BRIEFS:
PROTESTANT MINISTRY IN ITALY,
2002-2003
continuing,
occasional updates on Waldensian-Methodist ("WM"), Baptist ("B")
and Federation of Protestant Churches ("Federation") ministry in
Italy "for love and justice". This edition, drawn in the main from
the Baptist-Methodist-Waldensian weekly, Riforma, is organized as
follows:
· downsizing diaconal ministry
· resistance to war in Iraq
· major decisional assemblies
· social ministries
· ministries for education
· ecumenism and interfaith dialogue
· local church ministries
· discipleship markings
· a sampling of headlines
DOWNSIZING
DIACONAL MINISTRY
The void which our forebears filled with specialized
ministries-is it the same today? Just as we closed many of our schools
when public schooling came along, is it now time to get out of some
ministries and respond in new ways in serving the weak?.The hospitals
crisis, seen for what it is too late, is the sounding of the alarm,
no longer to be put off, implying a global rethinking of our entire
diaconal ministry commitment.
(Review Commission, report to the '02 WM synod)
The
same God, severe with Israel of old, with whom the covenant nonetheless
was renewed, will not fail to surprise us with interventions of
grace and blessing.
(Andrea Ribet, diaconal services administrator, in a letter to Riforma)
BMW people can be depended upon in and out of every season to engage
in passionate debate on diaconal (specialized) ministry, of uncommonly
broad proportions in Italy. Increasingly synods and assemblies have
had to face the music as to financial sustainability of some diaconal
ministries. During the early '90s debates over whether to participate
in the national taxpayer checkoff plan (8/1000), some voices dared
to predict that absent participation in the 8/1000 plan diaconal
ministries here and there would fold, and soon. On the Baptist side,
action was taken in the fall of '01 to shutter the major conference
center at Santa Severa, near Rome, there being no funds to satisfy
state facility upgrade standards. Waldensians for lack of funds
were constrained not long ago to forsake summer work at the Menegon
Center in the Northeast, and lease the facility to others.
The
'02 and '03 Waldensian-Methodist synods were forced to face, first,
the scaling back of programming at an historic centerpiece of Methodist
social ministry, Casa Materna in Naples, and then to face the inevitable-the
suspending of all work by mid- '04. In the end international support
units and the Italian churches owned up to the grim fact that major
funds no longer responsibly could be applied to a mismanagement
hemorrhage of several decades' duration.
The
blockbuster came with the revelations in '02 that the Waldensian
hospital deficits in Piedmont (Pomaretto, Turin, Torre Pellice)
threatened to bankrupt the synod, unless dramatic action should
ensue to arrest the cascading recourse to staggering bank loans.
The '02 synod mandated that a radical solution be found. In March
'03 the Waldensian National Board, convening a special meeting of
the synod to deal with the crisis, set out its painful conclusion
that "our church, of itself, cannot run modern hospitals at the
level of capitalization and complex administration required." After
thoughtful and penetrating discussion, the synod, fully trusting
of the National Board, authorized the Board to take whatever action
would be "necessary" to vacate the untenable situation.
The
"longest day" would be 27 June: day of the National Board's acceptance
of the Piedmont Region's offer to absorb the hospitals' entire debt
schedule (some 50 million euros) in exchange for the conveying of
the hospitals to the Region, which promised to keep the hospitals
open and safeguard employment of the staffs. Said the Moderator
of the National Board: "Sad day. But we have to recognize, too,
that the world has changed."
Concurrent
with approving the National Board's action on the hospitals, the
'03 synod launched a process of thorough-going reexamination of
"theological and operational" aspects of diaconal ministry.
The
Baptists, meanwhile, beset with distressing fiscal issues, were
facing anguished moments of truth as to the sustainability of their
specialized ministries. For months prior to a called mid-'03 assembly
of the churches to address the diaconal ministries question, columns
in Riforma had raised the advisability of selling off some facilities
and applying proceeds to new work, less ambitious ("diacona leggera"),
on the part of local churches. Bravely, the gathering did call upon
the churches to "intensify" the ministry of welcoming and integrating
immigrant-refugee people from abroad, while agreeing "if necessary"
to sell some institutions so as to permit reinforcing others along
the path of fiscal soundness.
