CP Year in Review: A Look Back at 2005
In a year marked by battles against nature, battles within the Church, battles against poverty, battles in the courts, and battles for life were signs of hopeful beginnings, new resolutions, and greater unity.
The year 2005 was one marked by battles – battles against nature, battles against disease, battles in the Middle East, battles within the Church, battles against poverty, battles in the courts, and battles for life. But amid those battles were signs of hopeful beginnings, new resolutions, and greater unity. The following is the list of top ten events of 2005, whose battle cries were heard in the Church, in the Nation, and in the World.
1. Monumental Relief Efforts
The world witnessed a slew of natural disasters strike across the globe in 2005, claiming hundreds of thousands of lives and affecting millions.
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The South Asian tsunami that struck the day after Christmas in 2004 led to the loss of more than 300,000 human lives and prompted the largest relief effort in recorded history. Eight months later, Hurricane Katrina engulfed U.S. coastlines in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, claiming over 1,300 lives and leaving thousands still displaced. And in early October, a 7.6 earthquake shook portions of Pakistan, Afghanistan and northern India, leveling entire towns, killing some 87,000 people and leaving over 3 million homeless.
In response to the desperate calls for help, Christian relief organizations – many having branch offices in the surrounding vicinities of the affected areas – quickly mobilized.
World Vision, The Salvation Army, Christian Aid, World Concern, Medical Assistance Programs International, Food for the Hungry, Action by Churches Together and its partners, Christian Reformed World Relief Committee, and the United Methodist Committee on Relief were among the Christian groups mobilizing efforts to help victims of the earthquake in Pakistan.
In the South Asia quake-tsunami relief efforts, Christian organizations played a large part, with World Vision ranked highest for aid in Indonesia and India, according to a survey of aid recipients conducted by the Fritz Institute.
Other Christian groups working in tsunami devastated areas included Church World Service (CWS), Food for the Hungry, Habitat for Humanity International, Lutheran World Relief, MAP International, The Salvation Army, and World Relief among others.
The Salvation Army received over $24 million in donations for its relief work, Habitat for Humanity received nearly $44 million, and World Vision had over $63 million.
In the United States, the hurricane relief effort is anticipated to be the largest response in the nation’s recent history, possibly surpassing that of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Churches and relief organizations have kept the support flowing to the Gulf States with more than $2.73 billion to date while state officials plea for more federal aid to get the ravaged cities back on their feet.
Just over three months after the first storm hit, the donations directed to the victims of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma had nearly reached the total sum of $2.8 billion contributed after the attacks in 2001.
Among the relief agencies and non profit organizations, the American Red Cross received the largest share of donations of 67 percent for the Gulf Coast region. Second on the list was The Salvation Army which raised more than $295 million, and following the Christian organization was Catholic Charities with a total collection of $132.9 million.
2. Greater Focus on Global Problems
Global problems stepped closer toward the spotlight in 2005 as evangelical Christians, who in past years were largely absent in some areas of social concern, engaged themselves more with the world’s ongoing struggles. From the human rights violations in North Korea to the battle against the HIV/AIDS pandemic, greater attention was given and symbiotic partnerships were formed to bring about solutions.
A global health summit hosted by TIME magazine and featuring Microsoft's Bill Gates and Saddleback Church's Rick Warren as speakers convened leaders in medicine, government, business, public policy and the arts to inform and engage Americans from all sectors on the international challenges to public health and what they can do to help.
In September, leaders representing some of the largest Christian bodies in the world joined to say that the Church should engage in partnerships with governments in the fight against poverty as political leaders met at the U.N. World Summit in New York to consider measures to halve poverty by 2015. U.N. efforts to reduce poverty worldwide had found a receptive audience among Christian churches and organizations.
