World Scene from May 15, 1987

GREECE

Church Versus State

The Greek Parliament last month adopted legislation enabling the government to take over huge estates held by the Greek Orthodox Church.

The law will allow Greece’s Socialist government to strip nearly all of the church’s monasteries and convents of some 370,000 acres of forest and agricultural land. The government would transfer the land, valued at $192 million, to agricultural cooperatives. In addition, the law gives nonclerics control of church councils and committees responsible for the administration of such church investments as hotels and marble quarries.

Leaders in the Greek Orthodox Church vowed to fight the legislation, with bishops saying they would boycott any reorganized church administrative committees. Priests joined more than 50,000 demonstrators outside Parliament, waving crucifixes and chanting, “Hands off the church.” Meanwhile, World Council of Churches general secretary Emilio Castro called on the Greek government to suspend the legislation.

SOVIET UNION

No Glasnost To Homosexuals

A Communist party youth league newspaper reports homosexuality is on the increase in the Soviet Union. The newspaper, Moskovsky Komsomolets, gave no estimate of the number of homosexuals in the USSR.

The article about homosexuality is unusual for an official Soviet publication. The Associated Press said the report could be an example of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev’s policy of glasnost, or openness, concerning social problems.

The article says homosexuality should continue to be treated as a crime and that law enforcement agencies should be more diligent in patroling areas where homosexuals gather. The newspaper said homosexuality can be eradicated with proper education and upbringing. “… This [condition] can be treated by the same methods as alcoholism is treated,” the article stated. The newspaper warned that various diseases, including Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, are spread through homosexual contact.

In the Moskovsky Komsomolets article, sexual psychology specialist Vyacheslav Maslov attributed the spread of homosexuality in the Soviet Union to the breakdown of the traditional family structure.

SOUTH AFRICA

Surrogate Grandmother

A South African grandmother is pregnant with her daughter’s triplets. Pat Anthony, 48, could become the first surrogate mother to give birth to her own grandchildren.

Four eggs were taken from her daughter’s ovaries, fertilized with her son-in-law’s sperm, and implanted in Anthony’s womb. Three of those eggs are developing. The daughter, Karen Ferreira-Jorge, was unable to bear the children.

Because South African law does not address surrogate motherhood, a legal expert said Ferreira-Jorge might have to go through legal proceedings to adopt the triplets. “South African law doesn’t have a definition of a mother,” said Louise Tager, a law professor at the University of the Witwatersrand. “We all thought we knew who a mother was.”

Spokesmen for South Africa’s Methodist and Dutch Reformed churches said their denominations had not studied the issue. But they said their churches probably would not approve of surrogate motherhood.

EAST GERMANY

Opposing Abortion

A Protestant church journal in East Germany has criticized the increase in the number of abortions performed in that country, totaling nearly 90,000 last year.

Glaube und Heimat reports that counseling, which according to law should be made available to all women seeking abortions, is rarely available. The newspaper claims that “an abortion has already been decided upon from the first telephone contact with the gynecologist.” Glaube und Heimat reports a more intense discussion among East German Christians of all confessions on the issue of abortion.

When East Germany legalized abortion in 1972, Catholic as well as Protestant bishops issued statements opposing the law. East German women can obtain abortions for any reason up to the end of the third month of pregnancy. Beyond that point, abortions are permitted only when complications arise, such as when the mother’s health would be endangered by giving birth.

EUROPE

Clean Needles For Addicts

At least five European countries are providing hypodermic needles to drug addicts in an attempt to stem the spread of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). The disease can be spread when a drug user shares a needle with a person infected with the AIDS virus.

A program allowing addicts to exchange used needles for clean syringes began two years ago in the Netherlands. More recently, other European countries have begun similar programs.

In France, where an estimated 30 percent of the drug addicts are AIDS carriers, syringes can be exchanged at no charge in drug stores. Britain has decided to go ahead with a pilot program allowing the exchange of syringes at as many as 12 locations, where addicts will also receive counseling.

Late last year, Switzerland began allowing pharmacies to sell syringes to anyone who asked for them. Gonzague Kistler, chief medical officer of Zurich, Switzerland, opposes the new policy. He argues there is little proof that distributing syringes will slow the spread of AIDS. “… To give out freely an instrument absolutely necessary for suicidal behavior [drug abuse] poses ethical problems,” he said, “especially when you know the effect is rather questionable.”

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