*Tato a další zprávy jsou (pouze v aktuální den) v originální anglické verzi zde.

An appeals court in Ontario ruled Tuesday, June 10, that Canada's ban on homosexual marriage was unconstitutional, and hours later two Canadian men tied the knot in the country's first legal same-sex wedding. Michael Leshner and Michael Stark wed Tuesday in a civil ceremony observed by Leshner's 90-year-old mother and about 50 friends and observers. They have been partners for 22 years. An Ontario appeals panel declared Tuesday that the legal definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman invalid and ordered Toronto's city clerk to issue marriage licenses to the homosexual couples involved in the case.

This was the latest in a series of court rulings against the federal ban, increasing pressure on Prime Minister Jean Chretien's government to change the law or let the ruling stand. The government can appeal Tuesday's decision to Canada's Supreme Court, an option Chretien said the government would have to study further before deciding. The appeals court set a deadline of July 12, 2004, saying that otherwise, it would rewrite the legal definition of marriage to read the "lawful union of two persons to the exclusion of all others."

The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC) is "deeply concerned and disappointed" with the court's decision. "Nowhere else in the world has a court ruled the heterosexual definition of marriage violates human rights," said EFC President Bruce Clemenger. "It is not an appropriate use of the Charter to redefine pre-existing social, cultural and religious institutions. . . . This change in the common law is not an incremental step." The court's decision could have a negative impact on churches and religious communities that refuse to accept the legitimacy of same-sex marriage, he said. (Associated Press/EFC)

AMERICAN MISSIONARY DOCTOR TO GHANA DIES IN CAR ACCIDENT

Janette Shackles, a Southern Baptist missionary physician in Ghana, was killed Monday, June 9, in an automobile accident. She was 47. Shackles, who was appointed by the International Mission Board in November 2001, died while she was traveling from the capital, Accra, back to Nalerigu, where she served at Baptist Medical Center and worked among the Mamprusi people. A native of Austin, Texas, Shackles worked as a staff physician and medical director at the Maniilaq Health Center in Kotzebue, Alaska, prior to her missionary appointment. She was a graduate of Colorado State University in Fort Collins and Howard University in Washington, D.C. Shackles worked as a family practice resident at Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland, Ore. (Baptist Press)

SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS CHEER AS CHURCH BUILDING IN EGYPT COLLAPSES

Normally the collapse of a church structure is, at the least, a headache for church administrators, but for Seventh-day Adventists in the northern Egyptian town of Dahasa, a building collapse may speed a new church's opening. "God knows everything ahead of time, and He arranges our affairs so that we may continue our work and life without too many difficulties," said Peter Zarka, leader of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Egypt. In late 2002 Zarka and ministerial leader Peter Roennfeldt worked on a plan to replant the Dahasa church in upper Egypt and to transfer from a fragile mud-brick building to a better, more permanent structure in a Coptic Christian community. However, the application process has been stalled for six months. "Last week the local pastor called to report that the community was starting to build a new mosque next to our old church building," Zarka says. The builders dug a 10-foot-deep hole for the foundation, causing the nearby church structure to collapse. While church leaders in Dahasa weren't literally cheering when the building fell, they say it could speed up the application process so they can move to a better, more permanent facility. Meanwhile, church members will meet in private homes. (Adventist News Network)

BAPTIST MISSION ELIMINATES 61 STAFF POSITIONS AS CUTBACKS DEEPEN

A shortfall in contributions has prompted the Southern Baptist International Mission Board (IMB) to lay off 37 home office staff members and cut 61 positions a week after the agency said it was limiting the number of new missionaries it would send overseas. IMB spokesman Mark Kelly calls this a difficult time for the staff. "It's painful to be reducing staff and holding back missionaries when there are so many missions opportunities around the world -- doors that have opened that a few years ago we never would have dreamed." Both management and support positions were affected by the reduction. The layoffs came a week after IMB leaders announced limits on the number of new workers who will be sent overseas in 2003 and 2004. Both steps were taken after the 2002 Lottie Moon Christmas Offering fell almost $10 million short of its $125-million goal, complicating a financial situation already stressed by declining investment income and a rapidly increasing missionary force. "The decisions to reduce staff and hold back new missionaries were extremely difficult to make," said IMB President Jerry Rankin. "This has been a painful process, and every effort had been made to minimize the impact of budget reductions." In addition to reducing staff, IMB will discontinue its flagship magazine, The Commission, but will continue to publish an online version of the magazine. In each of the past two years, IMB sent out more than 1,000 new missionaries. The board supports 5,545 workers serving among 1,497 people groups worldwide. (Mission Network News/Baptist Press)

UNCERTAINTY IN IRAQ OPENS UNPRECEDENTED MINISTRY OPPORTUNITIES

While the death toll among American troops and Iraqi citizens continues to rise, Jerry Dykstra of Open Doors Ministries says the situation remains tense for believers in the country. "Right now a lot of really strange things are going on there with people being killed. It's a dangerous place to be. A lot of people are holed up in their homes." But Dykstra says the roughly 500,000 Christians in Iraq see this uncertain time as an opportunity to demonstrate their faith. "Pray for a wise administration," he says. "Pray for those that are in charge of rebuilding Iraq and safety for visiting Christians who are there to encourage the Iraq believers. Pray that the Iraqi Christians would see hope and not be depressed." Dykstra says believers in Iraq are concerned that the future government will be inclined to maintain persecution against them as it was under Saddam. Hussein. Open Doors continues to provide Christian literature and training for Iraqi believers. (Mission Network News)

ARGENTINE MINISTRY WORKS TO EVANGELIZE NEGLECTED WICHI TRIBE

The Wichis, a people group overwhelmed by poverty and immorality, are now having their spiritual and physical needs addressed by an Argentine ministry. Long neglected by the government, the plight of this isolated tribe in northern Argentina touched missionary Rino Bello's heart. He and his staff began bringing the gospel to the Wichis in 1991. The Wichis have few employment skills and are treated as outcasts by the nation's leaders. They lack proper drinking water, electricity, medical care and education. The mortality rate is abnormally high, especially among children. Bello also reports that a moral vacuum in Wichi society has led to promiscuity and violence. Girls as young as 12 are raped, often by family members, and become pregnant. Missionaries provide hope by helping meet the Wichis' material needs, providing vocational training and tools, potable water, student scholarships, first aid, house repairs, electricity and food. Proper hygiene and childcare are also emphasized. Already Bello's ministry has reaped a great harvest. Of the approximately 10,000 Wichis among whom he works, 3,500 have made a decision to follow Christ, 45 worshiping communities have been formed, and 19 church leaders have been trained. The need remains great, however as the Wichis continue to face poverty and disease. Three young children, still practicing antiquated rituals of their forefathers, recently wandered into the jungle and ate a strange root. They died of poisoning soon after. Another 10-year-old girl died in a car on the way to the hospital to have her baby. She had been raped. (Missions Insider)

* ALAS, HCJB World Radio's Latin American satellite radio network, provides Christian Spanish programming to more than 100 outlets in 18 countries. These include radio outlets in three cities of Argentina: Buenos Aires, Córdoba and Jujuy.

© Copyright 2003 - HCJB World Radio - Colorado Springs, CO USA - btc@hcjb.org