wfn.org | Episcopalians: News Briefs

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May 13, 2003

2003-104

Episcopalians: News Briefs

Episcopal Church commends ban on sale of conflict diamonds

(ENS) The Episcopal Church has joined a coalition of religious, 
human rights and humanitarian organizations in commending 
Congress and the President for the passage and signing of "The 
Clean Diamond Trade Act." The legislation was overwhelmingly 
passed by Congress on April 11, and President Bush signed the 
act into law on April 25.

Governments, the diamond industry and non-governmental 
organizations have been meeting since May 2000 to create an 
international certification system to monitor the diamond trade. 
Once implemented, the new Kimberley Process intends to end the 
trade in illegally mined rough diamonds, known as "conflict 
diamonds," that has for decades funded regional war and 
atrocities in several African nations, particularly Sierra 
Leone, Angola, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. 

The Episcopal Church worked in partnership with the Campaign to 
Eliminate Conflict Diamonds, a coalition of over 150 
organizations, to secure passage of the legislation. The 
Episcopal Church's Office of Government Relations has been 
working on this issue since 1999, when Bishop Julius Lynch from 
the Diocese of Freetown, Sierra Leone visited the United States. 
During his visit, Lynch had productive meetings at the UN, the 
State Department, and with various church leaders which helped 
to shape U.S. policy around this issue. Following his visit, the 
Executive Council passed a resolution to affirm the church's 
"concern for ongoing civil conflict in Sierra Leone" and to 
express "solidarity with its sisters and brothers in Sierra 
Leone in their quest for a just and lasting peace." 

Jere Skipper, the church's international policy analyst, said, 
"Diamonds are easily transported and provide a source of hard 
currency. Criminals and rebel military leaders have been able to 
convert these illegally obtained natural resources into funding 
for military equipment and troop formation."

Canadian Primate announces retirement

(ACC) Archbishop Michael Peers, primate of the Anglican Church 
of Canada since 1986, has announced that he will resign on 
February 1, 2004. A letter announcing his intention was read to 
the church's governing council meeting in Calgary on May 11. The 
mandatory age of retirement for Anglican bishops in Canada is 
70. Peers was born in 1934.

His resignation will clear the way for the election of a new 
primate by General Synod at its next meeting in St. Catharine's, 
Ontario, in June 2004.

Peers' letter was read to the Council of General Synod by 
Archbishop David Crawley, metropolitan of the ecclesiastical 
province of British Columbia. Crawley is the church's senior 
archbishop and will serve as acting primate between Peers' 
resignation and the election of a successor. 

Peers was born in Vancouver, ordained priest in the Diocese of 
Ottawa in 1960 and elected bishop of the Diocese of Qu'Appelle 
in 1977. Between 1982 and his election as primate in 1986, Peers 
was metropolitan or archbishop of the ecclesiastical province of 
Rupert's Land. 

He is fluent in several languages and, before turning to the 
study of theology, obtained a German-English interpreter's 
certificate from the University of Heidelberg. He has received 
many honorary degrees, including a doctorate of theology from 
the Vancouver School of Theology. Peers and his wife, Dorothy, 
have three grown children and two grandchildren. 

Major AIDS initiative launched in Southern Africa

(CAPA) The Church of the Province of Southern Africa (CPSA) 
recently partnered with Christian Aid (UK) and the British 
government, through DFID, to embark on a major R222 million 
(US$30.5 million) AIDS program.

The program, dubbed "Isiseko Sokomoleza" (Building the 
Foundation), was launched at a colorful ceremony at St. Mary's 
Cathedral in Johannesburg, South Africa, on April 23. It is 
perhaps the largest funded AIDS program in the world to be 
undertaken by a single faith-based community (FBO). 

Speaking at the launch, the archbishop of Southern Africa, 
Njongonkulu Ndungane, said that the large amount of funds 
availed to the church was a demonstration that the faith 
community could handle major programs and realize results. He 
noted that there were more opportunities to thrust religious 
groups to the frontline of the AIDS battle and called for 
comprehensive and focused programs to empower clergy and laity 
in integrating AIDS issues in their ministries.

