CHRISTIANS URGED TO HELP OTHER FAITHS PROMOTE ETHICS
Ecumenical News InternationalHARARE, Zimbabwe -- The Christian church must join forces with other religions to develop global ethics based on shared values, a senior official of World Council of Churches told delegates at the WCC assembly, meeting in Harare this week.
"In a world where technological culture and globalization foster dehumanization . . . the church, in collaboration with other faiths, is called to reshape, renew and reorient society by strengthening its sacred foundation," Catholicos Aram I of the Armenian Apostolic Church and outgoing moderator of the WCC's central committee, told the assembly.
More than 900 delegates representing the 332 Protestant, Anglican and Orthodox member churches of the WCC, along with more than 3 000 other participants and observers, are participating in the assembly, which ends Dec. 14.
AUSTRALIANS ENCOURAGED TO HELP EAST TIMOR REFUGEES
Ecumenical News International
SYDNEY -- An official Roman Catholic organization has hinted that Australians should break the law by harboring illegal refugees from strife-torn East Timor, occupied by Indonesia -- one of Australia's closest neighbors.
About 1,400 East Timorese refugees have formally sought asylum in Australia and are likely to be deported. The issue is particularly controversial because the Australian government has formally recognized Indonesia's occupation of the region, despite international outrage at atrocities against East Timorese by Indonesian forces.
AMISH BOY'S FACTORY WORK DISPUTED BY FEDERAL OFFICIALS
Associated Press
CHURCHTOWN, Pa. -- A 15-year-old Amish boy and his family are in a legal tug of war with federal child labor watchdogs. The dispute involves Daniel Mark Smucker's work around heavy presses in a harness factory, as well as other work by Amish children.
On one side are federal child-labor laws; on the other side are traditions of self-reliance and hard work, considered the law of God by some 150,000 Old Order Amish in Canada and 21 U.S. states.
"We believe that forced idleness in this age to be detrimental to our long-standing Amish way of raising our children and teaching them to become good productive citizens," Christ K. Blank, national chairman for the Old Order Amish Steering Committee, told Congress this spring.
Federal officials do not intervene when Amish children work in the fields, but toiling near dangerous equipment like circular saws and industrial sewing machines places the youngsters in a protected class.
JEWISH AND MUSLIM LEADERS COOPERATE ON CODE OF ETHICS
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES -- Jewish and Muslim leaders in the United States said Monday they are developing a code of ethics to govern passionate arguments over religion, Middle East peace, terrorism and other issues.
Leaders hope the code will encourage civility between Muslims and Jews in the United States even as tensions rise between Palestinians and Israelis.
The document urges followers to verify rumors before making public statements, to avoid stereotypes and words that can incite and to repudiate individuals who appeal to prejudice or violence.
U.N. HUMAN-RIGHTS PANEL ADOPTS BIOETHICS GUIDELINES
The Washington Post
The United Nations Commission on Human Rights has adopted the first international guidelines on bioethics and the human genome, which include a call for countries to ban human cloning.
The "Universal Declaration on the Human Genome and Human Rights" emphasizes respect for the dignity and human rights of individuals "regardless of their genetic characteristics." It was co-sponsored by 86 countries and approved on Nov. 19. It is expected to be ratified by the U.N. General Assembly next week by a voice vote.