c. 1999 Religion News Service
Chinese paper calls for eradication of Falun Gong movement
(RNS) An official Chinese newspaper Friday (Sept. 10) said the banned Falun Gong religious meditation group should be eliminated entirely before it creates an underground structure.
A commentary in the People’s Daily, the ruling Communist Party’s main newspaper, called for the government to maintain”a high level of vigilance”in regard to Falun Gong and to arrest those leaders of the group who have not already been taken into custody.”We cannot expect one storm to sweep away all the garbage,”the People’s Daily said in calling for continued action against the group, which combines elements of Buddhism and Taoism with exercises and meditation.
The People’s Daily commentary came one day after a U.S. State Department report on religious freedom abroad harshly criticized China for”government intolerance”of free religious expression _ a charge Beijing immediately rejected as false.
Falun Gong _ which Chinese leaders consider a cult and a threat to governmental control _ has been under widespread and escalating attack in China since April, when some 10,000 adherents demonstrated in Beijing to protest the detention of some movement members.
Two months later, the government warned the group not to hold any more large gatherings. In July, the crackdown continued with the arrest of many Falun Gong leaders and the banning of the group.
Tens of thousands of followers reportedly have have arrested, including some who were government and Communist Party officials, according to the State Department report. The government and party officials have been required to sign statements disavowing the group.
Beijing has also issued an arrest warrant for Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Gong, which has been estimated to have as many as 70 million followers in China. Li, who lives in New York, was charged with organizing illegal demonstrations and disturbing the public order.
Li maintains Falun Gong has no political agenda and only seeks to promote morality and healthy lifestyles.
Religious leaders: Housing a `sacred right’
(RNS) A broad group of religious leaders has called on the government to do more to house the nation’s poor, declaring that access to housing is a”sacred right.””It works against good family life when you live in poor, dilapidated quarters,”said Bishop Joseph Fiorenza, president of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops and one of the signers of the letter.
The letter, initiated by two San Francisco-based housing groups, asks the government to provide money for at least 200,000 vouchers in fiscal year 2000, which begins Oct. 1, and to spend $100 million to”preserve the country’s existing affordable housing supply,”The New York Times reported Friday (Sept. 10).
It was released as the House voted Thursday to cut the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s proposed program budget by $1.6 billion, prompting the promise of a presidential veto.”It makes no sense to make devastating cuts in programs for the poorest families in America to finance tax cuts for the richest people in this country,”HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo said in a statement appealing to the Senate to restore the funds.
According to a HUD study, the cuts will mean 156,000 fewer families will be housed under federal programs, 16,000 homeless and persons with AIDS will not receive services and 97,000 fewer jobs will be created.
The religious leaders’ letter was signed by more than 300 people, including several Roman Catholic bishops, the leaders of Jewish organizations and Protestant church officials as well as prominent Buddhists, Muslims and Unitarian Universalists.
Vatican confirms pope will visit India, Republic of Georgia in November
(RNS) The Vatican confirmed Friday that Pope John Paul II will travel to India in November to meet with the Roman Catholic bishops of Asia and then visit the former Soviet republic of Georgia.”His Holiness John Paul II will make a pastoral visit to Delhi, India, from Nov. 5 to 8 for the celebration of the concluding phase of the Synod of Bishops for Asia. On his return trip, the pope will make a visit to Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia, on the 8th and 9th of the same month,”Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said.
The official announcement followed reports from church sources in New Delhi and Tbilisi that plans for the papal trip had been completed.
The 79-year-old Roman Catholic pontiff already has traveled to Mexico, the United States, Romania and Poland this year and is scheduled to visit Slovenia on Sept. 19.
Navarro-Valls confirmed last week the Vatican also is attempting to arrange a controversial papal visit to Iraq in early December on the first stage of a pilgrimage to Old and New Testament sites in the Middle East. The visit is opposed by the U.S. State Department on grounds that President Saddam Hussein would try to use it to legitimize his regime.
