July, 2005 (Vol. 20, No. 9)

While few people expect prompt changes, the beginning of Benedict XVI’s pontificate seems to be marked by renewed attempts to solve the problems between China and the Vatican and to establish diplomatic relations.

While there were diplomatic relations between 92 states and the Holy See in 1978, there has been a dramatic growth during John Paul II’s papacy: diplomatic relations now exist with 174 countries. However, there are still some missing countries, such as China, Vietnam, and Saudi Arabia. The new pope, Benedict XVI, has made no mystery of his desire to fill those gaps, especially regarding China.

According to the Vatican’s “foreign minister,” Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo, difficulties are not insurmountable, but care is needed for moving ahead (Associated Press, June 23). China continues to stipulate that the Holy See must sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan (where the Holy See moved its embassy in 1950) and not interfere in Chinese affairs, a difficult issue, since it would mean that the Pope should refrain from appointing bishops in China (Xinhua, July 2).

Taiwan is “closely monitoring developments” (Taipei Times, May 18), but its ambassador to the Holy See said “there is a long way to go” before the Holy See can normalize ties with China (DPA, May 25). The Vatican is the only state in Europe that maintains diplomatic ties with Taiwan.

Contacts between the Holy See and China had been broken following controversial moves in year 2000 (the ordination of five bishops in the “official Church” in Beijing and canonization of the 120 martyrs of the Church in China by the Pope), but there are indications that contacts have now resumed. Issues related to religious freedom — cases of harassment of the Vatican-faithful “underground” church continue in several places across China.

The problems surrounding the appointment of bishops also need to be solved before diplomatic ties can be established.

(Eglises d’Asie, July 1)

— By Jean-François Mayer

Intensifying conflict in the Greek Orthodox Church in Jerusalem could jeopardize a Middle East peace accord, as well as strengthen Arab nationalism in Orthodox churches in the region, reports The Tablet magazine (June 25).

Much of the recent turmoil stems from the allegations that Patriarch Irineos had been selling off valuable parcels of land and property belonging to the patriarchate of Jerusalem. That the buyers of these properties have been Jewish settlers seeking to reclaim the ancient Christian section of the city has outraged Orthodox and other churches, writes Victoria Clark. Israeli settlers have long focused on buying properties in the Old City of Jerusalem as a way to create “facts on the ground” before any final peace settlement is drawn up.

Even though Irineos was ousted in May by fellow bishops, the situation still has implications for the “larger struggle that Israelis and Palestinians are waging over land in the Old City sacred to Islam.” The expulsion of Irineos has also fed a growing Arab nationalist movement in the Greek Orthodox Church.

The 200,000-strong Orthodox community in Israel and Palestine has long argued that its largely Arab membership has been excluded from positions of leadership reserved for Greeks. Although Orthodox leaders in Greece hold the power, in the current shuffle, the Arabs are pressing for Arab archbishops and 50 percent Arab membership in the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulcre, an influential group of senior clergy.

The model of congregations partnering with each other to plant churches around the world rather than working through mission agencies has become popular with such “new paradigm” churches as the Vineyard Fellowship.

The charismatic Vineyard churches have pioneered in building decentralized networks of churches that avoid many denominational trappings, and increasingly these congregations are interested in mission work, reports Cutting Edge (Spring), a Vineyard publication. The usual model has been for churches to support denominational or parachurch mission agencie, but in the last ten years…as the Vineyard began to grow in size and momentum, it was debated: whether to develop a “sending organization” or rethink the church’s role in missions.

The new strategy of mission partnerships is seen when a group of congregations (not necessarily in close proximity) join together to intentionally plant churches in other areas of the world. “Sometimes churches divvy up responsibilities (such as communications or finances); other times, they all share equally in the responsibilities,” writes Jason Chatraw.

Under this new model, missionary involvement is no longer an isolated ministry of a congregation but rather “becomes part of the very fabric of the church.” As in the U.S., the Vineyard partnerships vary according to their context. But many are interested in forming “micro-business enterprises,” as a way of working in development as well as ensuring that mission workers and pastors can be self-supporting early on in their work.

(Cutting Edge, http://www.vineyard.org)

A new genre of children’s books combines naturalistic science with alternative and Eastern philosophy and spirituality, reports the magazineWhat Is Enlightenment (June/August).

Such new children’s titles as “Born With A Bang,” and “All I See Is Part of Me,” represent “what must be the latest defensive tactic of `spiritual but not religious’ parents everywhere– inculcating children in the ways of Carl Sagan and Eastern philosophy before they even have a chance to learn about Noah’s Flood. Spanning epic tales of cosmic evolution and esoteric explanations of God, it is a genre that encompasses both scientific naturalism and nondual mysticism — usually seen as two opposing currents in the philosophical stream,” writes Tom Huston.

But these books all express visions of “universal Oneness” or “panentheism” and are clearly aligned in a fundamental aim to “awaken children to a sense of the sacred in the midst of a secular world.” Books such as “Becoming Me,” look at evolution from the vantage point of “consciousness,“ showing the process of evolution from God’s perspective, “as an enormous playing-with-possibilities.“

(What Is Enlightenment? P.O. Box 2360, Lenox, MA 01240)

The burgeoning Catholic-evangelical alliance has attracted attention due to both churches’ common activism on “culture war” and pro-life issues, but the partnerships are taking shape on other levels as well, write Mark Noll and Carolyn Nystrom in Books & Culture (http://www.Christianity today.com/bc/2005/004/1.10.html).

