London, 26 April (ENI)--Several of the world's earliest surviving texts of the Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths are being exhibited side by side for the first time in a major exhibition opening at the British Library in London on 27 April. The Duke of Edinburgh, husband of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, and Prince Moulay Rachid of Morocco were to preside at the inauguration of "Sacred - Discover what we share" which runs, with free public admission, until 23 September.

Interactive audio-visual devices explain the history and ceremonies of the three monotheistic religions, and a programme of colourful events on the library forecourt will include gospel choirs and a performance by the whirling Dervish dancer Zia Azazi

"We hope that this exhibition can make a significant contribution towards promoting better understanding of the three faiths," exhibition curator Graham Shaw told Ecumenical News International. "We took the groundbreaking decision to display objects of the three religions side by side rather than in separate zones to show how they have interacted and influenced each other and how much they have in common."

Shaw noted: "Faith affects all our lives, believers and secular alike, and we want to demonstrate how it is still relevant to contemporary Britain."

Among the oldest documents, he cited a Dead Sea Scroll fragment from AD 50, the Codex Sinaiticus, the oldest surviving complete copy of the New Testament in Greek dating from the fourth century AD and the Ma'il Qur'an from the first century of the Muslim Hijri calendar (early eighth century AD) which was penned within 100 years of the flight of the Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Medina.

Another rare item is the Syraic Pentateuch, the earliest known dated Biblical manuscript written by Deacon John at Amida in Turkey in AD 463 which comprises the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Among the private loans are a gold shalwar kameez worn by Jemima Goldsmith when she married the former Pakistan cricket captain Imran Khan.

A leading exhibition sponsor is the Moroccan British Society, along with faith bodies and other institutions including the Coexist Foundation and the Saint Catherine Foundation. [367 words]

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London, 25 April (ENI)--Global migration poses new challenges for churches worldwide, the general secretary of the World Council of Churches has told Christians in Wales at the start of a trip to Britain and Ireland. The phenomenon is the "human side" of globalisation - especially for churches, the Rev. Samuel Kobia said in remarks to staff of Cytun (Churches Together in Wales) and its Commission for Racial Equality on 25 April in Cardiff, the capital of Wales.

"Welcoming the stranger is not optional for Christians. Nor is it conditional," Kobia stated. "Christ didn't call for Christians to welcome those strangers whose papers are in order or who speak our language." The WCC general secretary urged churches to increase their capacity to practise hospitality in an era of "new forms of migration". Cytun is related to Churches Together in Britain and Ireland, which is hosting the WCC visit from 24 April to 4 May.

Kobia said that churches grapple with the same choice as societies after they receive migrants: assimilation or integration. "It is easier for a church to welcome migrants as long as they adapt to the traditions and policies established by the host church. This is assimilation," he stated. "Integration, on the other hand, implies a willingness to accept the contributions of migrants to change the church and to create something new. This is more difficult for many to accept."

Citing examples from Europe, the Pacific and the US, he said churches which seek to open themselves to people of different ethnic origins and cultural backgrounds often find the process to be more difficult than anticipated. "In the process of mutual encounter and growing together, old wounds of history, racism and cultural differences must be addressed ... Migrants bring with them different theological traditions, different liturgies and different music that can enrich churches - but may also divide them. [For example] Christian migrants from the South are sometimes more socially conservative and evangelical than the mainline churches in the North."

The WCC general secretary said churches have a responsibility to inform public opinion about the realities faced by migrants in their countries of origin: threats to life, poverty, environmental damage, lack of social services and health care.

:: Full text of Kobia's lecture: www.oikoumene.org/index.php?id=3486 [389 words]

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Bangalore, India, 23 April (ENI)--Media and aid groups have expressed grave concern at increasing restriction of their operations in Sri Lanka and have noted that even diplomats monitoring human rights on the divided island are facing government pressure. "Undemocratic government pressure on media is unacceptable," the National Media Council, which has churches as members, said in a statement on 19 April. This followed the reported intimidation of the editor of the Daily Mirror newspaper by Sri Lankan defence secretary Gothabaya Rajapakse for exposing widespread human rights violations in the troubled east of the country.

The council statement came a day after the defence secretary, who is the brother of President Mahinda Rajapakse, threatened to expel foreign diplomats who meddle in the "internal affairs" of Sri Lanka. The warning came after a European diplomat met harassed Champika Liyanarachchi, editor of an English-language daily newspaper. "We deplore the threats levelled against the editor of the [Sri Lanka] Daily Mirror and [its] staff regarding their reportage of the human tragedy that has been unfolding in the east," noted the media council to which Roman Catholic and Protestant churches belong.

