eni-summary list Ecumenical News International News Highlights 23 April 2003

Religious leaders urge peace after stormy Nigerian poll

Abuja (ENI). Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has been declared the winner of Nigeria’s presidential election but his political rivals said the vote was rigged and refused to accept the results of a contest that was seen leaving the country’s Christians and Muslims deeply divided. Christian and Muslim leaders, however, urged Nigerians to accept the results and pleaded for restraint among their followers. [492 words, ENI-03-0178]

No surprise but some regret at Pope’s message on Eucharist

Rome/Geneva (ENI). Pope John Paul II’s firm message at Easter restating Roman Catholic teaching that rules out inter-communion with other churches has evoked responses from leaders in other denominations ranging from resigned acceptance to disappointment. Though they expressed no great surprise about the Pope’s message, contained in an encyclical signed at the Vatican, some said they were concerned about its implications for ecumenical dialogue. [755 words, ENI-03-0176]

WCC’s general secretary calls for release of opposition prisoners in Cuba

Geneva (ENI). Konrad Raiser, the general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), has condemned the trials and heavy sentences given to 76 Cuban government opponents as a “miscarriage of justice”, and urged their immediate release. In a letter to Cuban President Fidel Castro dated 15 April, Raiser criticised “the summary nature of the proceedings, the gravity of the charges and the severity of the punishment” of those tried, described by Raiser as “members of human rights groups, scholars and political dissidents” in Cuba. [409 words, ENI-03-0177]

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