Cyprus Mail: Press Review in English, 98-10-15

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From: The Cyprus Mail at <http://www.cynews.com/>

Thursday, October 15, 1998

Church's prestige is destroyed

ALL of yesterday's papers led with reports about the Holy Synod's appointment of a committee of inquiry to look into the business activities of the Bishop of Limassol Chrysanthos.

This, they all claimed, was the first step towards the defrocking of the Bishop. Some papers also carried hard-hitting editorials criticising the Church's handling of the Chrysanthos affair.

Simerini in a front-page leader article accused the Church and Archbishop Chrysostomos of handling the matter wrongly and concluded: "Irrespective of the Holy Synod's decision, the substance of the issue remains. The prestige, seriousness, trustworthiness and credibility of the Church and its leaders have been dealt an irreparable blow.

"In the eyes of the citizen, the Church leadership is responsible for omissions and mistaken handlings that led matters to the point of no return. These matters, it would seem, were not discussed yesterday by the Holy Synod, which is still avoiding its responsibilities."

Alithia's editor, in his column, drew attention to the preferential treatment given by the law to the Church and members of the establishment. He wrote:

"The case of the Bishop of Limassol, as that Of the Greek Chemical Industries, confirm what I have maintained for many years: that the long arm of the law is long only for goat-thieves and chicken-thieves and turns into a crippled arm when it has to deal with members of the nomenclature and powerful establishment.

"And probably the main reason this country has earned the title of banana republic, is not the talk of scandals, but the paralysis of institutions and the law when faced with powerful vested interests... the law applies only to chicken-thieves."

Haravghi went into anti-American mode, accusing the US of always supporting Turkey, Rauf Denktash and their provocative demands. The US was promoting Turkey, together with its ally Israel, as regional policemen.

"This co-operation encouraged Turkey's bullying behaviour and threats towards Syria. The US is fast becoming the main factor of destabilisation in the wider region with Turkey used as its main enforcer," said the paper.

Machi was concerned about the statements by Turkish officials, claiming that the US did not oppose Denktash's proposal for a confederation in Cyprus.

"The political leadership, and particularly President Clerides, have an obligation to seek clear explanations from the Americans and to prevent any unpleasant developments," it said.

Phileleftheros reported that the former chairman of the Hilton Hotel, Andreas Kaisis, stuck to his story that he had been offered a bribe by the managing director of a foreign firm that ran casinos. He admitted that he had not reported the case to the police.

© Copyright Cyprus Mail 1998

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