Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, has said the crucifix has become little more than jewellery for Christians, adding fuel to the British government
The British government is set to argue at the European Court of Human Rights that Christians do not have the right to wear a cross or crucifix openly at work.
Critics call the move a blow to Christianity, saying the display of its symbols of faith is restricted while symbols of religions such as the Sikh turban and Muslim hijab are granted special status.
The London Telegraph has revealed the government will argue that employers can ban the wearing of the cross and sack workers who insist on doing so because wearing the crucifix is not a “requirement” of the Christian faith.
Judges in Strasbourg will hear the test case on religious freedom in Britain later this year. It will bring together four separate cases, including that of Nadia Eweida, who works for British Airways. Her case dates from 2006 when she was suspended for refusing to take off the cross which her employers claimed breached BA’s uniform code.
Although the airline later changed its policy, the Telegraph reports Eweida fought the case through the U.K. court system, finally losing her application to be heard by the Supreme Court.
She and co-plaintiffs in separate cases want the European court to rule their human right to manifest their religion, protected under the European Convention of Human Rights, has been breached.
But the government’s response, as reported by the Telegraph, states that the wearing of the cross is not a “requirement of the faith” and therefore does not fall under the remit of Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The government’s position on the right of Christians to wear the cross at work emerged after its plans to legalize same-sex marriages angered leaders of Britain’s Roman Catholic Church.
In a surprise move, Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, appeared to undermine the case for wearing the crucifix when he said that for many Christians, it has become little more than jewellery, “which religious people make and hang on to” as a substitute for true faith.
Williams, speaking at a church service in Rome where he met the Pope on the weekend, said the cross had been stripped of its meaning as part of a tendency to manufacture religion.
“And the cross itself has become a religious decoration,” he said.
Icons, a prayerbook – and the Koran in the center of the altar…
In the Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Savior (Saint-Sauveur), in the Diocese of Arras (Pas-de-Calais, France), an “Interreligious prayer vigil” was held on October 26, 2011, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the first Assisi interreligious meeting.
Attending were the Roman Catholic priest, an Orthodox priest, an imam, a Lutheran pastor and a rabbi:
The procession of the “interreligious gifts”…
From the Associated Press report:
“Standing on the altar of St. Mary of the Angels basilica, Wande Abimbola of Nigeria, representing Africa’s traditional Yoruba religion, sang and shook a percussion instrument as he told the delegates that peace can only come with greater respect for indigenous religions.”
Assisi, 2011.
Assisi, 2011.
Assisi, 2011.
“We must always remember that our own religion, along with the religions practiced by other people, are valid and precious in the eyes of the Almighty, who created all of us with such plural and different ways of life and belief systems,” he said.”
Video:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhCO8wyME3w
And also here is the link to another video of Wände Abimbola as he adressed the pope and patriarch and began to chant hymns to one of his gods, Olokun, as he shook a rattle in the god’s honor. The pope and patriarch smiled approvingly.: http://gloria.tv/
The Synod of Orthodox Bishops of France, expressed their satisfaction with the most outrageous Ecumenistic prayer in history.
Paris, October 24, 2011 – With an announcement the Synod of the Orthodox Bishops of France, made a short tribute to the 25th anniversary of the Assisi after 27/10/1986.
The Presidency of the Conference of the Orthodox Bishops of France is under the Metropolitan of France Emmanuel. The Synod welcomes the “spirit of Assisi” and hopes that this will be in our times. The Orthodox bishops of the various local Churches, stressed the importance of dialogue, especially interreligious and feel that it promotes mutual understanding, peace, progress and mutual respect.
The press release states: “Now, during the global crisis, more than ever it is a necessity, not only to overcome the historical wounds, but to work together for peace and to overcome the tensions created from these crises.”
The Synod of the “Orthodox” Bishops of France, having welcomed the “spirit of Assisi”, decided to participate in interfaith “religious meetings for peace”, which are to be held in Paris on October 27 by the Roman Catholics, and the ecumenical community of St. “Giles.
Source: aktines
An article from www.trustedworldnews.com (Edited by Red Sky Warning) that outlines the latest developments on the issue of “pan-religion”.
VATICAN CITY, Oct 25 – Pope Benedict XVI has invited 300 religious leaders to a meeting in Assisi in Italy to repudiate “violence in the name of God” amid growing tensions fuelled by fundamentalists across the world.
The day of interreligious council, which will be held on Thursday in St. Francis of Assisi’s birthplace, is intended to be a “journey of reflection, dialogue and prayer for peace and justice in the world,” the Vatican said.
Over 50 Islamic representatives are expected to attend the talks from several countries, including Saudi Arabia and Iran.
They will be joined by Rabbis, Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs, a Zoroastrian, a Bahai and representatives of Taoism and Confucianism as well as of other traditional religions from Africa and America.
For the first time, four atheists will also attend the meeting (!), which is traditionally organised so as not to coincide with the Muslim day of prayer on Friday, the Jewish one on Saturday or the Christian one on Sunday.
However, the Imam from the Al-Azhar University in Cairo, a heavyweight authority on Sunnism, will not be coming, having fallen out with the pope after he urged Egypt to protect Christians from attacks by radical Islamists.
The meeting is being criticised by Catholic fundamentalists who are strongly against the idea of dialogue with other religions. French fundamentalist Regis de Cacqueray said 1,000 masses would be needed to be said in reparation.
The event marks the 25th anniversary of the first interreligious meeting in Assisi, organised by John Paul II in 1986 as a “day of prayer” inspired by the United Nation’s proclamation of an International Year of the Peace.
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the then prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, chose not to attend because of concerns shared by traditionalists that it risked mixing religions into a vague common belief.
Videos from Assisi, 1986
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3n_AeTLf48
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjqjPB29Txw
Meanwhile, the Synod of the “Orthodox” Bishops of France, having welcomed the “spirit of Assisi”, decided to participate in interfaith “religious meetings for peace”, which are to be held in Paris on October 27 by the Roman Catholics, and the ecumenical community of St. “Giles.
In a press release sit was stated that: “Now, during the global crisis, more than ever it is a necessity, not only to overcome the historical wounds, but to work together for peace and to overcome the tensions created from these crises.”