Earlier in July, religious leaders joined hands with musicians and humanitarian activists in the Make Poverty History rally, which formed a walking band of white around the heart of Scotland’s capital. The campaign was organized and supported by dozens of groups that have rallied for African aid and relief for decades, including a host of churches and church-related organizations. The 3-million-member Micah Challenge, a joint effort by the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) and the Micah Network, was just one of the major international anti-poverty groups backing the campaign. Over 200,000 protesters in Scotland and a million spectators at concerts worldwide called for an end to extreme poverty ahead of the G8 summit in July, which concluded with world leaders adopting a $50 billion African aid plan and pledging $3 billion to facilitate peace talks between Israel and Palestine, as part of a longstanding effort to eliminate extreme poverty and quell the rise of terrorism worldwide.
Greater commitments to the battle against HIV/AIDS also marked the year as Christian leaders called upon the Church to move aggressively to engage in the battle against the pandemic and for societal institutions to become alert to the unique role Christians can play in the effort.
Church leaders from around the world gathered with those living with HIV/AIDS, political leaders, and world-renowned AIDS experts at Saddleback Church’s “Disturbing Voices” Conference to address the AIDS/HIV pandemic through a practical mobilization of the greatest network in the world – local churches. The impact of the Church was more recognized by governments in several nations this year, resulting in closer cooperation between the two.
The fight for human rights also took center stage in 2005, as nearly 1,000 human rights and Christian activists, politicians, and North Korean defectors gathered in Seoul in December to highlight the ongoing human rights abuses in North Korea and to shed light on South Korea’s reluctance to take a firm stance in addressing the issue.
The three-day “Seoul Summit: promoting human rights in North Korea” was the first of its kind in the South Korean capital, and was backed by over 40 national and international human rights organizations.
More concern was also shown this year in nations such as Niger, Uganda, and Sudan, where millions of people suffer from the result of famine, armed conflict, and civil war.
The United Nations announced its plan to increase its presence and programs in northern Uganda in the New Year to address the long-standing crisis involving the suffering of millions of people. Labeled as the longest ignored crisis in the world, the armed conflict in Uganda has kept tens of thousands of children vulnerable to abduction by the Lord's Resistance Army.
The children of Niger, meanwhile, still face high levels of malnutrition despite international aid efforts earlier in 2005 that saved 90 percent of the more than 300,000 children treated. Niger suffered from a severe food crisis in 2005, caused by an accumulation of several factors – poor rains, locust invasions that decimated crops, and rising food prices that put available food out of reach for the most impoverished. In December, Lutheran World Relief received more than a half million dollars from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help nomadic communities in Niger avoid food crisis through new, innovative approaches to improve pastoralists’ food security. With a 30-year history of development work in Niger, LWR is one of two members of Action by Churches Together (ACT) implementing the global alliance’s appeal in response to the crisis. Swiss Interchurch Aid (HEKS) is the other.
And though efforts by both international social bodies as well as Christian organizations have not been able to end the conflict between the rebel armies and the government in Sudan, international bodies such as Action by Churches Together and Caritas continue to operate in Darfur, working with Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the area providing blankets, jerry cans, cooking sets, and sleeping mats along with other needed items.
In the United States, meanwhile, top representatives of the largest mainline churches stood together against the humanitarian crises in Darfur, through a joint letter issued to members of the U.S. House of Representatives.
The Rev. Mark S. Hanson presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, stated clerk of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. general assembly; and the Rev. Peter D. Weaver, bishop and president of the Council of Bishops at the United Methodist Church; were among seven leaders who signed onto the letter urging Congress to pass the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act before the end of 2005.
3. The Effort for Church Unity, Biblical Authority
On July 4, 2005, the United Church of Christ, with 1.3 million members, became the first mainline church to adopt equal marriage rights for homosexual couples.
The issue of whether the church bless same gender relationships and whether the church should allow active homosexuals to serve as clergy was one of the most divisive topics in a number of mainline church groups in 2005. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, United Methodist Church, Presbyterian Church U.S.A. and Episcopal Church are just a few of the denominations that have been experiencing internal clashes over the biblical interpretation of homosexuality over the past decade.
