wfn.org | Episcopalians: News Briefs February 8, 2002

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

2002-037

Episcopalians: News Briefs

Episcopal Church applauds Senate compromise on faith-based
legislation

(ENS) The Episcopal Church applauded the efforts of the U.S.
Senate and the Bush Administration in reaching a compromise on
"faith-based initiatives" legislation, in a statement released
by the church's Washington office February 8.

"The Episcopal Church has long enjoyed partnering with the
government in delivering social services and looks forward to
this legislation strengthening the commitment the church and
government shares in reducing poverty," said Thomas H. Hart of
the church's Office of Government Relations.

The Episcopal Church supports the practice of receiving
public funding for the delivery of social services so long as
such programs do not discriminate or proselytize as part of
receiving or delivery of those services. The church opposed
House-passed charitable choice legislation out of concern for
hiring discrimination issues inherent in that bill.

"We congratulate Senators Lieberman and Santorum and
President Bush for listening to our concerns on the House-passed
legislation," Hart said.  "This legislation balances the
increasing need for social services with fairness and
accountability in the use of public dollars."

The agreement reached would provide tax incentives for
charitable giving by non-itemizers, incentives for greater
corporate philanthropy, technical assistance for 501(c)3
incorporation and additional funds for community-based
organizations. Unlike the House-passed legislation, the
agreement does not open the door for hiring discrimination by
faith-based service providers.

"Discrimination has no place in the delivery of social
services," Hart said.

Griswold says US is superpower but should also be
super-servant

(ENS) In an interview with the Birmingham News when he
was in the Diocese of Alabama for the consecration of a new
suffragan bishop, Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold said that
the war against terrorism was justified, but he hoped that
American political leaders would tone down their rhetoric.

Yes, I do think we have to pursue terrorists and try in
every way to disable their capacity to do harm, he said. I do
quite frankly think that some of the rhetoric that has been used
to support the war on terrorism is unhelpful and simply incites
the worst emotions in people, and could produce hatred and
suspicion toward Islamic nations, he said.

In stating his hope that we were more subtle and nuanced in
how we describe our war on terrorism, Griswold expressed
particular appreciation for the approach of Secretary of State
Colin Powell, who just happens to be an Episcopalian.

The United States needs to find more ways to help countries
like Afghanistan, he said. I really do think if we see
ourselves as a superpower, we have to see ourselves also as a
super-servant. Power without a willingness to serve, he said,
is very dangerous.

Christian woman in Sudan sentenced to death by
stoning

(ENS) According to the New York-based Human Rights Watch, an
18-year-old Christian woman has been sentenced to death by
stoning under Islamic Shariah law for allegedly
committing adultery in early December. Reports indicate that the
trial was conducted in a language that she did not understand
and that she did not have legal representation. Charges against
the man involved were dismissed for lack of evidence.

Abok Alfa Akok is a Christian from the Dinka tribe and
therefore should not have been subject to Islamic law, according
to the Barnabas Fund, a British organization that monitors
persecution of Christians around the world. In a February 5
release, the fund warned that the case should serve as a warning
that many Islamic conservatives in the Sudan and other parts of
the Muslim world who call for implementation of Shariah
law fully intended that it should be imposed on non-Muslims.

The case could stiffen resistance among Christians in other
areas, such as Nigeria, where Muslims are seeking implementation
of Shariah.

Methodists considering weekly celebration of Holy
Communion

(RNS) After a four-year study, a United Methodist panel is
likely to recommend that churches celebrate Holy Communion on a
weekly basis to help move the church towards a richer
sacramental life.

The panel was asked to develop a theological understanding of
the sacrament and suggest ways to incorporate it more deeply
into church life. The panel approved a working draft at a
Seattle meeting in late January and its final report will be
issued in 2004 at the churchs quadrennial General Conference.

The panel would not seek to enforce the guidelines with any
sort of legislation and implementation would be left to
individual congregations. Church leaders expressed hopes,
however, that church members would begin to think about a more
regular observance of the Eucharist. Some churches celebrate it
once a month or even less often.

Other issues will be studied by the panel, including who is
authorized to preside over communion, which elements are the
most appropriate, who can receive the sacrament and how to
dispose of leftover elements. The committee will also tackle the
thorny issue of whether the real presence of Jesus is found in
the Eucharist or whether the rite is more a memorial or
commemoration of the Last Supper and the death of Jesus.

Government sinning by denying AIDS drugs

(SAPA/ACNS) The South African government is sinning against God
by denying life-saving medication to mothers and children facing
the threat of HIV/Aids, Anglican Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane
of Cape Town said on January 25.

In a toughly worded speech prepared for delivery at the
opening of new premises for an HIV research unit at Chris Hani
Baragwanath Hospital, Ndungane said that the government was
accountable to God. "When the government stands in the way of
our right to life, then the government has overstepped its
boundaries," he said. "Withholding truth and maintaining the
silence of denial is sinful."

The archbishop, who has repeatedly called for South Africa's
HIV/AIDS epidemic to be declared a national emergency, said that
people of faith valued life, especially the lives of mothers and
their children. "The continuing policy of silence and denial,
which withholds life itself, is unacceptable," he said. "It
violates our Constitution, which guarantees life to all
citizens, and for which many have already died in the struggle
for our freedom."

The government has come under fire for refusing to administer
anti-retroviral drugs to rape victims reporting to state health
facilities. It has also been challenged over its reluctance to
provide the same drugs to HIV-positive mothers, to reduce the
possibility of transmission to their children during birth.

Calling for leadership that could be trusted and supported,
the Cape Town primate said, however, that he had been encouraged
by a recent statement by South African President Thabo Mbeki
that the government had a comprehensive AIDS policy "premised on
the fact that HIV causes AIDS." Government spokespersons are on
record as saying that the AIDS policy is based on the "premise,"
rather than "fact," that HIV causes AIDS.

Archbishop Ndungane urged the government to do more towards
preserving the lives of South Africans at risk. It should
legitimize the distribution of drugs to help prevent
mother-to-child transmission of the disease, and to help the
survivors of rape combat infection. "We invite our government
into a partnership for life, rather than a confrontation over
death," he said.

Carey sends greeting to prayer meeting called by pope in
Assisi

(ENS) Archbishop of Canterbury George L. Carey sent his
greetings to a Day of Prayer and Peace in the World attended
by 150 religious leaders called by Pope John Paul II in Assisi,
Italy January 24.

In his statement, Carey said that religious leaders have a
major contribution to make towards peace and reconciliation in
our increasingly unstable and dangerous world. He added,
Religious bodies, and we as religious leaders, have a most
sensitive and difficult task to undertake. In spite of our
imperfections, we witness to the goodness of God. We seek to
speak words of truth, of love and of forgiveness, holding fast
to that which is good. We recognize, he continued, that our
traditions can be misused to set people apart, rather than
bringing them together. At times we have defined ourselves by
what divides us, rather than what we share. We acknowledge that
we have misunderstood and hurt one another, so we must build our
peace on our need to accept forgivenessas well as to offer it.

Carey also argued that the faith communities of the world
should look at the pressing needs of those who are in need,
learning to share the good things that some of us have with the
many who do not have them as members of one human family. We
must do these things in a way that honors all people, respecting
their human dignity and enabling them to participate in the
economic and political life of the world.

The archbishops statement was read by Bishop Richard Garrard
of Penrith in the Church of England as one of the testimonies
for peace.

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