Information Related to "World News Review March 2000"
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In Brief... World News Reviewby Cecil Maranville and David PalmerWill Same-Sex Marriages Be Sanctioned by Sanctuaries? Reform Judaism will debate the issue of sanctioning same-sex marriages in March. The United Methodist Church is scheduled to debate the same issue in May and, in June, the Presbyterian Church will take up the matter. In mid-summer, the Episcopal Church will discuss and decide at its national convention whether or not to accept a recommendation from an Episcopal commission that the church continue to allow individual dioceses to decide on their own if they will bless same-sex unions. One wonders if churches are reading the Book-the Bible-or opinion polls, as they formulate their policies. While this is an explosively controversial subject in our present society, it is not a new question for the Church of God. The early New Testament Church was also confronted with it. The apostle Paul addressed it in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10: "Do not know that the unrighteous and the wrongdoers will not inherit or have any share in the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived (misled); neither the impure and immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor those who participate in homosexuality, nor cheats-swindlers and thieves; nor greedy graspers, nor drunkards, nor foulmouthed revilers and slanderers, nor extortioners and robbers will inherit or have any share in the kingdom of God" (Amplified Bible). The language is strong and plain. Based upon the biblical instruction, the United Church of God, an International Association (publisher of World News and Prophecy) believes any homosexual behavior to be both unnatural and sin (Romans 1:26-27). However, the UCGIA does not discriminate against those who have chosen or been forced into such mistakes. Note what follows the above quote from 1 Corinthians 6: "And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God" (1 Corinthians 6:11, New King James). That is, members of the Church of God in Corinth had participated in some or all of the sins listed-including homosexuality-but later became converted and turned from their sin. Following the scriptural example, the UCGIA graciously welcomes into its fellowship all people who repent of their sins-any sins. ( The Christian Science Monitor, February 14, 2000. ) Kosovo a Quagmire Remember when most of the West was on a self-anointed mission to solve the Kosovo conflict? Several months after the U.S.-led NATO air action, no evidence has been produced that demonstrates the "ethnic cleansing on a scale unequaled since Hitler"-the justification for bombing Serbia. New York-based Human Rights Watch has reported that NATO's bombing of Yugoslavia caused approximately 500 civilian deaths. The Pentagon suggests a much lower figure, claiming that only 20 to 30 incidents resulted in civilian casualties. Of course, the Yugoslav government claims still a different figure, putting the civilian death toll at around 5,000. Whatever the actual number, this type of report is an embarrassment to NATO and the United States. Instead of a genuine peace, outbursts of fighting are common. Serbian and ethnic Albanian citizens of Yugoslavia still clash violently-in spite of KFOR's presence, and even threatening the safety of the KFOR troops. To be sure, the Milosevic-directed action against the KLA and innocent citizens was stopped. It remains debatable whether the Milosevic forces achieved their initial objectives or not. The KLA were stopped from bullying and instigating Kosovo's ethnic Albanian population into breaking away from Yugoslavia as an independent republic. On the other hand, some argue that the KLA is now more firmly ensconced than ever, largely legitimized by its recognition in the fighting. Further, many former KLA members are established as police officers in Kosovo. Violent acts by KLA sympathizers and Milosevic thugs are regularly in the news. It should come as no surprise that nothing has been resolved. Peace does not come by or through force. Fearful of a repeat of the accusations that it did nothing when hundreds of thousands were massacred in Rwanda's civil war (or in the slaughter of as many as two million in Sudan), the U.S. administration felt it had to intervene-yet again-in the Balkans. Now, however, circumstances have rotated 180 degrees, and Stratfor reports that the U.S. administration is looking for a way out of Kosovo. Its motivation is similar to that which initially spurred the NATO action-it wants to avoid a public relations nightmare. Things are coming unraveled in the Balkans again. There are warnings that yet another struggle may explode in violence in Montenegro, whose democratic reforms are moving it politically away from an unwilling Belgrade. Strife continues inside Serbia, where the Defense Minister during the NATO air strikes was murdered. The leader of an opposition group seeking to oust Milosevic declares, "There is anarchy and chaos" in Yugoslavia ("Yugoslav Vows to Fight