* WOMEN HAVE RIGHT TO KNOW – `Christians for Truth’ sent out the following press statement for Women’s Day on 9 August: Christians for Truth (CFT), representing 98 000 South Africans, emphasizes the right of women to know the whole truth about abortion and other life threatening issues. In many, if not most cases, women seeking an abortion are given insufficient information to make an informed choice on whether they will have an abortion or not. Currently many women and girls are made to believe that abortion is a safe procedure which saves women's lives from the risk of a septic "back-street" abortion, and some even believe that termination of a pregnancy is safer than full-term delivery. Post abortion syndrome, comprising several negative psychiatric and emotional conditions such as depression, is just one of the many complications. Many South African women are inadequately informed of the risks and complications of having an abortion. For example, women have the right to know that there is a proven link between abortion and breast cancer. 16 out of 17 statistically significant studies report increased risk among women. 7 studies report a more than twofold increased risk. It is estimated that abortion causes an additional 10,000 cases of breast cancer each year, and in much younger women than in the past. Many young women under 40 contract breast cancer now. The cumulative lifetime risk of breast cancer rose from 8.5% in 1975 to 12% in 2000 in the USA, mostly attributed to the rise in abortions being performed since that time. This information was confirmed by world expert Dr Angela Lanfranchi of the Breast Cancer Prevention Institute (New Jersey) at a recent conference in Cape Town held by Doctors for Life. (to index)

* RAPIST `HANGED’ - A group of Christians braved wind, cold and drizzling rain outside the gates of Parliament in Cape Town on Friday to stage a mock trial and execution of a rapist. Members and supporters of the group Africa Christian Action (ACA) looked on in silence as the "rapist" -- a clothing store dummy in an orange prison overall -- was stood before a small wooden gallows and a noose placed around its neck. A banner next to the gallows proclaimed the wages of sin to be DEATH, in blood-red capitals. Earlier, ACA chairman Peter Hammond -- wearing a black robe for his role as "Judge", and holding a large Bible wrapped in plastic to keep off the rain -- had sentenced a man to die, having found him guilty of "first degree rape". ACA spokeswoman Jeanine McGill said the lunchtime protest was being held to "draw government's attention to real biblical solutions to women's oppression". Asked by Sapa where in the Bible it said rapists should be hanged, she said stoning to death would have been more appropriate, but for the protest, hanging was symbolic. According to ACA, capital punishment is the right thing to do in terms of Genesis 9:6, which, the group says, states "Whosoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed". According to an ACA media statement, convictions are secured for only 7,7 percent of the rapes which take place in South Africa each year. "A woman born in South Africa has a greater chance of being raped than learning to read." Rapists terrorised the townships with impunity. "Few are caught and even fewer are convicted." "We need to institute the death penalty for first-degree rape," the statement said. (8 August, SAPA) (to index)

* TUTU DISMISSES USA GAY `FUSS’ - Former South African archbishop Desmond Tutu said that he did not see what "all the fuss" was over appointing a gay bishop, but he urged homosexual clergy to remain celibate. The same day, the Kenyan archbishop called the practice of homosexuality "against the word of God." The appointment of the first openly gay bishop by the Episcopal Church has threatened to split the Anglican Communion and its 70 million followers worldwide. The crisis has prompted the Archbishop of Canterbury, spiritual leader of the Anglican community, to call an emergency summit. "For us, that doesn't make a difference, the sexual orientation," Tutu told Reuters Television in South Africa's sprawling Soweto township. "In our church here in South Africa, the Anglican Church in South Africa, that doesn't make a difference," he said. "We just say that at the moment we believe that they should remain celibate, and we don't see what all the fuss is about." Tutu was attending a farewell ceremony for South African Methodist Bishop Mvume Dandala, who is to head the All Africa Conference of Churches in Kenya. Kenya's Anglican archbishop, Benjamin Nzimbi, said Sunday that his constituents might sever relations with their U.S. counterparts. "We are thinking of cutting ties" with the Episcopalians, Nzimbi told Reuters in Nairobi. "Homosexuality is not accepted. This practice is against the word of God." (16 August, Washington Post) (to index)

