Archbishop prays for striking miners
THE Archbishop of Cape Town, the Most Revd Makgoba, has written
a prayer for platinum miners as a strike entered its fifth month.
Miners at the three top platinum-producers have refused to work
since 23 January in a dispute over wages, and the crisis has
already led to several deaths. Archbishop Makgoba encouraged all
South African parishes to use his prayer, which calls for peace,
last Sunday. Memories of the Marikana massacre in 2012, when 34
miners were shot dead by police, are fresh in South Africa. The
Church Commissioners, shareholders in the mine's owners Lonmin,
have previously expressed concerns (News, 29 November).
China denies anti-Christian campaign
CHINESE officials have denied that a wave of church demolitions
points to a broader campaign against Christianity. In Zhejiang
province at least six religious sites, including churches and
statues, have been demolished already this year; the latest is the
Xiaying Holy Love Church in Ningbo, home to a 1000-strong
congregation. A spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told
The Daily Telegraph, however, that the Chinese government
respected itscitizens' rights to freedom of religion, and said that
the demolitions were due to infringements of planning rules.
CSW report claims religious freedom curtailed in
Mexico
A REPORT from Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) has accused
the Mexican government of failing to protect religious freedoms in
Chiapas state. The report alleged that, since the 1970s, local
authorities had been declaring villages for a particular faith, and
then forcibly converting or removing non-adherents. CSW said that
the state authorities in Chiapas were either unable or unwilling to
uphold the rule of law and protect religious minorities.
Jesus not copyright-holder of book, court
rules
A GERMAN court has ruled that a woman who wrote a book that she
said had been dictated to her by Christ was the legal author, not
Jesus himself, The Guardian reported on Thursday last
week. The New Christian Endeavour Academy had published extracts
from the work, A Course In Miracles, by Helen Shucman, on
its website, but said that Jesus was the author and therefore no
copyright-infringement had taken place. Judges ruled, however, that
Ms Shucman, who died in 1981, was the sole author.
'Hundreds of attacks on Christians in
Europe'
THE Vienna-based Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination
against Christians in Europe has released a report suggesting that
there were 241 incidents of intolerance in 2013. The report details
vandalism against places of worship as well as what it describes as
intolerance of Christians expressed by curbing free speech and
limiting conscientious objection. The Observatory was established
by Dr Gudrun Kugler, a Roman Catholic theologian, to track
discrimination against Christians.