The Olympics & Human Rights

I have always been a fan of the Olympics, especially since the 1984 Games in Los Angeles. It is such an amazing time. Attending some of the events of the 1996 Games in Atlanta, and particularly the US Women's Soccer Team beating China for the gold medal, will be etched in my memory forever.


This year's Olympics, which begin August 8th, have been clouded in environmental & political controversy. So, I was pleased to find this story from Ecumenical News International:

Hanover (ENI). A German church has far exceeded its initial
expectations in distributing more than 200 000 black bracelets intended as a
symbolic protest against human rights abuses in China during the Olympic Games
in Beijing. "It shows that people want to stand up for others and show what they
believe in," said Bishop Margot Kässmann of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of
Hanover.

Click here for the full story.

The Church doesn't take a stand enough on this like this. I applaud Bishop Kassmann for this one.