After the official inauguration, delegates from all the 23 
dioceses of CPSA attended a three-day intensive consultation to 
refine their diocesan strategic plans, which had been developed 
earlier. Most of the plans identified reduction of the stigma 
associated with AIDS, care and support as their primary 
objectives. Some of the dioceses have developed innovative 
strategies to promote AIDS awareness that incorporates moral and 
spiritual values. At the provincial level, the church has 
adopted a curriculum specifically designed to prepare 
theological and pastoral students to deal with the AIDS 
pandemic, in and out of the pulpit. Liturgy is also being 
tailored to accommodate AIDS.

The three-year "Isiseko Sokomoleza" program is the first of its 
kind in many aspects, and it is hoped that similar programs will 
be replicated in other provinces and dioceses in Africa. The 
Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa (CAPA) Secretariat is 
working with the provinces to assist them develop and implement 
strategies that will mitigate the impact of AIDS in their 
communities. 

Ndungane, who also heads the CAPA AIDS Board, said, "Within the 
first year, we hope to demonstrate to the world and to the 
people of our parishes and communities that we live in the 
mission imperative that no one should care alone. No one should 
die alone. For we are all living with AIDS." 

Orthodox, Anglicans and Catholics seek dialogue with European 
Union

(ENI) Orthodox, Anglican and Roman Catholic leaders, meeting in 
Athens, have urged the European Union to begin a "regular 
dialogue" with churches, and said that a projected EU 
constitution should contain a clear reference to Europe's 
"Christian roots." 

The three-day meeting May 4-6, organized by the (Orthodox) 
Church of Greece, came as a European Convention chaired by 
French ex-president Valery Giscard d'Estaing was finalizing a 
Constitutional Treaty for the EU. 

The issue of whether the document should include a reference to 
God or to Europe's Christian heritage has been highly 
controversial. A statement issued after the Athens meeting said 
it would be "inconceivable for the European Convention not to 
make a clear and specific reference to Europe's Christian roots 
in the Constitution that is to shape the European Union's future 
in the years to come." 

Orthodox Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens told the conference 
that Christianity should be mentioned in the EU Constitution 
"not only as the creative power of our civilization, but also as 
that power which reassures us precisely that the Union will be 
European," according to a text of his speech issued by the 
Church of Greece.  "The formulation should be such as not to 
infringe upon religious tolerance, not to be binding upon the 
state, not to come into conflict with the rights of man, not to 
constitute a threat or hindrance to advancement of the 
non-Christians who are citizens of Europe," stressed 
Christodoulos. 

In remarks, however, interpreted as rejecting Turkey's possible 
EU membership, Christodoulos warned that the integration of 
"totally foreign cultures" out of "temporary geopolitical 
considerations" would turn the EU into "a defective copy of the 
former Soviet Union." 

Participants at the Athens meeting included Ecumenical Patriarch 
Bartholomeos I of Constantinople, Roman Catholic Cardinal Roger 
Etchegaray and Anglican Bishop Richard Chartres of London. 

The Athens statement said that the establishment of a "regular 
dialogue" between the EU and Christian churches was needed "to 
foster the principle of equality, which excludes all forms of 
discrimination on the basis of sex, race, national descent, 
physical handicap, religion or convictions." 

The meeting took place as the 15-member EU prepares an 
enlargement to include another 10 member states, most of them 
from Eastern Europe.

Church leaders praise government move to repatriate Kenya's 
billions

(ENI) Church leaders in Kenya have welcomed a government 
announcement that it will seek to repatriate up to 160 billion 
Kenyan shillings (US$ 2.21 billion) stashed away illegally in 
secret bank accounts abroad.

Much of the money is alleged to have been taken from public 
funds by politicians in the previous administration, which lost 
power in December. 

"This is in the right direction," said the Rev. Michael Sande, 
an Anglican priest in Nairobi. "Any cent stolen from Kenyans 
should be returned to them. We need the money to restore what 
has been destroyed." 

Maloba Wesoga, administrative secretary of the Roman Catholic 
Archdiocese of Nairobi, said the money in the secret bank 
accounts had been stolen from Kenyans. "It must be returned at 
all costs. It is needed to strengthen the kitty for free primary 
school education and improve the quality of health services, 
especially in church-run hospitals," Wesoga told ENI. 

