Watching the World

Homosexual Vicars

The ruling synod of the Church of England recently voted “against returning to a ‘biblical standard’ of morality” by allowing homosexual clergy members to stay in the church, reports the Daily Express of London. The decision was in response to a motion for their expulsion by Tony Higton, rector of Hawkwell, Essex. According to the paper, Higton said that “homosexuality had become ‘so rampant’ in one Anglican college that students from another theological college had to be banned from visiting.” Higton also cited cases “where clergy had been moved to other parishes after child molestation reports.” The synod, however, “did not ask for gay vicars to be expelled.” Instead, clergymen were encouraged to maintain sexual morality.

Religious Interest Declining

“Growing numbers of Canadians say they have no religious preference,” states The Toronto Star. “And fewer of those who do have a preference attend church regularly.” According to a report released by a federal agency, Statistics Canada, 10 percent of all wage earners aged 15 and older say they now have no religious preference, compared with less than 1 percent in 1961. And 21 percent of those who did claim religious affiliation admit that they never attend services or meetings of their church.

Making Cut Flowers Last

How disappointing it is when a beautiful bouquet of flowers withers and dies within a day or two! One cause for premature withering is that the stalks do not absorb the water properly because of callus, a soft tissue that forms where the stalks are cut. The French daily Le Figaro passes on the following advice offered by two French florists: “Just . . . cut a small piece off the ends of the stalks and change the water every day.” Also, they suggest that “adding just a few drops of Javelle water [a bleaching agent] can have a beneficial antiseptic effect” on the flowers.

Still Remorseful

On May 5, 1945, while on a Sunday-school picnic on Gearhart Mountain in southern Oregon, a pregnant woman and five children were killed by a Japanese balloon bomb. They were the only people to die during World War II by an attack on the continental United States. They found the shiny bomb attached to a hydrogen balloon made of rice paper, and as they gathered around it, it exploded. Although the incident took place over 42 years ago, seven Japanese women who took part in making the balloon recently sought to heal the wounds by sending letters of condolence to the families of the victims. Included as symbols of peace and healing were 1,000 folded paper cranes. “I never felt angry,” said Nyle Gifford, whose son died in the explosion. “We were Christians, and we were forgiving.”

No More!

Maria Benita Olivera, 49, a farmer’s wife of San Juan, Argentina, gave birth to her 32nd child without incident, reports the Brazilian newspaper O Estado de S.Paulo. Her first children, triplets, were born when she was just 13 years old. Later on, she had twins. Twenty-five of her children were by her first husband and seven by her second. It was her 25th birth that she remembers most. “I was working in the field, when I began to feel the birth pains,” she recalls. “I was alone. I went to a shack, the baby was born, and I cut the umbilical cord with a razor blade.” However, Maria has now decided she has had enough. On leaving the hospital on August 20, 1987, she declared: “One more and I’ll die. I’m getting old.”

First Electronic Book

An Australian company has developed the world’s first electronic book. No bigger than the average credit card, it slots into a screen unit about the size of a paperback novel. Each card can hold as much information as a small encyclopedia. Called the Smart Book, it enables readers to carry a good-sized library around in a handbag and is designed for easy use. Six buttons on the screen unit enable the user to change the type size, search for particular words, or mark his place in the text. The report in the Sydney Sun-Herald claims that the device should sharply cut costs of shipping books, help preserve the world’s dwindling forests, and “revolutionise the book trade around the world in the coming years.” The company plans to produce the Bible first, as well as a combined dictionary/​thesaurus.

Increasing Antibiotic Resistance

Disease-causing bacteria are increasingly becoming resistant to the antibiotics used to fight them, reports Insight magazine. Some 100 experts from 30 countries were involved in the 1983-86 study. They found that in a number of countries, from 20 to 30 percent “of the prevalent strains of bacteria that cause diarrhea and pneumonia are resistant to such common antibiotics as penicillin and tetracycline.” In some cases, the drug-resistant strains have been carried from one land to another. The study group recommended that physicians be advised on the minimum effective use of antibiotics and be reminded that antibiotics are not cure-alls.

No Safe Tan

“There is no such thing as a safe tan,” claims Dr. Darrell S. Rigel, of the New York University School of Medicine. Each year in the United States, more than 500,000 cases of skin cancer are reported. Of these, 90 percent are said to be caused by the sun’s invisible ultraviolet rays. The Mexico City News reports that although “people who sunburn are more likely to develop cancer, . . . sunlight damages skin even when there is no burn.” Yet, “people believe it won’t happen to them,” says Dr. Richard Odom, president of the American Academy of Dermatology. Sunscreens, such as chemical lotions with a high sun-protection-factor (S.P.F.) rating, are recommended. “You can’t undo the damage already done, but you can protect yourself against future damage,” says Dr. Rigel.

“Throwaway Society”

Statistics released by Britain’s Office of Population Censuses and Surveys reveal the growing instability of marriage. The number of first-time marriages dropped from 343,600 in 1971 to 253,000 in 1986, while divorces soared from 74,400 to 153,900. The rate of illegitimacy also increased from 1 in 18 births in 1971 to 1 in 5 in 1986. One of every 50 women aged 16 to 24 has had an abortion, and two thirds of all abortion patients are unmarried. Professor Richard Whitfield, chairman of the National Campaign for the Family, laments: “We are living in a sort of throwaway society where people’s relationships are increasingly being seen as disposable as maybe a car or household item.”

Prison Suites?

A night in an Australian jail now costs about the same as a night spent at a five-star hotel, reports The Courier-Mail, an Australian newspaper. Daily jail accommodations now cost about A$100 ($70, U.S.) and may go as high as $400 for maximum-security prisoners. Three of Melbourne’s plushest hotels have nightly rates of $110, $120, and $135. A spokesman for the Institute of Criminology said that Australia’s prison population had increased alarmingly over the past few years. He pointed out that a prisoner serving a life sentence (on average, 15 years) would cost taxpayers more than $500,000. Concern is mounting over the “five-star” prices for jail inmates.