MuncangReligion News Update
Pope appeals for ‘immediate’ talks to replace violence in Libya
Vatican City – Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday in his most strongly worded pronouncement on the conflict in Libya, urged for the start of an “immediate dialogue” to halt the violence in the North African country.”I strongly appeal to the international organisations and those with political and military responsibilities to immediately begin dialogue that will suspend the use of weapons,” the pontiff said.He was addressing thousands of people gathered for his Sunday Angelus prayer in St Peter’s Square.Benedict described reports from Libya as “increasingly dramatic”.There is a an “urgent need to rely on every diplomatic measure available to support even the most weak signal … of a willingness for reconciliation between all the sides involved,” the pontiff said.
German trial of Holocaust-denying bishop set for July
Regensburg, Germany - The German trial of British Bishop Richard Williamson over his denial of the extent of the Holocaust is to restart in July, after an eight-month postponement, the court in the southern city of Regensburg announced Wednesday.Williamson, of the ultra-orthodox Catholic Society of St Pius X (SSPX), denied in a television interview last year that the Nazis had systematically murdered millions of Jews.The interview, for a Swedish television channel, took place in Germany, where Holocaust denial is a criminal offence.Williamson was fined 10,000 euros (14,200 dollars) over his remarks but the bishop and prosecutors both appealed the fine.The trial was originally scheduled for last November, but was postponed after Williamson appointed a new lawyer to represent him in court, who needed time to familiarize himself with the documents.It will now start again on July 4.At the time, the bishop chose a radical right-wing lawyer to represent him, but changed his mind after the SSPX order threatened to excommunicate him.
Nepal’s Christians demonstrate for burial grounds
Kathmandu – Hundreds of Christians demonstrated in the Nepalese capital Wednesday, demanding the establishment of state-funded burial grounds.The country’s growing Christian minority, concentrated in the capital, has limited possibilities to bury its dead, especially since they have been banned from using the grounds of a nearby Hindu temple.”Thirty-six of our community members will conduct a relay hunger strike every day until the government meets our demand,” said CB Gahatraj, general secretary of the Nepal Christian Community.The demonstrators paraded an empty coffin to illustrate their protest, as they were joined by supporters from other faiths. “It’s only a coffin today, but in next three days, if the government fails to initiate action, we’ll parade the dead in front of the parliament,” Ghatraj said.Kathmandu’s Christians have traditionally buried their dead in a forest in the grounds of the Pashupati temple, one of Hinduism’s most sacred sites
Muslims bitter at German government crackdown demand – Summary
Berlin – Muslim leaders in Germany on Tuesday protested the new interior minister’s demand that they should help root out extremists by coming forward with information shared in mosques.The demand by Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich at the long- scheduled talks chilled five years of efforts to overcome suspicions between Berlin and the Islamic community, who make up 5 per cent of Germany’s population.Muslims had wanted to talk about ways to fight poverty and the high failure rates of their children in schools.When he took office earlier this month, Friedrich said Islam had no place in German history, and then repeated the remark on national breakfast television Tuesday.The minister, who belongs to the conservative Bavaria-only Christian Social Union (CSU), then issued a briefing paper demanding that the community renounce Islamists, report radical sermons by imams and tell police about conversations that could indicate a terrorism threat.Muslims in Germany often say they feel insulted for being collectively blamed for crimes, such as the murder of two US airmen on March 2 at Frankfurt Airport by a disturbed ethnic Kosovar youth.Nine of the 15 Muslim delegates to the conference, all of whom had been hand-picked by the government, issued a joint statement of protest.They said a demand that German Muslims should fight homegrown extremists as the price for government aid to their community made them doubt whether the meeting was even intended to encourage dialogue or improve the integration of Muslims in Germany.”As Muslim participants in the Germany-Islam conference, we appeal to the minister not to carelessly endanger years of efforts to build dialogue between Muslims and the state and put at risk the achievements of the conference so far,” they said.Muslim academic Armina Omerika said outside the meeting that Friedrich seemed to be urging on Muslims “a nasty culture of shopping one another” to the police.Europe’s biggest nation has had a rocky relationship with its 4 million Muslims.Friedrich was unrepentant about his views. He said on public channel ARD: “The character of our country, our culture through the centuries, our value system is Christian and occidental.”But he said Muslims “obviously” belonged to German society today and appealed for them to integrate better into German life.Muslim groups had tried to focus the Germany-Islam Conference, which began in 2006 under a previous interior minister, on poverty and low education levels among Muslims and on easing friction between Muslims and the German school system.So far, the main common ground has been that both sides welcome state-salaried religion teachers being trained at German universities to give instruction in public schools.The Muslim community itself argued about who should attend the conference. Mosque groups were upset that people who had rejected their religion were invited to take part.Lamya Kaddor, a Muslim academic, said the conference had been dominated by mosque groups and gave too little voice to liberal Muslims.One major Islamic group, the Central Council of Muslims, decided a year ago under an earlier interior minister to boycott the meeting series, the Germany-Islam Conference, calling it just “a talking shop” and a “security conference in disguise.”