RESISTANCE
TO WAR IN IRAQ
The
Italian Federation of Protestant Churches and member churches, including
the BMW churches-from national to local levels-all strenuously opposed
the war, standing side by side with the World Council of Churches
and the National Council of Churches in the US, the latter sending
a peace mission to Rome (Vatican, Protestant Federation, Parliament)
in February 2003. Typical of the churches' judgment is this appeal
from the Rev. Gianni Genre, Moderator of the Waldensian National
Board, to the Italian government: Prime Minister, half truths and
half lies yield no peace.The Protestant theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer,
had it right: never confuse "security" with peace.Think! Most Italians
are saying to you, "Stay out of this war, and claim the courage
to choose the way of peace."
MAJOR
DECISIONAL ASSEMBLIES
The mid-'02 Assembly, near Rome, of the UNION OF BAPTIST CHURCHES
(20,000 members, 100 communities) rejoiced in the admission of six
new communities (Nigerian, Romanian, Brazilian, Italian) across
Northern Italy. In fact, ethnic congregations now account for about
a quarter of the Baptist churches in Italy. "Apprehension," editorialized
Riforma, well describes the tenor of the '02 WALDENSIAN-METHODIST
SYNOD (30,000 members, 160 communities) meeting late in August at
the traditional synod site, Torre Pellice (Piedmont).
Apprehensions,
that is, over the fiscal crisis precipitated by the near-disaster
of Waldensian hospital financing (see "DOWNSIZING" story), and over
the perennial headaches of fielding sufficient and fully qualified
personnel to lead a wide spectrum of ministry. The synod encouraged
the churches to engage freely in inter-religious dialogue; saluted
retiring Waldensian Theological Seminary Professors Paolo Ricca
and Sergio Rostagno; authorized a Center for Ecumenical Studies
to be adjunct to the Seminary; directed all church entities to bank
with financial institutions not tied to the arms trade in which
Italy is so heavily involved; cleared a reflection paper on euthanasia
for study in the churches; celebrated the Methodist churches' 40th
anniversary of independence from British Methodism; acted to close
in Florence the Center for Preparation in Diaconal Ministry, while
creating a new Commission on Formation for Diaconal Ministry; resolved
to engage in "new forms of solidarity" with sister Waldensian churches
in Argentina-Uruguay; sharply criticized as regressive the Bossi-Fini
national legislation on immigration; and reaffirmed the welcoming
"with hearts wide open" of sisters and brothers from other continents.
Further,
the synod commended the '02 General Assembly of the Presbyterian
Church USA for its posture in opposition to war in Iraq, urged the
Italian government to withhold support of military action in Iraq,
and affirmed the will of the Italian people for peace and "missions
of reconciliation and humanitarian aid in concert with international
action."
It
was a manifestation of "extraordinary lucidity and substantial serenity,"
commented Rev. Giorgio Tourn, writing in Riforma on the '03 WALDENSIAN-METHODIST
SYNOD-"a sense of awakening after a serious accident." A reference,
of course, to the first synod following the tortured release of
the Waldensian hospitals from church administration (see "DOWNSIZING"
story). The leader and preacher (text: Mark 12:28-34) of the opening
service, Rev. Giuseppe Platone (Turin), saw to it that the vision
of all be raised by building into the service readings on God's
love from Hebrew, Christian and Islamic scriptures in original tongues
and in Italian, all by readers within the several faith communities.
A bold, quantum stroke.