Since the U.S. Episcopal Church elected and ordained a sexually active gay bishop in 2003, the Anglican Communion has been under a fury of debates and threats of schism.
Archbishop Peter Akinola, the top leader of Nigeria’s Anglican Church, in October warned that his 17.5 million members would sever their ties to the Church of England if it followed the U.S. church in condoning homosexuality. The Nigerian Archbishop has largely led the movement against the Western Anglican church’s acceptance of homosexuality in the church.
Reformed groups within the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America similarly joined forces in November to battle what they call the "liberal take-over" of a church they say has lost sound theological teaching and direction.
Traditionally, Christians either believed homosexuality is a sin or believed homosexuality – if examined closely in today’s context – is not a sin. More recently new and less direct strategies have been adopted in several denominations, which introduce a “third way” viewpoint on the sexuality debate, where churches agree that homosexuality is a sin but gives room for individuals, churches, and bodies room to dissent.
Such strategies have been introduced in the Episcopal Church U.S.A., the American Baptist Church, the United Methodist Church, the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Each of those denominations has dedicated several years to study the thorny issue of homosexuality and has affirmed that it will remain united in spite of obvious differences.
Meanwhile, as denominations worked to keep their own bodies united, more efforts to bring greater unity to the whole Body of Christ was witnessed in 2005.
In October, the two largest fellowships of Reformed churches worldwide moved one step closer to uniting under a common alliance, marking what some called a “momentous” event in ecumenical Christian history.
The executive committee of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) moved forward with a request by the Reformed Ecumenical Council (REC) to foster great cooperation and possibly start sharing projects and staff in the near future. The two organizations are the largest communions of reformed churches in the world – the REC has 10 million members in 39 churches in 25 countries while the WARC has 75 million members in 218 churches in 107 countries. The two groups have 27 common member-churches and have been in bilateral talks since 1998.
In November, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the United Methodist Church released the draft of a possible full-communion statement after years of dialogue that began nearly three decades ago. A full communion would involve: a common confessing of the Christian faith; a mutual recognition of Baptism and a sharing of the Lord's Supper, allowing for joint worship and an exchangeability of members; a mutual recognition and availability of ordained ministers to the service of all members of churches in full communion, subject only but always to the disciplinary regulations of the other churches; a common commitment to evangelism, witness, and service; a means of common decision making on critical common issues of faith and life; and a mutual lifting of any condemnations that may exist between churches. The two congregations agreed to meet and have a response filled out by Jan. 15, 2007.
The year 2005 also marked the 40th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council – the landmark gathering that helped establish the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity and the creation of several inter Catholic-denominational bodies.
Ecumenical relations between the Roman Catholic and Lutheran Church traditions in 2005 continued to show significant improvements since the historic Second Vatican Council convened in 1962. The two may center their next round of ecumenical talks on the reformation and its impact on contemporary Christianity, ahead of the upcoming 500-year anniversary of the Reformation.
In May, Anglican and Roman Catholic leaders celebrated the global launch of the joint publication on the Virgin Mary’s role in the church. The joint statement, “Mary: Grace and Hope in Christ,” essentially upholds the Catholic dogma on the Immaculate Conception – a belief that the mother of Jesus was born free of original sin – and the Ascension of Mary into heaven without dying. The 81-page booklet is the fruit of five years of ecumenical talks between the two largest Christian bodies, and represents the first joint Anglican-Catholic statement on Mary.
In November 2005, representatives of the World Council of Churches and the Roman Catholic Church also celebrated the four decades of cooperation and ecumenism during the 40-year anniversary consultation of the Joint Working Group. The Joint Working Group was established in 1965 following the close of the Second Vatican Council. While first meant as an optional gathering, the JWG proved to play a pivotal role in developing the ecumenical relationship between the two international churches.
