INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE
England: religious leaders against euthanasiaIn a statement reported by the Catholic weekly “Tablet” Archbishop Vincent Nichols, Anglican Primate Rowan Williams and the Chief rabbi of the United Kingdom Jonathan Sacks, conveyed their joint opposition to amendments to the Coroners and Justice bill. The amendment seeks to protect from prosecution those who help friends or relatives to go abroad to commit suicide in one of the few countries where the practice is legal. The three religious leaders declared that the new regulation “would surely put vulnerable people at serious risk, especially sick people who are anxious about the burden their illness may be placing on others.” The amendment to the bill due to be debated at the House of Lords “would mark a shift in British law towards legalising euthanasia”, the three leaders declared in a letter to the “Daily Telegraph”. “Our hospice movement, an almost unique gift of this country to wider humankind, is the profound and tangible sign of another and better way to cope with the challenges faced by those who are terminally ill”, the leaders wrote. In the meantime, the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales told the “General Medical Council”, the professional organ regulating medical profession in the United Kingdom, that it approves guidelines for treatment on terminal patients. In responding to a consultation of the “General Medical Council” the bishops welcomed a series of improvements that include recommending physicians “to provide ongoing assisted nutrition and hydration to patients when it serves to prolong their lives”.Ireland: Protestant militia decommission arms Cardinal Sean Brady, Primate of All Ireland, welcomed the decision of the Irish Protestant paramilitary groups “Ulster Volunteer Force” and the “Red Hand Commando” that all arms and explosives are totally are irreversibly beyond use. The “Ulster Defence Association” disclosed it had started to decommission its own weapons. The organisations killed almost 1.000 people, mainly Catholics, during 30 years of violence, as reported by Catholic weekly ‘Universe’. “My first thoughts are for those for whom this news will evoke painful memories of loved ones lost and lives destroyed through the utter futility and evil of violence”, the Cardinal said. “News of these acts of decommissioning will be particularly welcomed within the Catholic community which was the target of so much of the violence of Loyalist paramilitary groups”. “I renew my appeal to all paramilitary groups to decommission their weapons completely and to give the people of Northern Ireland, especially the young, further grounds to hope that the peaceful, normal society for which we all yearn is now in sight”, His Eminence added. Cardinal Brady said he prays “that what has been announced today will help us to move further away from fear and suspicion to greater trust, good will and friendship among all, whatever our background or identity”.Germany: a document against anti-Semitism A commitment was made for “the promotion of inter-religious dialogue between Jews and Christians”, and in the fight against all forms of anti-Semitism. This is the core of the joint statement issued on July 4 in Berlin by the representatives of Jewish-Christian Cooperation communities from 22 Countries including the Bishop of Aachen, Msgr. Heinrich Mussinghoff. The paper, titled the “Twelve Points of Berlin”, is aimed at “providing a larger platform marked by renewed foundations, to the relationship between the two religions 70 years since the beginning of the war and the Shoah”, said Deborah Weissman, President of the National Council of Christians and Jews (ICCJ). The Twelve Points are an updated rendering of the “Ten Points of Seelisberg”, issued by 65 Jews and Christians from 19 Countries upon the aftermath of the Shoah in the summer of 1947. The document conveyed the fight against anti-Semitism and the commitment in the promotion of mutual dialogue. This document addresses Jews for the first time. Indeed they are encouraged to acknowledge the reforms promoted by Christian Churches and “review Jewish text and liturgy to the light of the Christian reforms”. Emphasis is put on “distinguishing between the just criticism of Israel and anti-Semitism”. Rabbi Henry G. Brandt, President of the German Coordinating Council of the Associations for Christian-Jewish understanding, said that “a revolution” occurred over the last decades in the sphere of Jewish-Christian relations. Despite polemical debates occurred in the past months, he declared, “the string of relations cannot be torn. Rather, it is necessary to defend what has been achieved with clear words”. Evangelical bishop Wolfgang Huber, head of the Evangelical German Church (EKD), said the Points call us all to continue “along the path of mutual understanding and respect”, highlighting the priority “of the joint commitment for social justice and for the dignity of the human person”. Msgr. Mussinghoff underlined “the intimate closeness and the unique relationship” binding the two religions. “As Catholic Church, we cannot speak of Christianity without mentioning its Jewish roots at all times and places”. Msgr. Mussinghoff proposed the creation of joint social projects.