* BIG BROTHER `UNAFRICAN’ - Many African leaders have complained about the Big Brother TV programme which is being screened across the continent. Many people have said that the programme as shown presently should be yanked off the screen for the reason that it promotes voyeurism, nudity, the use of obscene language and that it is laced with a lot of sexual innuendoes. Dr. Hope Eghagha is a popular columnist and lecturer in the Department of English, University of Lagos. He says: "I see the programme as an imitation of foreign culture and values. The very concept is anti-African, it is part of globalisation which of course we know the African continent is not prepared for. To be free, you become a slave. We are now saying those young boys and girls locked up are free, but they are not free. Is it African for a girl to step into a bathroom to take a bath and the bath is exposed to everybody in the world." Dr. Karen King-Aribisala is one of Nigeria's most prolific female writers and an erudite scholar. She buttresses Dr. Eghagha's view: "People believe that it is a wonderful programme in the sense that you can get so many representatives from various African countries, to live together in harmony and so on and so forth, but I think of it in terms of gladiators, I don't know what century it was, with the Roman Empire when you had people fighting against each other, Christians mostly, against lions fighting to death, you have an audience who were supposed to clap, when they saw the blood, when they saw the death, and I think that this is a very dangerous trend in modern day, not only Nigeria, but the world to have this kind of reality show because it forces them to express the worst aspects of human nature where you have to vote out a person whom you've lived with. You've had a relationship with that person for sometime, you are friends and so on, and then at the end of may be a month or so, you have to vote that person out and cry a lot when they have to do that. (4 August, AllAfrican.com) (to index)

* MAJORITY AGAINST GAY MARRIAGES - A strong majority of the public disapproves of the Episcopal Church's decision to recognize the blessing of same-sex unions, and a larger share of churchgoing Americans would object if their own faith adopted a similar practice, according to a new Washington Post Poll. So broad and deep is this opposition that nearly half of all Americans who regularly attend worship services say they would leave their current church if their minister blessed gay couples - even if their denomination officially approved those ceremonies, the survey found. As courts, companies and congregations across the nation consider what standing to give gay couples, the poll demonstrates strong public disapproval of any religious sanctioning of same-sex relationships. It underscores the sharp distinction most Americans make between relationships blessed by the church and those recognized by the law. "Americans are saying, 'We're willing to move pretty far on this issue, we're much more tolerant than we used to be, but don't mix it up with religion and God,' " said Boston College political scientist Alan Wolfe, director of the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life. Opposition to blessing gay unions is strongest among Americans who go to church every week, The Post's poll found. Three out of four frequent churchgoers opposed the Episcopal convention's decision, and a similar proportion said they would object if their own faith took a similar step. But even among those who acknowledged that they rarely or never attended church, nearly six in 10 objected to blessing gay couples. (14 August, Washington Post) (to index)

* AUSTRALIAN ANTI-CHRISTIAN CD FACES BAN – The Federal Government of Australia has moved to ban the sale to children of a CD by heavy metal group Deicide amid concerns it incites violence, hatred and the killing of Christians. Attorney-General Daryl Williams said the Government was concerned about lyrics in the CD by Deicide entitled Once Upon The Cross. Mr Williams said he understood the CD was not currently manufactured or distributed in Australia. But he has asked the Australian Record Industry Association and the Australian Music Retailers' Association to ban its sale to minors. While he has not received any complaints about the CD, he wants its classification under the current industry code of practice reconsidered. Material found to promote, incite or instruct in matters of crime or violence will be refused classification. Labor MP John Murphy said tracks on the CD included titles such as When Satan Rules the World. (15 August, Herald Sun) (to index)

* OPPRESSION OF WOMEN `GREATEST SIN’ - The "greatest sin" in the world is the oppression and inequality of women, said Brian Peterson, a media specialist for the Christian relief organization World Vision. Gender oppression causes health and social problems, Peterson told a gathering of Christians for Biblical Equality. Developing nations like India and those in Africa face some of the worst problems, he said, including domestic abuse, poverty and disease. "Gender inequality is the driving force behind AIDS in this world," said Peterson, a media liaison for World Vision's U.S. branch. "We have 42 million people who are HIV-positive, and if it were not for gender inequality, we wouldn't be talking about this today." Peterson said gender inequality in Africa has made HIV/AIDS the continent's most devastating plague. Men in Africa typically contract the virus from promiscuous sex, then transmit it to their wives, who have scant access to contraceptives and little control over their own bodies. As thousands of Africans contract the virus each year, the increase in the number of orphans and disabled people leads to more poverty, crime and oppression. Peterson said the AIDS crisis has undone much of the relief and development work accomplished by World Vision in the last 53 years. (12 August, ABP News) (to index)