Among
other actions the synod endorsed on a trial basis the vice-moderator's
working full-time in the sector of local church relationships and
the calling and assignment of pastors; exhorted the churches to
go forward in inter-religious dialogue, strategic in the struggle
"against racism, antisemitism and islamophobia, and for a pluralistic,
affirming-of-all society"; authorized a doctoral program at the
Waldensian Seminary; encouraged continuing vigilance by the churches
regarding pluralistic and non-sectarian public schools; expressed
grave concern over the crippling of draft legislation in the field
of freedom of religion and state protocols with diverse denominations;
and reaffirmed the Agape Conference Center as a "frontier venue
for encounter, research, experimentation and international experience",
while urging renewed and reciprocal efforts to repair Agape-local
church rapport.
Under
the theme, Let no one seek his/her own interest, but the interest
instead of others.(1 Cor 10), the 13th triennial ASSEMBLY OF THE
FEDERATION OF PROTESTANT CHURCHES IN ITALY took place in Torre Pellice
(Piedmont) in November '03. The Assembly can be relied upon to address
in full public life questions, and this edition was no exception.
Front and center: issues of freedom of religion, inadequacies of
the mass media, the crucifix in public places, non-delivery of Constitutional
promises, and immigration and welcoming of non-Europeans in a continent
more and more multiracial and multicultural-all assembled in a wrap-up
message to the Italian Parliament. Reviewed with care and appreciation
were the several ministries of the Federation: radio (1,270,000
followers), TV (660,000 followers), press; special commissions;
Immigrant-Refugee Ministry; Education Services.
SOCIAL
MINISTRIES
The Nitti Center (M) in Naples-Ponticelli continues its service
in a distressed quarter of the city, including tutorials among elementary
and high school students, and prenatal asistance, in cooperation
with the Protestant Hospital in Ponticelli. Methodist commitment
to immigrant-refugee people remains strong in Mezzano (Parma), which
has received a Ghanaian Methodist pastor to serve the local African
community, and at Verbania-Intra (Piedmont), where a temporary housing
facility has been opened on the Methodist Church property.
Servizio
Cristiano (W) in Sicily is preparing for a women's shelter in the
face of alarming numbers of women at risk over the violence of abuse
and exploitation.
The
Protestant Federation's Immigrant-Refugee Ministry reports that
80% of Federation congregations are significantly involved in immigrant-refugee
work-distribution of clothing and food supplies, legal and referral
services, temporary housing, language instruction-commonly in cooperation
with others. Recent studies indicate that of the Protestants in
Italy, fully two-thirds are from abroad, largely from Africa. "For
years we have prayed for church growth," says Annemarie Dupre, director
of the Ministry. "Now God has answered our prayers in a way not
dreamed of-has blessed us with sisters and brothers from other continents-and
suddenly, it's now our move to welcome them with open hearts." Already,
in '03, five area pre-assembly meetings had been held around the
country in preparation for the planned spring '04 major convocation,
Being and Doing Church Together.
Hailed
across the continent, Annemarie Dupre', for many years the spirited,
resourceful leader of the Protestant Federation's Immigrant-Refugee
Ministry, in late '02 was elected moderator of the Churches' Commission
for Migrants in Europe. At about the same time the Conference of
European Churches named Donatella Rostagno, Waldensian, as leader
of the human rights unit within the Conference's Commission on Church
and Society.
The
Waldensian Church in Luserna San Giovanni (Piedmont) has committed
to generate within its own ranks and beyond funds for the support
of the community kitchen for the poor in San Carlos (Northern Argentina),
a ministry supported as well by the Waldensian churches in Argentina-Uruguay.
EDUCATION
MINISTRIES
Candidates for the pastorate, following the Waldensian Theological
Seminary experience, prior to ordination serve in the field under
the guidance of pastor-supervisors and a BMV Commission on Pastoral
Formation, offering pertinent seminars in furtherance of preparation
for the rigors of ministry, often in isolated venues.
Early
in '02 a document, Globalization and Italy, was developed for study
in the churches by the Protestant Federation's unit on globalization
and environment (www.fedevangelica.it/glam/glam03.asp).
