Priests cross sexuality traits

(ENI)--Surveys of Anglican clergy suggest that British priests share personality traits traditionally associated with the opposite sex, with male priests showing above average levels of tenderness and women priests showing above average assertiveness.

The male priests were found to be more intelligent, emotionally stable, outgoing, conscientious, tender-minded, imaginative, apprehensive and tense than the general British male population. The survey researcher suggested women priests might show higher levels of masculine characteristics since these were needed to break into what was until 1994 an all male environment.

Hong Kong newest province

(ENI)--The 38th and newest official province of the world-wide Anglican Communion, the Province of the Hong Kong Anglican Church, was formally inaugurated on Oct. 25.

The new province includes the dioceses of Hong Kong Island, Eastern Kowloon and West Kowloon and the missionary area of Macao. The province has 28,000 members. Its dioceses and missionary area have been inherited from the former Diocese of Hong Kong and Macao

For many years the diocese was part of the Chinese Anglican Church but broke with it after the Communists gained power in China in 1949.

Peter Kwong Kong Kit is the newly elected archbishop and primate.

 

Religion bill passes

(ENS)--The Episcopal Church has succeeded in its push for legislation allowing the United States to respond when people in other countries are persecuted for their religious beliefs.

Congress approved the legislation by unanimous votes. The bill requires the president to take one of a broad range of options currently available under U.S. law in a case of religious persecution, from private diplomatic protest to economic sanctions. It also requires consultation with religious communities before taking action, to ensure that any U.S. response will help, not harm, the religious minority.

The Episcopal Church built a broad coalition of support, including Roman Catholics, Baptists, Reform and Orthodox Jewish groups and Lutherans.

Sierra Leone dismays visitors

(ENS)--An ecumenical team from North America, including Rev. Ogé Beauvoir, the Africa and Middle East mission co-ordinator for the Canadian Anglican Church, were dismayed by the sights they saw during their October visit to Sierra Leone.

Rebels in the country have destroyed and damaged schools, clinics and churches as part of Operation No Living Thing. They have unsuccessfully tried to overthrow the democratically elected government.

Members were most moved after visiting camps where amputees are being cared for.

The ecumenical mission affirmed the need to support the churches as fully as possible in their quest to restore their country and people to wholeness. The churches are well-regarded in Sierra Leone because the pastors stayed with their people during the reign of terror and spoke in favour of democracy.

Women undervalued

Committees of the United States Roman Catholic bishops have called for advancing the role of women in the church - but that role does not include ordination.

The bishops say the church has no authority to confer priestly ordination on women. But they add that too often women's contributions to the church have gone unnoticed and undervalued. They call on parishes and dioceses to affirm women's gifts and equality.

Meanwhile, small steps are being taken which may eventually allow married Eastern rite Catholic priests to minister in the West as well as in their homelands. The Vatican recognizes the right of Eastern Catholic churches to ordain married men when it has been part of their tradition. But since 1929 it has restricted ordinations to the homelands of Eastern churches.

Some married priests ordained in Ukraine already minister in Canada and elsewhere. Two Eastern Catholic Bishops were in Rome for an October meeting and are hoping for a change in Vatican policy.

Western Catholic Reporter

Week of prayer date set

Christians around the world will take part in the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, scheduled for Jan. 24 through 31.

The Canadian Council of Churches put together a team which wrote the resource material. It's up to churches to use the information to co-ordinate local events, said the council's Eileen Scully.

The theme is God Dwells With Us, based on Revelation 21:1 - 7. Dr. Scully said the passage shows how we will be reconciled with God and each other. Gone will be all sin, suffering and death.

"It's about a vision of a new heaven and earth ... God doesn't destroy this present creation and salvation isn't a matter of us being transported into another realm. It's a matter of God recreating this world. It's about the renewal of creation."