The statement issued by the council's executive director Jehan Perera - a Catholic - urged the government "to follow a code of conduct that accepts the fundamental principles of democratic governance including respect for the freedom of the media". "If you are not with us, you are against us. This is the attitude of several government officials and [nationalist] political parties here," Rohan Edrisinha, an Anglican and director of the Centre for Policy Alternatives, told Ecumenical News International from Colombo.

The former chairperson of the Justice and Peace Commission of the National Christian Council of Sri Lanka, Edrisinha said NGOs that participated in a recently concluded UN Human Rights Council session in Geneva had been described as "traitors" by nationalist groups. "They say we are helping the terrorists and sabotaging the government fight against terrorists," through raising concerns about human rights issues, said Edrisinha. [342 words]

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New York, 17 April (ENI)--US and world religious leaders have noted the horrors that easy access to firearms can wreak, in expressing shock over a shooting rampage, the worst in US history, at Virginia Tech University which resulted in the deaths of at least 30 people.

"The escalation of gun violence compels us to call for an end to the manufacture and easy distribution of such instruments of destruction," said the Rev. Robert Edgar, the general secretary of the US National Council of Churches after the killings on 16 April. "A faith that expresses compassion for all God's children is opposed to violence in all forms." In Geneva, World Council of Churches general secretary, the Rev. Samuel Kobia, said: "In deference to those who have died and with concern for the future, we all must ask why such killings happen so easily. Why are these incidents repeated as if there are no remedies?"

Kobia, a Methodist from Kenya whose own country has seen many shootings due to the prevalence of firearms, said: "We are all Virginians in our sympathy, but many people around the world are also Virginians in their vulnerability to the misuse of unregulated guns." Police on 17 April named the gunman as Cho Seung-hui, a 23-year-old student from South Korea, agencies reported.

The general secretary of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, the Rev. Setri Nyomi said: "We pray to God that the families, friends and colleagues of the victims will some day find healing, even as we understand this horrendous act of incomprehensible violence will never leave their consciousness." Nyomi added: "We pray also for the United States of America and all nations as they struggle to overcome the temptation to rely on arms and as they work to find true security for all their peoples."

Edgar noted that numerous US faith leaders "have spoken up continually about the epidemic of gun violence in our country. Despite repeated calls from faith and community leaders to Congress and presidents nothing ever seems to get done to stem the tide." He reiterated an earlier call he and other religious leaders made about the need for an end to gun violence in the United States. Edgar said: "It is increasingly evident that guns, rather than providing the security people seek and rightfully deserve, only add further to our sense of unease and danger."

In separate pastoral messages, the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, stated clerk of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and Katharine Jefferts Schori, presiding bishop of the Episcopal (Anglican) Church, said US faith communities were in mourning over the incident. Mark Hanson, the presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, who is also the president of the Lutheran World Federation, quoted from Psalm 130: "Out of the depths, I cry to you, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice!" [491 words]

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New Delhi, 16 April (ENI)--The Indian government and UN officials have praised the minority Christian community in the world's second most populous nation for its dedicated care for those infected and affected by HIV and AIDS, and for its work to combat the pandemic. "You are our star players. You are doing wonderful service in the fight against AIDS," said Sujata Rao, director general of the Indian government's National AIDS Control Organization. Her accolades came during the final session of a 12-13 April seminar in New Delhi focussing on the response of churches to AIDS in India.

More than 150 participants, including delegates from 78 AIDS care and support centres run by the Roman Catholic Church, attended the conference organised by the healthcare commission of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India with the support of the New York based-Catholic Medical Mission Board and UNAIDS. Assuring government assistance to the Catholic Church's service to ostracised HIV victims and their families, NACO chief Rao noted that, "HIV affected people respond to drugs much better when they get care and love."

While the training of nurses has been the strength of missionary hospitals, Rao pointed out that in north-eastern India's Nagaland state, where Baptists have a strong presence, "the Church is talking to the youth" and spreading awareness about AIDS. The Catholic Church is the single largest non-governmental HIV and AIDS care provider in India, with more than 2000 beds in dedicated centres, alongside those offered in general hospitals.

According to UNAIDS, India has the largest number of HIV-infected people with an estimated 5.7 million cases, more than South Africa's 5.6 million cases. NACO, however, puts the figure at 5.2 million HIV cases in India. "The UN will offer all its support for your work," Denis Brown, UNAIDS country director for India, earlier told the delegates. Highlighting the crucial role faith-based groups can play in combating AIDS, Brown pointed out that the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, with NACO's collaboration, has decided to support 45 new HIV/AIDS centres to be opened by the Catholic Church in different parts of the country.

The fund disburses billions of dollars in grants to fight the three lethal diseases worldwide. [381 words]

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