In reviewing evangelical-Catholic relations of the past few decades, the writers note that the evangelical camp is still strongly divided on such an alliance when it comes to reaching accord on matters of doctrine and practice. The documents produced by the group Evangelicals and Catholics Together have gradually touched on such key teachings as salvation, but they are still met with wariness by much of the evangelical rank-and-file,-as well as by scholars.

Noll and Nystrom locate a growing number of evangelical-Catholic partnerships (sponsored by evangelicals) that go beyond theological agreements and political alliances. First, there is the retrieval of ancient Christian practices, forms of prayer such as the lectio divina (a prayerful way of reading scripture) among evangelical spiritual writers, such as Richard Foster.

The notion of “mere Christianity,” that there is a common adherence to orthodox Christian teachings, drives new evangelical-Catholic projects such as the San Diego Christian Forum, drawing speakers from both traditions to address theological issues. The large evangelical campus organization, InterVarsity, has addressed Catholic-evangelical themes at its annual theological conference, holding a joint prayer meeting at its conclusion.

Partnerships on youth ministry, with the evangelical Young Life adapting its programs to Catholic settings, are more common. While missions have long been resistant to the evangelical-Catholic alliance, that is now changing. Such international parachurch ministries as Campus Crusade, Youth With A Mission, and World Vision have Catholic personnel and joint programs.

The phenomenon of evangelical missionaries teaming up with local Catholic churches may not be the norm, “but it has become so common in so many places as to demand deliberation, not on whether it should take place but on the protocols to govern such activity as it occurs,” the writers conclude.

Although Catholics have a broad presence on the Internet, the most popular Catholic websites and services are highly orthodox, often with a conservative political slant, writes Jeffrey J. Guhin in America magazine (June 20-27).

The top five Catholic sites are Catholic Exchange, EWTN, Catholic Answers, Catholic Online and New Advent, according to a December, 2004 report from www.catholicrankings.com. Catholic Exchange’s goal is to be a “Yahoo for Catholics,” providing everything from e-mail to stock quotes. But much of the site is both “catechetical and conservative,” markedly so in doctrine, but also in politics.

Both the EWTN, launched by the Eternal Word Television Network, and Catholic Answers sites are also staunchly conservative. The latter group received a good deal of media coverage for its “Voting Guide for Serious Catholics,” which listed five “non-negotiable” issues Catholics must consider in the 2004 elections. Like Catholic Exchange, Catholic Online is a Web portal offering a variety of services, but it also has a political action arm, Your Catholic Voice, which espouses both conservative (anti-gay marriage) and liberal positions (the state’s role in social justice).

The fifth site, New Advent, functions as a Catholic encyclopedia, but its reliance on pre-Vatican II texts (such as on the non-validity of Judaism) has proven controversial. Guhin adds that the greater popularity of these conservative sites (and many more like them) as compared to more liberal sites runs against the general rule that Internet users are generally more liberal than the general population ( for instance, the Democratic National Committee’s Website does far better than the Republicans’).

(America, 106 W. 56th St., New York, NY 10019)

It is becoming more difficult for the churches to remain at the forefront of dialogue with Islam in the West, according to a recent, unpublished report. From May 18 to May 21, the 25th meeting of the “Journées d’Arras” took place in Moscow.

The name “Journées d’Arras” refers to a French town in which a group originally gathered upon invitation of the local French catholic bishop 25 years ago. The unofficial group (participants come on their own, not as delegates of any church) deals with Muslim-Christian relations in Europe. A copy of the unpublished report (in French) of the May 2005 meeting made available to RW observes an increasing polarization at several levels around Islam in Europe.

This polarization also occurs within the Muslim community. There are Muslims who would like to reproduce Islam in Europe as it is found in their home countries; Muslims who would like to see a type of Euro-Islam (often “Arabized”); and Muslims who reject Europe and its values. The time does not yet seem ripe for Muslims in European countries to accept being represented by one single body.

Where there is an “official Islam” (for instance, in Austria, where Islam has been recognized as a religion for a century), it has to compete with a variety of other Muslim groups not under its control. European societies and churches are growing increasingly impatient toward very conservative imams and a lack of self-critical evaluation. But the report emphasizes that established mosques only represent a minority of Muslims in Europe. According to data gathered in several European countries, most Muslims do not visit mosques frequently.

A growing number of Muslims seem more interested in engaging in a dialogue with “the West” rather than with Christianity. Civil authorities are increasingly playing a key role in dialogue with Muslims, while the role of churches is becoming less significant. However, the report also sees interest in sustaining and intensifying dialogue as religious communities are all challenged by a secularized environment. Multi-religious” facilities are being established in public buildings (jails, hospitals…) that require a coordination between different religious bodies.

Tensions and controversies also offer new opportunities for dialogue. For instance, in the Netherlands, following the murder of Theo Van Gogh and the heated debate on Islam which it generated, one could see the creation of new groups for dialogue and visits of Christian parishes to local mosques. All this indicates that religious bodies can contribute to deflecting interfaith tensions.

— By Jean-François Mayer, RW Contributing Editor and founder of the website Religioscope (http://www.religioscope.com)