Posts Tagged ‘clerics’
Christianity in action — Priests brawl over turf in Bethlehem
Scuffles have broken out between rival groups of Greek Orthodox and Armenian clerics over a turf war in Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity.
Bemused tourists looked on as about 100 priests fought with brooms while cleaning the church in preparation for Orthodox Christmas, on 7 January.
Palestinian police armed with batons and shields broke up the clashes.
Groups of priests have clashed before in the church, built on the spot where Christians believe Jesus was born.
“It was a trivial problem that… occurs every year,” Bethlehem police Lt-Col Khaled al-Tamimi told Reuters. “No one was arrested because all those involved were men of God,” he said…
The 1,700-year-old church, one of the holiest sites in Christianity, is in a bad state of repair, largely because the priests cannot agree on who should pay for its upkeep.
Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built on the site where many Christians believe Jesus was crucified, has also seen similar incidents.
Anyone surprised that money is the root of battles between these churches. Another primo reason for skirmishes like this is who gets the juiciest spots to sell souvenirs to tourists.
No one is ever startled by an atheist like me posting about an event like this, I guess. But, please, remember as I do – there are individuals stuck into religion who still try to live up to the best standards of humanity. I always recall Rev. McLean who left our family’s church to work for the UN in the 3rd World – or the cynical and humorous priest I shared a cell with one Chicago night after battling coppers over our right to protest on behalf of civil rights.
After a great discussion of the origins of Christianity – he explained why he wore a fedora hat. Though already out of fashion in the 1960′s, he figured it made him look more like Bing Crosby and therefore less likely to be beaten by the defenders of law and order. 
Being in love gets couple executed
A Taliban firing squad killed a young couple in southwestern Afghanistan for trying to elope, shooting them with AK-47s in front of a crowd in a lawless, militant-controlled region, officials said Tuesday.
The woman, 19-year-old Gul Pecha, and the man, 21-year-old Abdul Aziz, were accused by the militants of immoral acts, and a council of conservative clerics decided that the two should be killed, officials said.
The two had hoped to travel to Iran, which borders their home province of Nimroz, but their parents sent villagers to bring them home, said Sadiq Chakhansori, the chief of the provincial council. Once back home, the pair was either turned over to the Taliban by their parents or the militants took them by force, the officials said, providing slightly varying accounts….
In remote and dangerous regions of Afghanistan, Taliban fighters operate what are sometimes referred to as shadow governments, where militant leaders serve as government officials and run their own police units and pseudo court systems.
What can you say? There’s no end to such stories. But the victims deserve to have their story shouted from the rooftops.