Distance
courses in theology, offered by the Waldensian Theological Seminary,
have included seminars on the Book of Acts and New Testament theology
(Venice); interdisciplinary approaches to biblical texts, and exegesis
of selected passages in Genesis and Romans (Milan); economics, globalization,
and the role of Christians (Bologna); perspectives on Jesus Christ
(Naples); and introduction to the doctrine of the Holy Spirit (Milan).
February
Freedom Week motifs for Protestant Federation churches: Faith and
Money ('02, with connections drawn to the mal-distribution of resources/globalization
issue), and Protestants and Europe ('03, relationships to the state
in the New Europe).
The
Waldensian National Board commissioned in '02 a special team to
prepare for introducing '06 Winter Olympics visitors (venue: Northwest
Italy) to Italian Protestant spirituality, ministry and culture.
A
highlight of the marking of the 150th anniversary ('02) of the historic
Waldensian Church in Torre Pellice: a public conference on "A Non-confessional
State: Possible in Italy?"
Italian Protestants are speaking up to say that global economics
is a faith question. In churches across the landscape the globalization
motif is being looked at with a very critical eye, as at Mottola
(Puglia), where the Baptist community in May '03 staged a procession
through the town, with other Protestants across the region participating,
some 300 strong. Banners, music, and a concluding service all pointed
to the issue of equitable distribution of the world's resources.
Prof.
Daniele Garrone, President and Professor of Old Testament at the
Waldensian Theological Seminary, secured the American biblical scholar,
Phyllis Tribble, for a series of seminars last year in Rome on feminist
theology.
ECUMENISM
AND INTERFAITH DIALOGUE
The head of the Vatican's Secretariat on Ecumenism, Cardinal Walter
Kasper, visited the Historic Waldensian Valleys and a Waldensian
delegation at the Synod Hall in Torre Pellice, early '02. And in
the summer of '03, on occasion of 300th anniversary of the birth
of John Wesley, the cardinal preached at the Ponte Sant'Angelo Methodist
Church in Rome.
In
April '02 the Council of Churches in Reggio Calabria issued a strong
condemnation of draft national legislation easing controls over
Italy's arms industry.
A
leadership delegation from the Protestant Federation in the main
went on a mission of encouragement among peace activists, Israeli
and Palestinian ("We must never abandon them."), in June '02-an
event serving to reinforce dialogue with Jewish and Muslim forces
in Italy, and exchanges, especially among Italian young adults,
with Middle Eastern people. Mission planner and organizer: Paolo
Naso, editor of Confronti.
The
House of Abraham, a shelter for immigrant-refugee people (Africans,
Latin Americans, Balkans people) in the "old town" of Ivrea (Piedmont)
in '02 marked its first ten years of cooperative work among Waldensians,
Catholics, Jews, and still others.
With
war clouds in the air, the Baptist and Catholic churches in Mottola
(Puglia) staged together a candlelight procession in November 2002,
drawing in much of the town's citizenry. All were encouraged to
set out peace flags everywhere across the town. Recalled were the
words of Mark Twain: Twenty years ahead we'll be more troubled by
what we have failed to do than content over what we have done. Lift
the veils, head for waters far from secure ports. Explore. Dream.
Discover. This evening-a metaphor, really, for alarm over Iraq breaking
out all over the continent.
On
the last day of Ramadan (November '02) there took place in Rome,
Turin, Venice and a number of other cities the first national Ecumenical
Day for Christian-Islamic Dialogue, promoted by the several municipalities;
Catholic leadership; the journal of faith and public life, Confronti;
the Protestant Federation; and Union of Islamic Communities in Italy.
In Naples it was "open doors" at the several mosques, the visitors
having signed in advance a document, Abraham's Tent, pledging the
acceleration of efforts for a society pluralistic and welcoming
of all, respectful of human rights and the practice of democracy.