Terror After Murder" by Fredrik Dahl, Reuters, February 8, 2000). Also, threats of turmoil and rumors of armed protest against the Albanian government are coming out of that country. "In the end, Albania, with its inability to resolve long-standing regional, ethnic, and personal feuds, now threatens the security of the force that was inserted to protect the interests of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. In short, the Albanians may accomplish what the Serbs could not-undermine NATO operations in the region" ("Albania/NATO," 2000 WNI). What started as a potential public relations dream for the United States may yet turn into a nightmare in this historically complex and perennially conflicted part of the world. Additional sources: "Montenegrins Warn of More Conflict in the Balkans," PRNewswire, February 1, 2000; "Report: NATO Bombing Killed 500 Civilians" by Fredrik Dahl, Reuters, February 7, 2000. Vatican Responds to Israeli Criticism of Agreement With PLO VATICAN CITY (ZT)-Israel's response to the historic signing of an agreement between the Vatican and the Palestinian Liberation Organization was very harsh. A statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed "profound dissatisfaction" with this declaration that addresses the question of Jerusalem. According to the Israeli executive, "Jerusalem was, is, and shall remain the capital of the State of Israel, and no agreement or declaration by these or any other parties will change this fact." The spokesman for the Israeli Ministry went so far as to say that the agreement endangers the peace process in the Middle East. Joaquin Navarro-Valls, director of the Vatican Press Office, published a statement in response to the above declaration in which he says that the document has nothing to do with the peace process, "but rather regulates the presence and activities of the Catholic Church in territories that depend on the Palestinian Authority." The Vatican spokesman added: "The only thing this agreement does is to reiterate what was established by pertinent U.N. institutions and by recent agreements between Israeli and Palestinian authorities." Moreover, "as regards the city of Jerusalem, the agreement does not enter into territorial questions or sovereignty issues that affect the two interested parties-Israelis and Palestinians." The document "refers to the universal religious and cultural dimension of the most sacred places of the city, recognized by the international community itself." Africa's Catholics in Row Over Sacrifices A black Catholic archbishop in South Africa has called for animal sacrifice to be incorporated into church services in a struggle that is dividing the country's congregations along racial lines, according to a report in the London Telegraph. Inigo Gilmore reported from Pretoria that the demand is part of an attempt by radical black priests of the African Catholic Priests Solidarity Movement to push forward the so-called "inculturation" of the church in South Africa, to the consternation of some white clergy. In one incident, a video was made of a priest blessing chickens and goats during mass. The animals were then slaughtered and their blood poured into a hole outside the church. Some of the members have now transferred to another church. Inigo Gilmore wrote: "In his plea for the introduction of animal sacrifice, Archbishop Buti Tlhagale of Bloemfontein has made the most controversial move yet. He argued that because animal worship is commonplace in African custom and used by millions across the country to celebrate birth, marriage or death, it deserved a place in church ritual." Archbishop Tlhagale said: "Animal sacrifice has a special place in the scheme of things and is celebrated in almost all African families. We have kept it out of the Church of God for too long. It is time we welcomed it openly into the Christian family of the living and the dead." The archbishop's comments have reignited the debate over how far and how fast "inculturation" should go. At the end of the African synod in Rome in 1995, the idea of integrating indigenous religious practices was cautiously welcomed by the Vatican. But the pope stressed that the process must be compatible with "the Christian message and communion with the universal church." Archbishop George Daniel, who has presided over the Pretoria archdiocese for 25 years, told the Telegraph that he was aware that animal sacrifice, involving goats and chickens, was already taking place in parishes in his diocese. "When we first spoke about the inculturation process we did not foresee some of the problems that would arise," said the archbishop. "As to what would happen to those priests who decide to continue with the practice of animal sacrifice if we ultimately ruled against incorporating this activity into any services, we will have to cross that bridge when we come to it." |
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Origin of article "World News Review March 2000"
Keywords: same sex marriage Kosovo Vatican and PLO animal sacrifice African Catholics
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