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[dmack@episcopalchurch.org]

March 18, 2003

2003-059

Episcopalians: News Briefs

American peace activist killed by Israeli bulldozer in Gaza

(ENS) A 23-year-old college student from Olympia, Washington, 
was killed by an Israeli Defense Forces bulldozer during a March 
16 house demolition in the Rafah refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. 
Rachel Corrie was a member of the International Solidarity 
Movement (ISM) that seeks to block demolitions of Palestinian 
houses.

According to ISM officials, Corrie was wearing a bright orange 
jacket blocking the path of the bulldozer and shouting at the 
driver. A spokesperson said, "There's no way he didn't see her, 
since she was practically looking into the cabin. At one stage, 
he turned  around toward the building. The bulldozer kept 
moving, and she slipped and fell off the plow. But the bulldozer 
kept moving, the shovel above her. I guess it was about 10 or 15 
meters that it dragged her and for some reason didn't stop. We 
shouted like crazy to the driver through loudspeakers that he 
should stop, but he just kept going and didn't lift the shovel. 
Then it stopped and backed up. We ran to Rachel. She was still 
breathing."

Corrie's parents issued a statement saying their daughter "was 
filled with love and a sense of duty to her fellow man, wherever 
they lived. And she gave her life trying to protect those that 
are unable to protect themselves." The US State Department has 
demanded a full and immediate investigation by Israel.

A Red Crescent ambulance took the badly injured woman to a 
hospital in Rafah where she was declared dead on arrival. Army 
sources said the demolitions were meant to prevent sabotage 
along a road parallel to the Egyptian border.

The ISM is an international pacifist movement that draws its 
inspiration from an Albert Einstein quote: "The world is a 
dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, 
but because of the people who don't do anything about it."

(Photos of the incident are available at the International 
Solidarity Movement website.)

Churches in Myanmar finding adversity leads to greater unity

(ENI) Cut off from the outside world for four decades following 
the imposition of military rule in 1962, churches in Myanmar 
(formerly known as Burma) are finding that adversity is leading 
them to greater unity.

The Christian minority finds many obstacles in attempts to carry 
out the most routine activities. The last Christmas message from 
the Myanmar Council of Churches, for example, was rejected by 
the government's Literary Scrutiny Board, even though it had 
previously been approved by the ministry for religious affairs. 

In a country where the media is entirely controlled by the 
government and access to Internet is not available, even in 
five-star hotels, church publications are delayed for months 
awaiting government clearance--and in some cases the approval is 
never received.

Church travel is also rigidly controlled. It can take months for 
church leaders to get a passport, usually valid for a single 
trip, and only if an application has prior clearance by the 
religious affairs ministry. One church leader has missed six 
invitations to attend international meetings outside the country 
because of the delays.

General Secretary Konrad Raiser of the World Council of Churches 
told the country's leaders during a March visit of his concern 
that Christians and other minority groups are facing 
"intentional or involuntary discrimination." At the same time he 
praised the churches, saying he was "very impressed by the 
degree of ecumenical cooperation" in the country. "Despite 
difficulties, they have adopted an imaginative response to the 
situation."

Approximately 6.5 percent of Myanmar's 52 million people are 
Christian, almost half of them Baptists. The next largest 
denomination is Roman Catholic with about 600,000 members. "We 
may belong to different faith traditions and denominations, but 
as Christians we are all united," said the Rev. Jenson Rajan 
Andrews, president of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in 
Myanmar.

The churches are trying to serve as peacemakers between the 
military government and armed rebel groups who come from 
predominantly Christian minority ethnic groups. They are also 
trying to find ways to help more than 100,000 people who have 
been internally displaced because of the conflicts.

South African archbishop urges dialogue to bring peace in 
Zimbabwe

(ENI) Anglican Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane of Cape Town, 
South Africa, has been urging opposing political forces in 
Zimbabwe to engage in dialogue in efforts to end the crisis 
plaguing the nation. "The country is facing serious humanitarian 
and political crises, worsened by lack of trust among the 
politicians," he said after separate meetings in Harare with 
President Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the 
Movement for Democratic Change, the main opposition party.

"But we need them to come to a common ground," Ndungane added. 
"The restoration of political normality, a culture of human 
rights, hunger relief and political legitimacy are important to 
bring peace to Zimbabwe." He reported that Mugabe was still 
adamant that Britain, the former colonial power, was responsible 
for the current crisis.

An article in the government-controlled Herald newspaper on 
March 14 accused Ndungane of being biased against the government 
and predicted that the mediation mission would flop. "What does 
the archbishop mean by the restoration of political normality 
when we have a perfectly functional multiparty parliament 
sitting with both ruling and opposition MPs?" it asked. "What 
does he meant by a culture of human rights? Is Zimbabwe any 
different from all other countries that have laws that protect 
their citizens, laws which are upheld by the police and enforced 
by the courts?"

Indigenous Anglicans reject agreement to settle school abuse 
claims

(ENI) A group of Anglican indigenous people has rejected an 
agreement by the church and the Canadian government to settle 
abuse claims filed by former students of residential schools for 
indigenous children. Under the agreement, the Anglican Church of 
Canada and the government will share the cost of compensating 
the students who charge they were physically abused in the 
schools operated by the church on behalf of the government, 
beginning in 1820 and ending in 1969.

The Anglican Council of Indigenous People, an association 
established by the church and representing 27,500 members, has 
rejected the agreement because it does not cover claims of 
emotional or cultural abuse. Opponents claim that the agreement 
would require the former students to waive future claims for 
loss of language and culture in order to receive compensation 
for physical and sexual abuse. "We're not going to sell our 
birthright for just a few dollars," said Andrew Wesley, co-chair 
of the council.

More than 12,000 claims alleging sexual, emotional, physical or 
cultural abuse have been filed against the government and four 
churches that had run the schools. Under the agreement the 
Anglicans will contribute 30 percent of the compensation costs, 
up to $25 million (Canadian) for settlement of 2,200 claims 
involving the denomination.

Cabinet minister Ralph Goodale, who signed the agreement with 
Archbishop Michael Peers of the Anglican Church of Canada, 
defended the government's position, pointing out that no court 
had awarded damages for loss of culture and language. The 
government has promised to spend $172.5 million (Canadian) to 
support indigenous culture and language programs, with 
encouragement and promise of support from the churches.

Presiding bishop appoints Mark McIntosh new canon theologian

(ENS) Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold has announced the 
appointment of the Rev. Mark A. McIntosh as his canon 
theologian.

McIntosh, 43, of Chicago, succeeds the Rev. Canon James 
Griffiss, who was honored at an event at Seabury-Western 
Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois, in late February.

"For the presiding bishop to have a canon theologian is one way 
of reminding all that, without a theologically grounded 
perspective, one can fall victim to the superficial tugs and 
pulls of contemporary events and questions facing the church," 
Griswold said. "Mark is representative of a new generation of 
younger theologians who are deeply steeped in tradition, yet 
profoundly aware of the need to discern the authentic movement 
of the Holy Spirit in the questions of our time."

Griswold ordained McIntosh to the priesthood in the Diocese of 
Chicago in 1986. He is an associate professor of theology at 
Loyola University in Chicago and currently serves as chaplain to 
the church's House of Bishops and is a member of the theology 
committee. His academic work has focused on the reconnection of 
spirituality and theology and he has published three books in 
that area, the most recently "Mysteries of Faith," the Christian 
doctrine volume in the New Church's Teaching Series.

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