Toward
a city more pluralistic and welcoming of diversity-such is aim of
the Inter-Religious Consultation in the City of Rome, launched late
in '02 at a ceremony in the city hall. Virtually all minority faiths
in the city (the Catholic Church opted out of the official launching
of the organization)-Protestant and Orthodox denominations, and
Hundu, Buddist, Islamic, Jewish and still other bodies-are all represented
in the initiative.
Sign
of the times: An Islamic Cultural Center has been established in
Torre Pellice (Piedmont), the Waldensian "capital", where there
reside some 30 Islamic families.
The
Union of Baptist Churches in Italy is engaging in exploratory conversations
with the American Baptist Churches as to possible patterns of collaboration,
relationships with the Southern Baptist Convention effectively having
come to an end.
SPIRITED
LOCAL CHURCH MINISTRIES
Brescia
(Lombardia) Waldensian (www.protestanti-brecia.it) Membership, on
a pronounced rise, now includes some 20 European, African, Asian
and Latin American nationalities. What's happening: courses in English
for the Italians, and in Italian for the non-Italians, represented
now on the church board. A voluntary service (The John Wesley Protestant
Association) among immigrant-refugee people. An exciting youth fellowship,
not seen in the church for decades. And all kinds of music and rhythm
in a new beat!
Palermo
Waldensian and Waldensian-Methodist. With the support of
the Waldensian and Methodist national boards and the Protestant
Federation, the two local churches have launched a ministry called
"Pilgrims Upon the Earth". The idea is to rescue from the streets
and offer shelter to clandestine refugee women at risk of virtual
enslavement and exploitation. Meaningful employment is crucial,
so for a start Pilgrims has launched a small restaurant featuring
African dishes. Meanwhile, women in the two sister congregations
have undertaken an after-school enrichment program at the Noce Center
for area children from distressed families.
Naples,
Via Foria Baptist. The congregation, a model of serious ministry
in the inner city, truly a church "for others" in host of ways,
spearheaded last year the formation of a coordinating council for
all organizations in the city working to care for the homeless,
who gravitate in the main to the area of the central railroad station.
Torre
Pellice (Piedmont). For decades, youth in many Waldensian
churches have called for departure from traditional Reformed worship,
which tends to leave them "cold". Well, here's a new twist for one
of the most historic of the Waldensian communities: the congregation
has voted a plan proposed by a recent confirmation class, namely,
that on third Sundays the services will be prepared by diverse groups
in the church, and on fifth Sundays services will draw upon new
worship experiencs as modeled elsewhere on the continent and in
the Americas. Come, Creator Spirit!
DISCIPLESHIP
MARKINGS
How I wish that in every Christian community, Catholic and Protestant
alike, people would risk erring on the side of too much reflection,
too much free thought, too much love, rather than withholding same
to safeguard "no mistakes". We are saddened that the same Vatican
which militates for world peace (Iraq) raises barriers in its own
house.Rather than stand with exclusionary forces "possessed" of
"truth", we will always stand by those who, though they may err,
open arms wide to others in need.
(Rev.
Maria Bonafede, Waldensian Vice-Moderator, Rome, and the board of
the Waldensian Church of Pinerolo (Piedmont) on Franco Barbero,
"brother in Christ", released from the priesthood by his bishop
for non-orthodox teaching and practice in a local Catholic base
community)
In
anti-mafia struggles, Protestant culture and ethic of responsibility
have much to offer in the face of a national administration that
tends to look the other way on corruption and illegality. We must
not fall silent, lest Falcone and Borsellino (assassinated mafia
prosecutors) will have died in vain for us as well. Shall the mafia,
a national menace to democracy, get away with reducing the state
to looking after little more than petty interests around the block?
(Rev. Giuseppe Platone, pastor, Turin Waldensian Church, in a Riforma
commentary, Still the Mafia! So Where Are We?)
Authentic
resurrection faith does not grow out of preoccupation with what
lies beyond, which seems to captivate so many, but out of the knowledge
that God has the last word in history and what comes along in history.
