c. 1996 Religion News Service

All-white Southern Baptist church decides to keep biracial child in grave

(RNS)-The top social policy official of the Southern Baptist Convention has harshly criticized an all-white Southern Baptist church in Georgia whose leaders wanted to exhume the body of a baby from a church cemetery after learning the child was biracial.

Officials of Barnetts Creek Baptist Church in Thomasville, Ga., reversed their plan after pressure from congregants who were alerted by news media to the situation.

Nevertheless, Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Christian Life Commission, criticized the church for its original intentions.”I am confident that most Southern Baptists join me in finding the proposed actions of Barnetts Creek Church reprehensible and an embarrassment to the gospel of Christ,”Land said in a statement issued Thursday (March 28).

The leaders of Barnetts Creek Baptist Church decided that the body of Whitney Elaine Johnson could remain in the cemetery, where no blacks had been buried.”For the record, we are not going to exhume the baby,”said the Rev. Leon VanLandingham, according to Associated Press. The part-time pastor could not be reached Thursday by Religion News Service.

The baby, who was born without a completely formed skull and died 19 hours later, was buried Friday (March 22). Her mother, Jamie Wireman, 18, is white and her father, Jeffrey Johnson, 25, is black.

Sylvia Leverett, Wireman’s mother, said deacon Logan Lewis told her a church policy dating to the 1800s barred minorities from the cemetery, AP reported.”I couldn’t understand or believe somebody could do this to a child,”said Wireman, who attends the church occasionally.”It shouldn’t matter what color she is. She is a child of God.” Georgia and national Southern Baptist officials said they had no authority over Barnetts Creek because all churches in the denomination are autonomous. But they pointed out that state and national Baptist conventions passed resolutions recently condemning racism and urging racial reconciliation.

Christian groups defend American Muslim Council over terrorism charge

(RNS)-Christian groups have come to the defense of the American Muslim Council (AMC) following the Wall Street Journal’s recent publication of an op-ed column that said the council is supportive of Palestinian terrorists.

The National Conference of Catholic Bishops and the National Council of Churches, an ecumenical agency representing 32 Protestant and Orthodox denominations, were among the groups that released a statement Thursday (March 28) calling the AMC”the premier, mainstream Muslim group … representing the interests of the American Muslim community.” The statement also praised the AMC for”its consistent opposition to the use of terrorism as a solution to political conflicts.” AMC has emerged in recent months as the nation’s leading Muslim-American public policy group. Headquartered in Washington, the AMC recently coordinated receptions on Capitol Hill and at the White House held in conjunction with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The Wall Street Journal article, published March 13, was written by journalist Steve Emerson, producer of the 1994 PBS documentary”Jihad in America,”which alleged that Islamic extremist groups such as Hamas operate in the United States through various front organizations. Hamas claimed credit for the recent spate of suicide bombings in Israel that killed more than 60 people.

In his column, Emerson called the AMC”an Islamic fundamentalist group … that champions and supports Hamas”and other”Islamic terrorist groups.”Emerson said the AMC”makes excuses for Islamic terrorists”and”claim(s) anti-Muslim racism rather than acknowledging the existence of Islamic extremism”in order to”silence criticism of terrorists.” In their statement, the AMC’s Christian supporters said Emerson’s criticisms should not be allowed to undermine the AMC’s ability to express the priorities and concerns of American Muslims.”At a time when we as a nation are groping for social and moral direction, the American Muslim community, drawing on Islamic values of the sanctity of human life, importance of family, care for the poor and needy, and protection of the elderly, has much to contribute to this national debate,”the statement added.

Emerson, in an interview Thursday (March 28), said the Christian support for the AMC was”naive and tragic. They need to take a closer look at who they are dealing with,”he said.

Reform rabbis back legal recognition of same-sex marriages

(RNS)-Reform Judaism’s rabbinic organization has called for state recognition of same-sex marriages, while side-stepping the issue of whether same-sex ceremonies are religiously valid.

Meeting in Philadelphia, the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) Thursday (March 28) overwhelmingly approved by voice vote a resolution that supports”the right of gay and lesbian couples to share fully and equally in the rights of civil marriage … and oppose(s) governmental efforts to ban gay and lesbian marriage.” The resolution did not address the religious significance of same-sex marriages. It also made clear that Reform rabbis are under no obligation to perform same-sex ceremonies.

