A Look At The Press  

When in Rome do as the other do
Rome, Monday

THE milk-sipping exploits of Ganesh, son of the Hindu god Shiva, have spread to Rome.
    Sanjay Daswani, who owns a store in the city, said a small metallic idol of the elephant-headed I Ganesh, had begun sipping milk from a spoon.
    "We got a phone call from India and they told us the Ganesh was " drinking milk". We tried over here and he was drinking milk," said Daswani.
    "We were all surprised and astonished," he said as a relative fed the idol a spoonful of milk in front of television cameras.
    India has been gripped with reports that sacred statues are sipping traditional milk offerings.
    Scientists have spoken of mass delusion while Indian political have accused the Hindu right wing of whipping up religious fever and win votes.

    Earlier this year in Italy, there was a rash of reports of statues of the Virgin Mary weeping blood or tears. None has been verified by the Roman Catholic Church. - Reuter.
Glasgow Herald 26/18/95

Priest quits to marry a nun

A Catholic priest has stunned his flock by quitting the parish to wed an ex-nun.
Monsignor James Dunne, 68, married former sister Phyllis at the weekend, just two months after he retired. The pair have been' friends for years. But amazed parishioners in Vauxhall, Liverpool, said yesterday that they knew nothing of any romance.
Joan McGann, the manageress of the club where Mgr Dunne's retiral party was held, said: "There was never any suggestion that he might be having a relationship. "It is simply not some thing I would have believed he would do."
Sunday Mail 8/10/95

Churches reduced to sects?

The Scottish Church Census demonstrates what most professional church people have long kown: Scotland is no longer a Christian country. Only a small proportion of Scots attends church and only some of them attend the "national" church.

This calls into question both the rights and the obligations of the churches. With so few people sufficiently interested in Christianity to bother to attend church, why do we still give large amounts of airtime to Thought for the Day, Prayer for the Day, the BBC's Songs of Praise or Grampian Television's Reflections?

Why do we give pages of newsprint to the deliberations of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland? Why do we give more attention to the mews of clergymen than we do to those of any other poorly paid professional group? Why is religious activity tax deductible? Why should a religious organisation have its separate school system funded by the state yet retain control over personnel?

There may well be very good answers to these questions along the lines that "religion is good for a society even if no-one believes it" but "because the churches are popular" can no longer serve.

That the churches are now small bodies of self-selecting members may be a reason to deprive them to their privileges but it may be also be a reason to free them from onerous obligations. Very many people who do nothing to support a church none the less expect to be married and buried by one and get huffy if the minister or priest is less than enthusiastic about expending the organisation's resources on non-members. The AA does not have to rescue non-members. Why should the Kirk?

It may be humbling for what was once the national church to think of itself as a sect, like the Baptists, but it may also be liberating.
Glasgow Herald 28/9/95®

Moslems in focus

    The need of Scotland's Moslem women were discussed at a conference in ' Glasgow today. It is the first ever event dedicated to the needs of Moslem women in Scotland and council officials will show what services they already provide -and plan for the future.
    The conference, supported by Strathclyde Regional Council, Glasgow District Council and Greater Glasgow Health Board, took place at the City Chambers.
Organisers, say policy makers have failed to address the Moslem community needs, and instead have treated all the ethnic minorities as one.
Evening Times 26/9/95

Church empties

The number of Scots churchgoers has plunged to an all-time low, it was revealed yesterday.
    The country's churches are losing 220 people - an average congregation - every week.If it continues at that rate, pews will be EMPTY by 2044.
    A census published yesterday showed there were 575,000 adults and 171,000 children going to church last year, a drop of 115,000 people in 10 years.
Daily Records 28/9/95

Prison bruise

An Egyptian thief has been flogged 3400 times - still has 600 lashes to go.
    Mohammed el-Sayyid is given 50 lashes with a metre long bamboo cane every two weeks as part of his 4000 lash sentence.
    Amnesty international say a bruised and bleeding el-Sayyid is unable to sit for days after each flogging session.
Daily Record 14/8/95