Tyranny is up-ended. And from the dust God will raise up mangled
lives. (Rev. Gianni Genre, Waldensian moderator, in a concluding
reflection at the '02 synod meeting)
I
long for the kind of worship for which jazz is a good metaphor-with
everyone participating in worship which is not "sanitized" but welcoming
of spaces "contaminated" by the demons of this world. After all,
the compassion of Christ reaches right there. (Rev. Massimo Aprile,
Via Foria Baptist Church, Naples)
Tullio
Vinay was right: "We must always stand in utter amazement at what
God is pleased to accomplish with the poor scraps that we are."
Though next to nothing, by God's grace we are useful to God. Such
knowledge infuses us with immense dignity-and let us never lose
sight of it, not even in the full force of the tempest. (Rev. Anna
Maffei, vice-president of the Union of Baptist Churches' executive
board, at the '02 Waldensian synod)
At
40 years from Vatican II, we see that the Roman Church has bought
into the road of dialogue and encounter. Still frozen is Rome's
claims to "fullness" which the other churches are not up to.Individual
Christians are seen as brothers, but the churches have not become.sisters.
(Prof. Paolo Ricca, in Riforma)
Democracy:
that public space in which ideas and faiths intersect without coercive
intrusions by any, because of the social contract guaranteeing to
all the same rights and freedoms.God has spoken, but no one is the
depository of God's truth, nor the architect of God's rule. So we
live in the serenity of connecting with others, never mind their
speaking of and serving God in ways diverging from ours. (Prof.
Daniele Garrone, in a Riforma editorial, Faith in Dialogue, on occasion
of the late '02 Christian-Islamic Day for Dialogue)
"Christian
roots" in Europe go from the cathedrals to Bach, but also include
the Inquisition and wars of religion..In our witness and struggle
for everyone's freedom we count upon God's help, and we'll say so
over and again. But we are of no mind to write the name of God on
a piece of paper to be voted in a constitutional assembly, even
though God's help surely is needed for such a time as this. (Rev.
Giorgio Bouchard, Susa [Piedmont], in a Riforma editorial on Europe's
"furor over faith" debate on reference to God and Judeo-Christian
roots in the European Constitution) .
We
see ourselves as bound to you, creatures as we are of the same God,
with shared dignity and rights.We want to extend our hand to you,
living and sharing daily problems with you. We commit to meeting
and working with you in a spirit of fraternity and service, taking
on the challenges of justice, peace and solidarity.(Catholic, Orthodox
and Waldensian Churches of Riesi (Sicily) in an April '03 letter
to Muslims in the area)
The challenge is to say No to the al-Qaida global califate while
resisting saying Yes to the "good empire" of the US. We need neither
an empire nor an emperor, but an international community that knows
how to govern itself, how to create instruments of decision and
action, how to show the world, concretely and coherently, the strength
of democracy. (Paolo Naso, editor, Confronti)
To safeguard democracy in our land, we are faced with the questions
of religious freedom, a non-sectarian state, parity among faith
communities, dignity and justice for all, and caring for the environment.
Our church program must above all be concerned with the justice
of God's rule, which means participating in the building of society
at a time of great transformaton.The "faith and politics" dynamic
must be open to new impulses, lest we go for a Christianity theologically
sterilized from the world [disincarnato] and socially anemic. (Rev.
Giuseppe Platone, Turin, in a column upon assuming the editorship
of the BMV weekly, Riforma, in the fall of '03)
We may cry, fervently, Europe! Europe! and still end up well beyond
the precincts of democracy and civil common cause. We are seeing
the rehabilitation of a "good" Mussolini, noises about rewriting
the Constitution, racist and xenophobic terrorizing of the unwelcomed,
continuing assaults on the judiciary, the administration's fierce
hold on the TV enterprise, investigations sabotaged by all kinds
of poison, journalism more and more domesticated to "keep quiet"-a
continuing erosion of the social contract. More and more we're a
nation on two speeds-the popular masses blackmailed and eased of
their rights, and a nucleus of the superrich, a brazen new ruling
class. (Piera Egidi, in an October '03 Riforma editorial)
In the Protestant experience what has come first is not doctrine,
but knowledge of the Bible. Read the Bible-that has been the message.
