News 11
Atheists, unite The world of American politics has added a new party, which aligns itself with those who do not believe in God. The National Atheist Party was founded by Troy Boyle, who got the idea from Richard Dawkins, the author of the book The God Delu- sion. Dawkins questioned during an interview why atheists had not organized more properly as a way of influencing the political realm. A main tenant of the party is that government should be “silent with regards to religion,” Boyle said.
Feds charge 12 Federal prosecutors expanded the case against members of a break- away Amish sect for their roles in shaving the hair and beards of religious enemies. An indictment issued in December lists 12 sus- pects, including the sect’s leader, Samuel Mullet. Authorities say the attacks were motivated by revenge after Amish leaders refused to accept Mullet’s excommunication of eight families that had left his commu- nity near Bergholz, Ohio, because they disagreed with his authoritarian leadership. The indictment accuses Mullet of forcing women to have sex with him so they could learn to please their husbands better. He was also accused of allowing “the com- munity to engage in practices of self- deprivation and corporal punish- ment” to show their devotion to him.
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There are consequences to our actions. God may forgive us, but it doesn’t mean that people are going to forget.
Former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee about lingering evangelical suspicion of Newt Gingrich’s three marriages and past infidelity.
Debate goes on Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton joined representatives from 30 countries for the first of an ongoing series titled “The Istanbul Process,” which explores ways to deal with intolerance, discrimination and vio- lence on the basis of religion or belief. “We are working together to protect two fundamental freedoms—the right to practice one’s religion freely, and the right to express one’s opinion without fear,” said Clinton in her clos- ing remarks at the summit.
Episcopalians welcomed The Roman Catholic Church is reaching out to Episcopalians who don’t align with their denomination’s decision to allow gay and female clergy. The Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter will conduct a mass that can include sections from the Book of Common Prayer and other Anglican liturgies. About 100 former Episcopal priests have applied to become Roman Catholic priests in the ordinariate. Six con- gregations are looking to join the Roman Catholic Church under this provision. The ordinariate will be led by Jeffrey N. Steenson, a former Episcopal bishop of New Mexico, who was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 2009.
Economic justice The Hong Kong Catholic Church is getting involved in Occupy Central, Hong Kong’s version of the Occupy Wall Street movement. According to the Hong Kong Council of Social Service, 1.2 million of the city-state’s 7 million residents live in poverty. “The wealth gap in Hong Kong is widening, with land developers manipulating the local economy ...,” said officials from the Diocesan Catholic Commission for Labor Affairs. “What is the good news for the poor people?”
12 The Lutheran •
www.thelutheran.org Democracy in DRC
Church leaders in the Democratic Republic of the Congo called on two presidential contenders to dialogue after a disputed election with reports of fraud. Both Etienne Tshisekedi and Joseph Kabila claimed victory, although the latter was sworn in Dec. 20 for a second term. Anglican Archbishop Henri Isingoma Kahwa asked the rivals to put the nation above profits. The country has vast mineral wealth, yet half of its people are undernourished, according to the International Food Research Policy Institute, which places DRC last in the world on its 2011 Global Hunger Index.
Leaders: Curb violence in India
The All India Christian Council asked India’s government to pass legislation to “curb communal vio- lence and bring justice” to victims of religious violence. In a press release, the council said the bill would help “end the climate of impunity” and the “communal violence that has plagued this country since indepen- dence in 1947.” That year sectarian violence took the lives of more than 6 million when the subcontinent was divided into Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan. Since then, incidents of religious violence include a 1984 massacre of Sikhs that killed more than 3,000 and the kill- ings of more than 100 Christians in Orissa state in 2008.
Time for peace
Following the December death of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, church leaders in South Korea expressed their “sincere condo- lences” and hopes for peace. Kim Young Ju and Kim Ki Taek, lead- ers with the National Council of Churches in Korea, said it is a perfect time for building peace in the region of North East Asia. M
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