Crisis of Flooding in South-East Asia

Over 700 people – over a quarter of them children – have been killed and at least eight million affected by the flooding that has hit Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and the Philippines. 
Seasonal rains and back-to-back typhoons have devastated the region. They have destroyied homes, livelihoods and infrastructure. The flooding is already estimated to be the worst in 50 years, with more rain forecast over the coming week.

And in the mainly-Christian Chin Province in Burma (Myanmar), people still desperately need food and shelter after heavy rain caused a major landslide, which swept away homes and damaged bridges and roads, in June.  

A third of Thailand’s provinces have been inundated by floodwaters, forcing tens of thousands of people from the worst-affected areas to live in makeshift shelters for the last two months; they lack sufficient water, food and sanitary facilities. Damaged health amenities and water sources have raised concerns about an outbreak of waterborne diseases.
There is an urgent need for food, clean water and medical assistance in Cambodia, where more than 300,000 affected people are facing food shortages.

New record on Space Invaders!

A New Jersey man has crushed the world record for the retro shoot ‘em up ‘Space Invaders’. It’s only 33 years since the game first swept the arcades, but well done sir!

Richie Knucklez hasn’t so much beaten the previous highscore as obliterated it. His new score, as verified by the record-keepers at Twingalaxies.com, is a whopping 115,510. That’s more than double the 55,160 set by Donald Hayes in 2003, so some respect is probably due.

Try it again:
http://thatvideogamesite.com/play.php?id=107

Catholic Church adds to criticism of secular dating system.

The Catholic Church’s semi-official newspaper has labelled the BBC’s ‘religiously neutral’ terms for dating history as ‘senseless hypocrisy’. L’Osservatore Romano also described the BBC website’s suggestion that BCE and CE should be used instead of BC and AD as ‘enormous nonsense’. Last week, the broadcaster was attacked by religious figures and some of its leading presenters for adopting the terms in order to avoid offending non-Christians. The corporation says it is not enforcing the system but some programmes are already using it. However, a spokesman for the Department for Education said that BC and AD are not offensive, and recommended that teachers keep using them. Meanwhile, a Thomas the Tank Engine DVD has attracted criticism for omitting the word ‘Christmas’, referring instead to a ‘decorated tree’ and ‘winter holidays’.

• http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
• http://www.dailymail.co.uk/

Exhibition of relics at the British Museum

A relic of the skull of Thomas of Canterbury from the Treasures of Heaven exhibition

A startling exhibition of relics at the British Museum until 9 October features important contributions from the British Province of the Society of Jesus and Stonyhurst College. Stonyhurst curator, Jan Graffius describes the fascinating history of the objects on loan to Treasures of Heaven: Saints, relics and devotion in medieval Europe, and urges visitors to appreciate the beauty and meaning of the exhibition.

Historic Orthodox Council moves closer.

 A meeting of three Orthodox church leaders in Istanbul has removed obstacles to a council that would involve most of the world’s Orthodox churches. The patriarchs discussed the plight of Christian minorities in the Middle East but also made agreements that pave the way for the first pan-Orthodox council in centuries. Many Orthodox churches are centred in difficult areas of the world, like the Middle East where there is revolution and persecution, or Russia and Eastern Europe where economic and social challenges remain. Patriarch Bartholemew of Constantinople, Patriarch Theodoros of Alexandria and Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem, meeting with Archbishop Chrysostomos of Cyprus and a representative of Patriarch Ignatius of Antioch, ‘all expressed the readiness to proceed to the pan-Orthodox council’.

• http://www.ekklesia.com/

Christians oppose Scottish bid to redefine marriage.

A proposal to change the definition of marriage to include same-sex unions has been condemned by Scottish evangelicals. A public consultation is asking Scots whether the law should be changed, and evangelicals are warning that the move would further undermine marriage. Christian pressure group CARE and the Evangelical Alliance (EA) say the Government is following the agenda of ‘a tiny minority for largely political reasons’. CARE for Scotland’s Dr Gordon Macdonald said: ‘The Scottish government is making a grave mistake.’ EA Scotland director Revd Dr Fred Drummond added: ‘Any attempts to redefine the traditional value of marriage will further damage the well-being of our society.’ Meanwhile, in England, the Law Commission’s recommendation that cohabiting couples should have the same rights as married couples has been rejected by the Government.
Sources: Christian Today (5/9); Christian Concern (7/9)

• http://www.christiantoday.co.uk/
• http://www.christianconcern.com/

A new Canadian Ordinariate?

A recent meeting of leaders in the Anglican Catholic Church of Canada (ACCC) voted to unite with the Roman Catholic Church through the Apostolic Constitution created by Pope Benedict XVI.

The ACCC, part of the Continuing Anglican Movement, is made up of more than two dozen congregations. Its Eighth Provincial Synod and Thirteenth Diocesan Synod were held simultaneously at the Rosemary Heights Retreat Center in Surrey, British Columbia.

The website VirtueOnline.org published a letter from Dean Shane B. Janzen detailing the event.

The meeting was attended by four ACCC bishops, including Bishop Peter Wilkinson, the communion’s Metropolitan and Ordinary. Archbishop John Hepworth, the Australia-based Primate of the Traditional Anglican Communion (TAC), was also present.

The discussion included the House of Clergy and the House of Laity and focused on the implementation of a proposed Canadian Anglican Catholic Ordinariate under the Apostolic Constitution “Anglicanorum Coetibus.”

Support for the Ordinariate was unanimous in the House of Clergy and received 25 of 30 votes from lay delegates, with two members opposing the proposal and three abstaining.

The synod then passed a resolution enabling Bishop Wilkinson, with the advice and consent of the Provincial Council, to enact the necessary canonical ordinances and rules to establish the Ordinariate.