Read it, because never, never will our preaching and teaching be
a substitute for meeting Jesus.(Prof. Fulvio Ferrario, in the introduction
to the '04 Italian edition of the Moravians' daily lectionary)
In the church do we need funds into the millions? I question that..
But the joy of working together, yes. Being in movement clear-eyed
on evangelization, yes. With the yearning to fight the good fight
amid the tragedies of this world and time-critically and with passion,
yes. With readiness to plunge into the action, notwithstanding fears
and uncertainties, yes. Including transforming our worship and way
of connecting with people, yes. Above all, opening our hearts to
the gospel's "all things new." O, yes! (Erica Correnti, Forano Sabino
[Lazio], in a letter to Riforma)
A
SAMPLING OF HEADLINES
A sampling of front page lead headlines in Riforma, the Waldensian-Methodist-Baptist
weekly, tells the story of wide-awake, critical conscience-driven
churches.
· For Middle East Peace and Security: Appeal of Italian Protestant
Churches (4/02)
· Story Behind the Story of Scandal (sexual abuse in Catholic priesthood)
(4/02)
· The Hungry? What's the Hurry? (global conference on hunger, Rome)
(6/02)
· G-8-Cracking Tough Nuts: Globalization and Global Poverty (7/02)
· Freedom of Religion? (debate over abrogation of fascist statutory
heritage) (7/02)
· Still the Mafia! (10 years after the assassinations of Sicilian
prosecutors) (7/02)
· Towards Sustainable Development (ten years after Rio de Janeiro
summit) (8/02)
· Challenge to Iraq and UN (US' preemptive war policy) (9/02)
· Crucifix by Decree (Italy's struggle over the crucifix in public
buildings and "How about a living Christ in human hearts?") 9/02
· The Sea Is No Wall (regressive immigration laws and death of clandestines
desperate for escape to Europe) (10/02)
· The Nobel Peace Prize to Jimmy Carter! (10/02)
· FIAT and our Future (Italian auto maker's crisis) (10/02)
· Lula: Brazil's Hope (new revolutionary president) (11/02)
· A New World Is Possible! Globalize Solidarity, Not Impoverishment!
(European Social Forum in Florence on globalization) (11/02)
· The Pope Visits Parliament-how autonomous is the Italian state?
(11/02)
· A Flooded Church-serious damage to the Milan Methodist Church
(12/02)
· Justice Under Fire: Italian judiciary assailed by administration
(1/03)
· Churches Against the War (2/03)
· Preemptive War-No! (2/03)
· Europe: Grounded in.? (the place of religion in the Constitution)
(2/03)
· The 'Bush Doctrine": Will It work? (co-optation of language of
religion) (4/03)
·
The "Day After" Victory-challenge to international action (4/03)
· Trash in the "bel paese" (beautiful Italy) (5/03)
· Water, our Sister (access to water, a human right) (5/03)
· Obstacles to the "Road Map" in Iraq (6/03)
·
Role of the European Churches (assembly of Conference of Euro. Churches)
(7/03)
· Across the World: Ascendancy of Corporate Interests (7/03)
· The Dream: Still Alive! (40 years after King's March on Washington)
(8/03)
· Ground Zero Two Years Later (global terrorism) (9/03)
· Failure at Cancun (for nations of South and East: no more table
scraps) (9/03)
· Public Schools: Where Headed? (struggle for non-confessional teaching
in pluralistic Italian schools) (9/03)
· Getting By Until the End of the Month (economic/cost of living
crisis) (10/03)
· Nuclear Waste Across the Italian Landscape (12/03) fgg March 2004
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