In Today's Edition:
- English Church Leader Warns Against Separation Of Church, State
- European Law Could Ban Distribution Of Old Testament
- Abortion 'Center Stage' Again; Supreme Court to Hear Landmark Case
- Malawi: 70 Percent of Population Faces Starvation
- Other Headlines at a Glance
English Church Leader Warns Against Separation Of Church, State ... "Separating church and state in Britain would undermine social cohesion, weaken morality and could even sow the seeds of authoritarianism," the leader of the Church of England has warned. According to CNS News, the Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey said Tuesday that the "sense of a higher, transcendent authority formed the basis for key British values."
The archbishop reportedly rejects the argument that the events of Sept. 11 demonstrate religion should be separated from public policy, saying "the abandonment of faith in public life makes atrocities possible and acceptable." Church and state are closely aligned in England: the British monarch serves as supreme governor of the Church of England, and 26 bishops sit in the House of Lords. Elected leaders have influence over Church appointments, while Church officials are involved in politics.
CNS reported that the National Secular Society, which campaigns for the disestablishment of the Anglican Church, called Carey's remarks "self-serving nonsense."
European Law Could Ban Distribution Of Old Testament ... According to CNS News, a British legislator said Wednesday that a proposed European Union law against racism could ban some children's stories and even the Old Testament. Lord Richard Scott says that a "suggested harmonization of European anti-racism laws" would "almost certainly" ban children's stories such as a set of British adventure novels whose main characters are referred to as "natives," "coons" and "half-breeds." The books also use slurs such as "Huns" and "Japs." But the EU proposal could also censor religious texts, Lord Scott said. "It would probably cover the distribution of the Old Testament as well." Conservatives, civil liberties groups and several legal scholars have criticized the measure as "ill-thought out," CNS added.
Abortion 'Center Stage' Again; Supreme Court to Hear Landmark Case ... The United States Supreme Court decided April 22 it will consider appeals from Operation Rescue and Pro-life Action League director Joseph Scheidler on whether the lower federal courts properly used a law aimed at combating organized crime (RICO) to stop antiabortion protesters from trying to block access to abortion clinics.
Scheidler has single-handedly fought this lawsuit for the past decade and it will be the final chapter in a very long appellate process. Operation Rescue and the Pro-Life Action League regularly engage in peaceful, nonviolent actions to save the lives of children slated to die. "It is clear that a federal statute designed for drug dealers and organized crime has been misapplied and used as a powerful weapon to silence the pro-life message," said Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice, a conservative public interest law firm.
Malawi: 70 Percent of Population Faces Starvation ... Christian Aid's Mission Insider is reporting that 70 percent of Malawi's population face starvation. A missionary leader from Malawi said that President Bakili Muluzi declared a state of disaster on Feb. 26: some 7 million out of Malawi's 10 million people are starving. Last year's heavy rains flooded out most crops, leaving the agricultural economy destitute.
According to Mission Insider, Malawi has seen a rapid growth in professing Muslims in recent years, and the current 20 percent of the population that are Muslims run most of the businesses. An African missionary told Mission Insider that these business people were obtaining food from Asian Muslim Relief Aid and distributing it from mosques throughout the nation. This has enabled them to "evangelize rural areas with many converts amongst the poor," the missionary said.
"Churches are just crying not knowing what to do," he added. "So we call upon all the Christian family to stand with us in prayer as well as in practical help." For more information, visit http://www.christianaid.org
Other Headlines at a Glance:
- One on Every Corner: What is it about North Texas that fosters religious institutions and sensibilities? ... Dallas Morning News
- Christianity Bashing in Vogue ... NewsMax.com
- Minister's Opposition Criticized ... icWales.co
- Text of Pope's Speech to Cardinals ... AP