4. Gay ''Marriage'' and Civil Unions
The issue that not only sparked divisions within the Church but also in society continued to receive greater attention and even more so as homosexual relationships were recognized and legalized by Spain, Canada, the United Kingdom, and a number of states in the United States.
Spain in June officially became the third country in the world to legalize gay “marriage” nationwide, despite adamant opposition from conservatives and clergy in the traditionally Roman Catholic nation. A controversial bill, part of the ruling Socialists’ aggressive agenda for social reform, passed the 350-seat Congress of Deputies by a vote of 187-147 and essentially gave gay couples the same benefits of traditional marriage – including the privilege to adopt children and inherit each others’ property.
In July, Canada became the fourth nation in the world to legalize homosexual marriage after years of court battles over the issue. The legislation was signed into law by Canadian Supreme Court Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin only a few hours after it had been approved by the Senate. Despite this, the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada stated that the traditional definition of marriage would continue to be the norm in its affiliate churches.
Through a new civil partnership act, which came into force on Dec. 5, 2005 but was held off due to a statutory waiting period, the United Kingdom joined the handful of countries worldwide that give official recognition to homosexual couples.
Hundreds of gay couples in Northern Ireland, Scotland, England, and Wales tied the knot under the new law allowing same-sex civil partnerships despite stern warnings from Evangelicals about the societal consequences of such unions.
Also in December, the highest court of South Africa ruled that it was unconstitutional to prevent gay people from marrying, opening the way for the predominantly-Christian country to be the first in the continent to formally accept same-sex unions.
5. Death of a Pope, Birth of a Pope
Pope John Paul II, one of the longest-serving and most traveled popes in history, died Apr. 2, 2005 at the age of 84. Millions prayed and wept at services across the globe in remembrance of the man who served as the spiritual leader for the world’s Roman Catholics for longer than all but two of his predecessors and was credited with helping bring down communism in Europe and spreading a message of peace during his frequent travels around the world.
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany, "a longtime guardian of doctrinal orthodoxy," was elected the new pope in the first conclave of the new millennium. As the 265th pontiff, self-named Pope Benedict XVI now has the difficult task of filling the void left by John Paul II and guiding the Catholic Church’s 1.1 billion followers into a new era fraught with moral dilemmas and dissension over a host of issues ranging from emptying pews to contraception and celibacy.
6. Middle East Struggles
The war in Iraq persisted with a mixture of hope, despair, and progress against a grim backdrop of attacks against civilians, officials, and U.S. and Iraqi forces. In October, nearly 10 million Iraqi voters turned out to pass a draft constitution, and turnout appeared to be even higher in December's election. The Dec. 15 parliamentary elections saw an overwhelming turnout of Iraqi voters and a relatively peaceful polling day with little reported violence. More than 70 percent of the Iraqi population, an estimated 11 million, put their votes in what would establish the first full-term parliament since the fall of Saddam Hussein.
Initial results showed the Shiite religious bloc taking the leading victory among Iraqi voters and second among expatriates in the United States, behind the Christian slate.
In Lebanon last year, Christian-dominated districts of Beirut were victims of seven bomb blasts since the killing of former anti-Syrian Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri in a car bomb in February. Officials said the most recent attack in September, near a branch of Lebanon's Byblos Bank in the area of Achrafieh in Beirut, was aimed to sow strife among people.
Also, in 2005, the heads of Israel and Palestine pledged to stop all military or violent activity, ending the longstanding deadlock between the two nations and bringing a sharp drop in bloodshed.
In August, Israel completed its pull-out from the Gaza Strip, ending a 38-year occupation of the region. And in late November, the Palestinian government celebrated the opening of the Rafah border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, marking the first time Palestinian authority controlled a border with another country.
About 30,000 pilgrims converged in Bethlehem for Christmas celebrations in 2005, about twice as many as the previous year and the highest turnout since fighting broke out over five years ago. Although the Christmas crowd was still only a fraction of the peak years in the mid-1990s, the influx of tourists reflected the improved security situation.