In New Delhi, John Paul will deliver the”Exhortation of the Apostles,”which will formally close the Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for Asia that met April 19 to May 14, 1998, at the Vatican.
The regional synod was one of five the pope convened to prepare the church for the jubilee year 2000. All the synods focused on the pope’s call for a”new evangelization,”but this had special significance for the bishops of Asia, where Catholics make up only about 3 percent of a total population of 3.4 billion.
The visit to Georgia will be the first that the Polish-born pontiff has made to a predominantly Orthodox former Soviet republic. Roman Catholics make up only 1.8 percent of the population of 5.4 million and worship in eight churches opened after the fall of communism.
John Paul is expected to meet with Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze and Katolikos Ilya II, the Orthodox patriarch of Georgia.
The Russian news agency Itar-Tass said Wednesday the Vatican reached agreement on the visit with church and state officials in July, and Archbishop Giovanni Battista Re, deputy Vatican secretary of state, paid a preparatory visit to Tbilisi in August.
English church officials back marriage education
(RNS) The Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales have jointly welcomed proposed changes in the national education curriculum placing more emphasis on the importance of marriage.
In a joint statement, Bishop Alan Chesters of Blackburn, chairman of the Church of England’s Board of Education, and Bishop Vincent Nichols, auxiliary of Westminster and chairman of the Catholic Education Service, warmly welcomed the revision of the national curriculum announced Thursday (Sept. 9) by David Blunkett, secretary of state for education and employment.”In particular, it is heartening to see the changes that the government is making to the framework for personal, social and health education, which now directs that `pupils should be taught about the importance and nature of marriage for family life and bringing up children,'”said the two bishops.
Noting the statement of values underpinning the school curriculum stressed that the curriculum should”in particular develop principles for distinguishing between right and wrong,”the two said this should send a clear signal to schools in an age when too often morality is seen as just a matter of opinion.”It is very encouraging to see the government demonstrate this resolve when there is such widespread anxiety about the influences _ particularly through the media and advertising _ shaping the attitudes of many young people and frequently encouraging sexual activity without responsibility,”the two bishops said.”We must address the deep moral confusion in our society and be unafraid to name the ideals and principles which serve long-term stability in marriage and thereby offer the best environment for the raising of children.” Last weekend Prime Minister Tony Blair called for a moral crusade to tackle such problems as teen-age pregnancies and youth crime. Two cases have been reported recently of 12-year-old girls becoming pregnant.
American missionaries in Zimbabwe found guilty of weapons violations
(RNS) Three American missionaries associated with an Indianapolis-based Pentecostal ministry have been found guilty in Zimbabwe of illegally possessing”arms of war”and trying to smuggle the firearms aboard a civilian airliner.
The three _ Gary Blanchard, 36, John Lamonte Dixon, 36, and Joseph Wendell Pettijohn, 35 _ were pronounced guilty Friday (Sept. 10) by a judge in the Zimbabwe capital, Harare, following a two-week trial.
The men face sentences of up to life in prison, according to the Associated Press. Judge Ismael Adam said their sentences would be announced Monday (Sept. 13).
The men testified that they had been missionaries in war-torn Congo working for Harvestfield Ministries in Indianapolis. They said they used the more than 40 handguns, rifles and other weapons they were caught with for recreation, self-defense and hunting.
In Indianapolis, Jonathan Wallace, who heads the ministry, has confirmed the men’s story.
The trio was arrested March 7 at Harare’s main airport as they attempted to board a flight to Switzerland. The weapons were concealed in their baggage and in panels of their truck.
Quote of the day: Rabbi David Wolpe
(RNS)”When we face death, we face the possibility of meaninglessness. The crux of living is to believe that this loss can be a spur to radiance.” _ Rabbi David J. Wolpe of Los Angeles, writing in his new book”Making Loss Matter: Creating Meaning in Difficult Times”(Riverhead Books).
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