Monks resist paying taxes to debt-ridden Greek state – Feature
Athens – Monks from the 1,000-year-old autonomous monastic community of Mount Athos on Tuesday defied the cash-strapped Greek government by refusing to pay property taxes.The finance ministry, which has been forced to accept an international bailout, recently announced plans to tax the monks on any real estate in their possession outside of the boundaries of the autonomous state.Mount Athos, or the Holy Mount, is divided into 20 self-governed territories on the Athos peninsula, in north-eastern Greece. It serves as the spiritual centre of the Eastern Orthodox Church.Despite protests by the European Parliament, women, including female journalists, are banned from the rugged 300-square kilometre peninsula, which has been dedicated to the Virgin Mary since 1060.Mount Athos is also exempt from paying taxes or tariffs to the Greek government under the constitution.The 2,600 monks who live on Mount Athos called an emergency session to complain that the Greek government was ignoring their rights as an autonomous state.
Low interest in Poland for John Paul II beatification trips
Warsaw – Poles have expressed little interest so far in package trips to the Vatican to attend the May 1 beatification of the late Pope John Paul II, tour operators in Poland said Tuesday.Several operators said they would be forced to cancel hotel reservations if they did not find enough customers.”We have been advertising since January, and nobody has called. I have no clients for this trip,” Artur Krowiak of travel operator Barthur told the German Press Agency dpa
Muslims pessimistic as talks resume with German government
Berlin – Muslims voiced pessimism Tuesday as talks resumed with the German government in Berlin on religious teaching in schools and setting up Islamic theology departments in universities.Europe’s biggest nation has had a rocky relationship with its 4 million Muslims.
Pakistan government condemns burning of Quran by US pastor
Islamabad – Pakistani Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani Monday condemned the burning of the Muslim holy book over the weekend by a controversial pastor in Florida, United States. The action by pastor Terry Jones on Sunday drew criticism from the US government and widespread condemnation from Muslims.Pakistan’s government said in a statement that Gilani “condemned the desecration of the Holy Quran” while addressing a special meeting of cabinet.Deputy Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said that the act was reprehensible, and could only be the work of extremists, designed to provoke dissent and discord across the world.”Such sacrilegious acts go against the very concept of inter-faith harmony,” Khar said
Fresh attempt launched to introduce anti-burqa law in Belgium
Brussels – A committee in Belgium’s lower chamber of parliament approved Wednesday a law outlawing burqas and other kinds of Islamic face veils – relaunching efforts to introduce the ban nearly one year after they were thwarted by a government crisis.The law seeks to punish anyone caught in public places with their face completely or partly covered – thus preventing their identification – with fines between 15 to 20 euros (21 to 35 dollars) and/or up to seven days’ imprisonment.The draft law still needs to be approved by the full Chamber of Deputies and by the Senate, Belgium’s upper house.A similar bill won backing from the Chamber last April, but was still waiting to be approved by the Senate when a linguistic squabble between Belgium’s French- and Dutch-speaking politicians led to parliament being dissolved, triggering early elections.The bill was reintroduced by the centre-right French-speaking Mouvement Reformateur (MR), which stressed the need for a national law outlawing burqas after judges in January scrapped a local ban imposed in Etterbek, a district of Brussels, the Belga news agency said.Like last year, all other parties backed the proposal except for the French- and Dutch-speaking Green parties, which renewed calls for Belgium’s top administrative court to review the constitutionality of such a ban before it is introduced.
Rights group accuses Vietnam of religious persecution
Hanoi – Human Rights Watch on Thursday urged the US government to redesignate Vietnam as “a country of particular concern” for its persecution of Montagnard Christians.The right group said the Vietnamese government had intensified a crackdown on the hill tribe, many of whom are members of unofficial churches. Government officials had broken up religious gatherings and forced people to renounce their faith, it said.Communist Vietnam only allows religious groups sanctioned by the state.Since 2001, at least 25 Montagnards have died in prison or shortly after being released from police custody