The calls for the money to be repatriated followed the election 
victory last December of the National Alliance Rainbow Coalition 
party, which ousted the Kenya African National Union after it 
had been in power for 40 years. The coalition had pledged to 
stamp out corruption and revive the economy.  The Sunday Nation 
newspaper reported Kenyans are estimated to hold up to 160 
billion shillings in numbered bank accounts abroad. 

Robinson Githae, Kenya's assistant minister for justice and 
constitutional affairs, said in March that some officials of the 
previous government had put up to 60 billion shillings in 
foreign accounts, the newspaper reported. 

Many church leaders have urged those implicated to repatriate 
the money voluntarily, confess in court and then seek amnesty, 
but some clergy disagreed.  "Theft must be dealt with by the 
laws of the land. Amnesty on this issue will only make Kenyans 
poorer," said the Rev. Patrick Mungiriria of the Presbyterian 
Church of East Africa. "If the government knows who these people 
are, it should apply the law to return the money."  

Anglican brothers held hostage in Guadalcanal

(ACNS) The Most Rev. Ellison Pogo, archbishop of the Church of 
Melanesia, confirmed May 11 that six brothers from the 
Melanesian Brotherhood are still being held hostage by Harold 
Keke of the Guadalcanal Liberation Front and his supporters in 
the Weathercoast bush of Guadalcanal. The brothers were first 
reported missing about a week before. 

"The recent report from someone who managed to escape from the 
camp is that the six brothers are still alive but held as 
prisoners," Pogo said.

Keke is believed to be responsible for nearly 50 killings in the 
past year, more than 20 of them being over the past month. Pogo 
has said that he is writing a letter to Keke to explain the 
brothers' mission and ask him for their release.

"The head brother and I agree that we must do two things," he 
said. "To ask friends far and near to pray for the safety and 
release of the brothers, and for me to communicate with the 
militants to establish some form of understanding which will 
lead to a possible immediate release of the six brothers."

He also expressed appreciation for all the prayers that are 
being said for the Melanesian Brotherhood, the Church of 
Melanesia and for peace in Solomon Islands.

Christian groups in India demand vote on quota for women in 
Parliament

(ENI) Two dozen prominent women leaders gate-crashed into the 
high security residence of the Indian prime minister to protest 
against the scuttling of a vote on landmark legislation that 
would reserve a third of parliamentary seats for women. The 
protest was led by representatives of 11 women's groups, 
including the Church of North India's Joint Women's Programme 
and the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA).

The day before, the Indian Parliament had failed to bring to a 
vote a bill that would have reserved 33 per cent of the seats in 
the federal parliament and in the state legislatures for women. 
It was the fifth time the bill had been brought before 
Parliament since 1996 without coming to a vote.

"This is a betrayal by the government and the major political 
parties. We are really sick of this farce," said Jyotsna 
Chatterji, a member of the Church of North India and director of 
its Joint Women's Programme.

Chatterji was among the women who on 6 May took the security 
forces at the residence of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee 
by surprise. According to the Hindu newspaper, 250 women 
gathered near the prime minister's residence and started walking 
towards

the main entrance. While the security forces were trying to 
persuade the women to leave the area, about 25 slipped past and 
reached the reception, where they demanded to meet the prime 
minister.

The women left after gaining a meeting with Vajpayee, who 
assured them the legislation would be introduced again in the 
next session of Parliament.  All the major political parties 
have at least publicly declared support for the bill, from 
Vajpayee's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to the opposition 
Congress Party, and the Communists.

"The government brought the bill once again, but allowed a few 
members of Parliament to create a din, and used this excuse to 
postpone this bill," Chatterji told ENI. "If the government was 
serious, it could have put the bill to vote, as the country has 
been debating the issue for years."

Women currently account for less than 8 per cent of the members 
of India's Parliament. The ratio of women to men in state 
legislatures is lower still.

The Joint Women's Programme and the YWCA are part of a national 
network of women's organizations called the Seven Sisters that 
has been lobbying for the quota, believing it is important for 
reducing widespread gender prejudice and helping oppressed 
women.

