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China Urged to Accept Faith
China should allow religion to grow as faith can help address social problems, the head of a global Christian group said Tuesday, although he warned against the influence of foreign missionaries.
Samuel Kobia, general secretary of the Geneva-based World Council of Churches, also said he had seen no evidence of persecution of Christians in China. But he said the issue should be addressed.
"It is in the best interests of the government to actually expand the space for the practice of religion, and I feel that it will be to the detriment of the government here if it is not seen to be providing this freedom of religion," Kobia said.
"If China wants to be the kind of global player that it is clearly becoming . . . then there are norms and standards which will be expected of the Chinese government, and I think they are aware of this and that is why it is in their best interest to guarantee this freedom."
Kobia was visiting at the invitation of the government-recognized China Christian Council, a member of the World Council of Churches.
-- Reuters
Accused Priests Are Listed
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Wilmington, Del., has released the names of 20 priests against whom it says there are substantiated allegations of child sexual abuse.
The list of names was printed in the Nov. 16 edition of the diocese's weekly newspaper, the Dialog. It includes eight living priests accused of abusing minors in the diocese, and two who worked in the diocese but were accused of abuse elsewhere.
Of the 20 priests, the names of 10 had been made public previously, either by the diocese or by the media, church officials said. The list includes only priests who have been employed by the diocese, not those employed by religious orders.
Relatively few U.S. dioceses have released the names of accused priests. Advocates for victims have been urging more dioceses to do so, to encourage victims to come forward and to warn the public about predators.