Reform Judaism, a liberal movement, claims the allegiance of about 1.4 million Jews, making it religious Judaism’s largest branch in North America. Both the CCAR and the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, the Reform movement’s synagogue umbrella groups, have long been on record in support of gay rights, and some Reform rabbis have officiated at so-called commitment ceremonies involving homosexual couples.

The Reform rabbis’ action comes at a time of when same-sex marriages have become a growing legal issue. Colorado Gov. Roy Romer recently vetoed a bill banning same-sex marriages, and Hawaii lawmakers are considering a bill that would legalize them.

The Christian Coalition has described gay marriages as”destructive, demoralizing and disruptive,”and two Orthodox Jewish groups, reacting to the Reform move, this week stated their opposition to same-sex unions.

Both the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America and Agudath Israel cited biblical injunctions against homosexuality in their statements of opposition.

Religious Judaism’s fourth major branch, the liberal and relatively small Reconstructionist movement, has sanctioned same-sex marriages since 1993. The Reconstructionists have also said that homosexual marriages have the same religious significance as do heterosexual unions.

Pope John Paul II expresses hopes for a visit to Sarajevo to preach peace

(RNS)-Pope John Paul II said Thursday (March 28) that he hopes to visit Sarajevo in the near future to preach a message of peace.”If God is willing, I hope to be able to bring this message of peace and reconciliation even to Sarajevo as soon as possible,”he told a visiting group of Bosnian mayors at the Vatican, the Reuter news agency reported.

The pontiff has made numerous appeals for peace in the former Yugoslavia during the war in the region, but had to cancel a trip to the Bosnian capital at the last minute in September 1994 for security reasons.”The wounds borne in the flesh as signs of the savage violence, the houses, buildings and even places of worship that were destroyed are proof of the hate that devastates man and nature,”he told the mayoral delegation.

The pope said the sole way the people of the former Yugoslavia can guarantee a future of peace is to seek mutual forgiveness.

Bosnia’s turbulent history has produced an ethnic and religious blend of people, including mostly Catholic Croats, Muslims, and Serbs who are predominantly Orthodox Christians.

Update: Polish company pulls plans for retail space near Auschwitz

(RNS)-A Polish retail company has abandoned plans to lease space in a shopping center near the former Nazi death camp of Auschwitz.”We intend to withdraw from the lease agreement,”Mariusz Wojdan of the Krakchemia retail company said Tuesday (March 26). The Krakchemia company had signed an agreement with the Maja company, which owns the land and started building the mini-mall in November.

Wojdan criticized media reports about the project as”much ado about nothing,”but said his company was pulling out”for social and political reasons.” Nazi death camp survivors, Jewish organizations and top Polish officials had protested the plans for the mini-mall.

It was not immediately known how the Krakchemia decision would affect the future of the center. Janusk Marszalek, a Polish entrepreneur, and Georg Schreg, a German financier, have sought to replace dilapidated warehouses with a mini-mall across from the main visitors’ center of the Auschwitz museum.

An estimated 1.5 million people were killed and cremated at Auschwitz during World War II.

Aum Shinri Kyo, doomsday cult in Japan, declared bankrupt

(RNS)-The doomsday cult that was accused in the 1995 nerve gas attack on Tokyo’s subways was declared bankrupt Thursday (March 28).

The Tokyo District Court determined that Aum Shinri Kyo (Supreme Truth) has at least $230 million in debts and $223 million in assets, the Associated Press reported.

Founder Shoko Asahara and dozens of cult members have been arrested in connection with the gas attack. Twelve people died and thousands more were sickened.

Asahara, who is accused of masterminding the attack, is scheduled to go on trial April 24.

Quote of the Day: Marv Knox, associate editor of the Baptist Standard

(RNS)-Marv Knox, associate editor of the Baptist Standard, the Southern Baptist newspaper in Texas, spoke about the rising political involvement of conservative Christians at a recent Baptist ethics conference. He noted that 20 years ago, progressives were more likely to be politically involved than conservatives, but now, conservative ministers are more apt to be politically active. He offered this tongue-in-cheek assessment:”Many conservative Christians think America is going to hell in a big yellow school bus driven by a Democratic lesbian gang member who grew up to become a school teacher who makes pornographic movies and rock music on the side.”

MJP END RNS