400-year-old brew offers Polish monks secret of making real ale  

(ENI) Cistercian monks in southern Poland hope to become the 
country's first distributors of real ale, brewed according to a 
recipe said to date from the 17th century.

"This beer is dark and distinctive - it has a great bitter 
taste," said Eugeniusz Wlodarczyk, abbot of the monastery at 
Szczyrzyc in the Beskidy Mountains. "We won't be producing a 
huge amount so as not to compete with the big breweries. But 
it'll be quite different from other beers now on the market."

The first of up to 5 million litres per year would hit bars this 
month in the southern Polish city of Krakow, said Wlodarczyk. 
Yearly beer production stands at around 3 billion litres, or 50 
litres per person in Poland.

In a recent interview with the Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper, the 
abbot said he hoped the Szczyrzyc beer, which has a 4.5 per cent 
alcoholic content, would become available nationwide within two 
years.

The Cistercians had already received sample barrels, ordered 
specially from beer-making Trappist monks in Belgium, he added.  
The Cistercians are also hoping to break into the US market 
through an affiliated Polish-run monastery in Chicago.

Wlodarczyk said he had come across the 400-year-old recipe 
during a search through monastery archives in the mid-1990s.  
"Of course, the recipe has had to be updated to current 
production standards," noted Wlodarczyk. "We can't divulge it, 
since our competitors on the brewery network never sleep. All I 
can say is that the secret lies in a certain very special kind 
of yeast."

About 70 per cent of Polish breweries are foreign-owned. The 
country's biggest producer, Zywiec, a subsidiary of the Dutch 
Heineken giant, claims a third of the market, with an annual 
turnover of US$650 million.

The Cistercians are planning to open a hotel and beer-hall on 
their 1800-hectare estate, said the manager of the Szczyrzyc 
monastery, Elzbieta Adamek, and the monks also hope to obtain 
grants from the European Union to launch their own cheese and 
honey manufacturing operations.

Church-run businesses have mushroomed over the past decade in 
Poland, 95 per cent of whose 38 million inhabitants are Roman 
Catholics. Ventures run by parishes include transport and 
construction companies.

GTS Inaugurates Tutu Peace Center and New Education Complex

(GTS)Trustees of the General Theological Seminary of the 
Episcopal Church (GTS) have unanimously approved the creation of 
a new educational conference center on the seminary's historic 
property in the Chelsea district of Manhattan. In addition to 
housing 60 guest rooms with state-of-the-art conference 
facilities, the new complex will become home to the Desmond Tutu 
Center for Peace and Reconciliation. 

The board heard final presentations on the plan from architects, 
consultants, and financial experts. Feasibility studies on the 
renovation of the seminary buildings which front Tenth Avenue 
have been underway for several years. "This decision is truly 
historic," said board chair, the Rev. Robert Giannini, following 
the vote to approve the new plan. "Besides providing the entire 
Episcopal Church with an educational conference center in the 
heart of our nation's most international city, this bold 
initiative will make it possible for General to undertake the 
kind of continuing education programs and conferences that are 
so critical to meeting the needs of the church in a changing 
world," he said.

The seminary's expanded vision for service to the church 
balances its educational mission with a newly structured plan of 
fiscal responsibility. Revitalization of the seminary's 
landmarked property will be achieved through a combination of 
philanthropy and low-interest debt. Eventually the complex of 
renovated buildings will remove a total of 60,000 square feet 
from the current operating budget and will be self-sustaining 
through revenue generated by conferences and education 
activities. 

In addition to the conference center, Seabury Hall and its 
auditorium will be made fully accessible and equipped with the 
latest education technology. The Tenth Avenue properties will 
house GTS offices for continuing education, the Center for 
Christian Spirituality, and the new Tutu Center for Peace and 
Reconciliation. The Tutu Center will have a faculty-rank 
director and will sponsor research, institutes, and lectures 
that seek new understandings in the Church's mission to promote 
peace and work toward an end to violence and injustice at home 
and abroad. 

Tutu, 1984 Nobel laureate, former spiritual leader of the 
Anglican Church of South Africa and visiting professor at GTS, 
preached at the seminary's annual baccalaureate service which 
followed the meeting of the seminary's trustees.

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