END RNS