7. Battle for the Supreme Court
The battle over judicial nominees topped priorities lists of several evangelical Christian groups in 2005, when, for the first time in nearly two decades, a president was given the chance to remake the court with both a new chief and a new associate justice.
The death of Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist on Sept. 3, 2005, set off a complex game of political and legal chess for President Bush and Senate Democrats and Republicans as they faced the prospect of two confirmation battles. Earlier in the year, Sandra Day O'Connor, a critical swing vote on several hot-topic issues including abortion and church-state separation, had announced plans to retire. John Roberts, 50, initially tapped to fill O'Connor's seat, was swiftly approved to succeed Rehnquist, becoming the 17th U.S. chief justice. President Bush then nominated White House lawyer Harriet Miers to the remaining seat, but she withdrew after enduring harsh criticism from Republicans and Democrats alike. Confirmation hearings for the new nominee, Samuel Alito, are set for early 2006.
Several Christian groups expressed the need for federal judges with a conservative take on the U.S. Constitution. Throughout the year, they repeatedly emphasized that such judges would preserve the moral and religious freedoms envisioned by the nation’s founding fathers. With lifetime appointments, federal justices and judges can be expected to influence the nation’s top courts on issues such as abortion, school prayer, and religious freedom for decades.
The Christian Coalition in December unveiled its list of priorities for 2006, starting with a focus on mobilizing its base to support conservative judicial nominees including Alito.
8. Battle for Life
The Terri Schiavo case galvanized the nation as nearly 15 years of medical and legal efforts by Schiavo’s parents to keep her alive, concluded with a flurry of court cases and unsuccessful government attempts to intervene.
Schiavo’s parents continued to plead for the life of their daughter – who could not move or speak on her own – in court even after a Florida judge ordered that Schiavo’s water and feeding tube be permanently removed. She died 12 days later on Mar. 31, 2005.
Schiavo’s husband, Michael Schiavo, had opposed efforts to keep her alive, stating that his wife would have wanted her own life to end if she had been able to express it.
Schiavo’s parents maintained that as a Roman Catholic, Terri would not have wanted to violate her church’s teachings on euthanasia
Pro-life groups maintained that the result was tragic and an affront to the lives of those who are defenseless.
9. Stem Cell Research Debate
In December, President Bush signed into law a bill that would allow umbilical cords to be used for stem cell research and avoid the controversy over embryonic stem cells. The legislation drew praise from Christian bioethicists and pro-life groups that say it promotes an ethical alternative to controversy-laden embryonic stem cell research, which was dealt a major setback after a falsification scandal involving South Korean scientist Hwang Woo-Suk, whose cloning research had already been criticized as “morally reprehensible” by Christian conservatives.
Embryonic stem cell research involves the destruction of embryos, which is seen by some as the equivalent of abortion. Some scientists believe that the research has the potential to cure untreatable ailments such as diabetes, Parkinson's, and damaged spinal cords. However, since the research began in 1998, no cures have been found.
On the other hand, cord blood stem cells, along with adult stem cells, already have many applications for treating diseases in contrast with embryonic stem cell research, which has been roundly criticized by Christian bioethicists as being morally objectionable.
10. Intelligent Design Battle
The most significant trial involving evolution in nearly 20 years came to a close last month, after a federal judge ruled in December that “Intelligent Design” could not be mentioned during classes in a Pennsylvania school district. The case of Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District involved parents who sued the school board, alleging that the inclusion of the intelligent design theory as one of other alternatives to the theory of evolution was a violation of the Establishment clause.
The six-weeklong trial saw witnesses defending the school board testify that intelligent design is based only on observable evidence from nature and makes no mention of the Biblical account of creation. The theory holds that some aspects of nature are so complex that they could not have come about randomly but point to an intelligent designer. Lawyers for the parents, meanwhile, pointed to school board members that had discussed creationism during school board meetings leading up to the policy change.
