Kenyan church leaders call for regulations to curb disease
A REGIONAL division of the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) has called for regulations on the marketing of unhealthy food as part of efforts to tackle non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes and heart disease. In a statement, the chairman of the NCCK South Rift Region, the Pentecostal Bishop Peter Muiruri, describes NCDs as an “emerging pandemic” that is increasingly affecting young Kenyans. The pronouncement followed a two-day forum at the start of March, in which representatives of member Churches discussed the issues, and called on politicians to pay more attention to public health. Broader economic issues are highlighted in the statement, along with a call for politicians to stop early campaigning for the 2027 Kenyan and elections, and instead “focus on service delivery”, including reforms to medical provision.
Anglican Church of Canada urged to cut governance structures
“THIS is not just tweaks: this is big change,” the chair of a commission recommending changes to the governance structures of the Anglican Church of Canada said last week, as she delivered a report to the executive body of the Church’s General Synod. The Archdeacon of West Ottawa, the Ven. Monique Stone, said that the Church was about one quarter of the size it had been in 1967, but governance groups remained the same size, and she recommended that its structures be overhauled, the Anglican Journal reported this week. The general secretary of the Synod, the Ven. Alan Perry, said, however, that governance structures had shrunk since the 1960s. “They have evolved, are evolving, and will evolve,” he told the Journal.
Cuba releases prisoners in Vatican deal
AN AGREEMENT, reached in the final days of the Biden administration, for the release of political prisoners in Cuba has been completed, it was announced on Monday. When the deal was announced in January, the President of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel, said that the decision to free more than 500 demonstrators imprisoned after anti-government protests in 2021 had been made “in the spirit of” the Vatican Jubilee. As a result of the deal, Cuba was removed from the White House’s list of state sponsors of terrorism, but, within a week of Donald Trump’s return to power, the deal was rescinded. Prisoners have continued to be released, however, and, on Monday, the vice-president of the highest court in Cuba said that the process had been completed, Vatican News reports. Human-rights groups, however, have said that some of those imprisoned during the protests remain incarcerated.
RC pastoral centre bombed by Burmese military
A PASTORAL centre run by the Roman Catholic diocese of Banmaw, in Myanmar, was destroyed by the Burmese army on 3 March, the Fides news agency reports. The bombing occurred amid fighting in Kachin State between the army of the military junta, which has run Myanmar since a coup in 2021, and the Kachin Independence Army. A local priest, Fr Wilbert Mireh, told Fides that he had to travel a long distance just to report the bombing, as electricity and phones had been cut off since the summer. “Despite the suffering and harsh conditions,” he said, “our faith and spirit remain strong.” The population of Banmaw has reportedly been reduced from more than 50,000, in 2019, to about 20,000, as people flee the fighting.
University loses accreditation appeal
A HISTORICALLY Black college in North Carolina, Saint Augustine’s University, has lost an appeal to keep its accreditation over concerns about its financial viability. Saint Augustine’s is one of only two remaining historically Black colleges with roots in the Episcopal Church in the United States. It was founded by church members in 1867, and, while it now operates as an independent institution, it continues to receive financial support and guidance from the Church, the Episcopal News Service reports. Losing its accreditation would affect the university’s ability to attract students, but, having lost its appeal against the decision of its accrediting agency, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, the college is able to enter a 90-day arbitration process in an attempt to retain its status.
