wfn.org | Episcopal News Service Briefs

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2001-114 

News Briefs

Presiding bishop writes to President Bush on Sudan situation 

     (ENS) Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold wrote to President George W. 
Bush May 15, expressing appreciation for his "strong denunciation of the 
egregious human rights violations of Sudanese Christians and other minorities 
by the Sudanese government." Griswold said that the president's May 3 
statement describing the crisis in Sudan as a "disaster for all human rights" 
expresses "the outrage that many feel who have long advocated for a vigorous 
United States policy condemning a regime which has perpetrated acts of war 
against its own people." 

     It will take "the full diplomatic energy of many nations, with strong 
leadership from the United States," Griswold argued, to "create sufficient 
urgency around the peace process in the Sudan to achieve results." He urged 
the president "to elevate peace in the Sudan as a priority of international 
diplomacy," pointing out that "the time is right for decisive action by your 
administration." He added that, in the wake of violence at All Saints 
Anglican Cathedral in Khartoum at Easter and the subsequent bombing of 
civilian targets, "points to greater willingness of the Khartoum government 
to commit crimes against its Christian citizens. The accumulation of weapons 
and war materials made possible by substantial earnings from oil exploration 
heightens concern that the Sudanese leaders will become even more confident 
in their ruthless pursuit of absolute control of all of Sudan and the 
imposition of even more repressive rule. This must not happen," Griswold 
said. 

     

Vatican opposes inclusive language in English liturgy

     (ENS) In a document released in early May, the Vatican has ruled that 
all attempts at "inclusive language" be removed from the English-language 
liturgy, charging that they represent attempts to be "politically correct." 

     "The abandonment of these terms under pressure of criticism on 
ideological or other grounds is not always wise or necessary," said the 
guidelines. "Nor is it an inevitable mark of linguistic development." The 
Vatican said that translations of the Latin texts should not be creative or 
overly dependent on modern expressions that could dilute the original intent. 

     It is only the fifth time that the Vatican has issued guidelines on the 
liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council, responsible for 
inaugurating major changes in putting the mass into local languages. 

     Conservative Roman Catholics, who have balked at the trends and argued 
for a stricter translation of the liturgical texts, welcomed the guidelines. 
Archbishop Oscar Lipscomb of Mobile, Alabama, who chairs the liturgy 
committee of the Bishops' Conference, said that the rules were long overdue 
since the last guidelines were done in 1969. 

     More liberal Roman Catholics, however, may balk at the new regulations 
as too restrictive and diminishing the authority of bishops. "All this shows 
is tremendous ignorance on the part of the Vatican in terms of language," 
said Linda Pczynski of Call to Action, a Chicago-based church reform 
movement. 

     

Anglicans to meet in South Africa to discuss AIDS pandemic

     (ACNS) Anglican leaders have recently decided to hold an unprecedented 
meeting in South Africa this summer to discuss the AIDS pandemic and the 
churches' response. Archbishop of Canterbury George L. Carey has described 
the crisis in Africa as a "staggering problem, driven by dire poverty." He 
has witnessed the situation first-hand during his travels to many African 
countries in recent years. 

     "The meeting will shape and direct our efforts to meet the challenges 
posed by the AIDS pandemic," he said in a May 14 statement. "The African 
nations and the churches of the Anglican Communion within them alike are 
relatively poor, but by working together we can learn from each other. We can 
make the most of the experience and expertise we have developed at the grass 
roots level." 

     Carey pointed out that, in many African countries, churches and faith-
based organizations provide nearly half of the health services and that role 
will become even more important if AIDS "continues to erode the capacity of 
communities to care for those affected." The archbishop made his comments at 
the beginning of Christian Aid Week, which drew attention to the tragic and 
extensive suffering of those with AIDS in Africa. 

     

Ecumenical delegation calls for mutual renunciation of violence in the Middle 
East

     (ENS) An ecumenical delegation of Washington, DC, area church leaders 
presented a statement calling for renunciation of violence to Israeli and 
Palestinian offices recently. The statement calls for an end to oppressive 
conditions imposed on Palestinians but also cites the military occupation and 
expansion of Israeli settlements as root causes of the violence. Only a 
mutual renunciation of violence will avoid a slide towards open warfare, the 
church leaders argued. 

     "We deplore the violence that maims and kills persons on both sides of 
the conflict," the statement said. "We maintain that a fundamental cause of 
the violence is the illegal occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, including 
East Jerusalem, and the expansion of settlements in that area." The 
occupation "regrettably provokes the Palestinians to use violence to regain 
their lands, and the Israelis to retaliate with excessive force. We deplore 
violence on either side. We think that it is counterproductive. Violence 
unites and hardens the opposition; non-violence divides and softens it," the 
statement added. 

     The statement concluded that "each party to the conflict has a gift to 
give the other: security and interdependence, and a future of increasingly 
friendly cooperation. We commend those on both sides who continue to work for 
peace." The church leaders also called for "an extraordinary effort toward 
reconciliation of differences" and affirmed that "a just peace requires 
adherence to international law and continued effort in peacemaking by all 
parties." 

     

Theologians propose a radical reform-women in the College of Cardinals

     (ENI) A retired Italian bishop and several Roman Catholic theologians 
have suggested that the Vatican take a radical step by appointing women to 
the College of Cardinals that is responsible for electing the pope. 

     "The present system, which restricts to male cardinals the right to choose 
the pope, is a product of history," said Bishop Giuseppe Casale. He said that 
the system "could evolve, changing in a progressive and cautious way to include 
categories of the people of God who have been excluded until now." While 
cautioning against any hasty action, he argued that "neither should we stick rigidly 
to the present system, putting limits on the work of the Holy Spirit." There is no 
problem with lay cardinals, he pointed out, since they do not require ordination
"so there is no problem of dogma." The position itself is "simply a product of history, 
and the method of electing the Bishop of Rome has undergone major changes 
throughout history." 

     The position of cardinals has been created by the church and therefore can 
be modified, added Prof. Severino Dianich of Florence, president of the Italian 
Theological Association. The conclave that elects the pope could include both 
clergy and lay people, both men and women, he said, adding that "from an ecclesial 
and theological viewpoint, such a reform is possible, even if the time is not yet ripe."