c. 1996 Religion News Service
Bishop’s doctrine committee criticizes third edition of Catholic textbook
(RNS)-The U.S. Catholic Bishops’ doctrine committee is criticizing the latest edition of the textbook”Catholicism,”saying it could prompt dissent.
The popular textbook, by the Rev. Richard P. McBrien, is used in Catholic and Protestant educational institutions as well as in parish settings. It had previously been the subject of a review by the committee in the early 1980s and received criticism in a statement issued in July 1985.
Cincinnati Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk, acting chairman of the doctrine committee, said his group decided that the book’s third edition”had not corrected the ambiguities identified in the 1985 statement and that additional problems had been introduced into the text.” In a new review released Tuesday (April 9), the committee said the book includes misleading or inaccurate statements about the virgin birth of Jesus and the perpetual virginity of Mary. The committee also was troubled that church teachings were given the same weight as other theological opinions. Topics such as homosexuality, contraception and women’s ordination are treated as”open questions,”the review says.
The critics were most concerned about how the book would influence non-theologians.”While the book could be a helpful resource to theologians looking for a survey of opinions on some question, it might well be bewildering and unsettling for Catholics taking undergraduate courses in theology,”the review concluded.”For some readers it will give encouragement to dissent.” McBrien, a theology professor at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., said in an interview Wednesday (April 10) that the bishops’ committee has not backed up its claims that the book might cause people to become confused about Catholic tenets.”What I say to that is, where’s your evidence?”he said.”This isn’t a new product. It has been used and continues to be used at these levels for over 15 years and I can produce evidence to the contrary.” McBrien said he requested a formal process for dialogue with the bishops about their concerns and to defend his scholarly reputation, but his request was denied.
The committee emphasized that its critical review focuses on the text of the book and”raises no questions about the author’s standing as a theologian and priest.”
Female circumcision foes alarmed by Egyptian Muslim cleric’s remarks
(RNS)-Egyptian opponents to female circumcision are alarmed by a leading Muslim cleric’s pronouncement that the procedure is hygienic.
Mohammed Tantawi, the influential grand sheik of the al-Azhar mosque in Cairo, told an Arabic newspaper Tuesday (April 9),”Circumcision is cleanliness if used moderately and is useful to women as well as men.” His comments indicate that Tantawi apparently has eased his previous stance against the procedure, which critics call”genital mutilation,”the Associated Press reported.
Tantawi, one of the Muslim world’s leading religious authorities, did not call the procedure an Islamic duty, but women’s rights and human rights activists were concerned by his remarks.”I am really surprised and I hope this is not a beginning of an organized campaign to back down on what he said,”said Negad el-Borai, a leading human rights activist in Egypt.
A widespread custom in Africa, female circumcision ranges from clipping the clitoris to cutting away all the external sex organs. It is viewed as a way to prevent promiscuity because it stifles sexual desire.
An estimated 70 percent to 90 percent of Egyptian girls undergo the procedure just before puberty.
Update: Marlon Brando to make public apology for remarks
(RNS)-Marlon Brando has apologized for recent remarks he made about Jews in Hollywood that have been criticized as anti-Semitic and plans to make a public statement about the issue.
Brando called the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles and”expressed remorse,”Rabbi Marvin Hier said Tuesday (April 9), according to the Associated Press. The 72-year-old actor will”make a public statement regarding this matter”Friday (April 12) at the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s museum, Hier said.”Hollywood is run by Jews,”Brando said in an interview on CNN’s”Larry King Live.””It is owned by Jews and they should have a greater sensitivity about the issue of people who are suffering,”he said.
The star of”A Streetcar Named Desire”and”The Godfather”went on to mention various stereotypes that he said were portrayed in movies.”He told me he was an early supporter of Israel,”Hier said.”I told him, `Marlon, I never thought you were an anti-Semite, but the words you used on Larry King was music to the ears of racists and bigots all over the world.'”
Baylor University president and his wife to have the first dance
(RNS)-Baylor University, the Baptist-related school that lifted its ban on dancing in January, will hold its first official dance April 18.
President Robert Sloan and his wife, Sue, will perform the first dance, reported Associated Baptist Press, an independent Baptist news service.
The dance will be held outdoors in the center of the campus, capping a spring student holiday called”Diadeloso,”which means”Day of the Bear”in Spanish.
No alcohol will be allowed at the event, but there are no special rules concerning dress or how people should dance.”We won’t have a gyration patrol,”said Dustin Fuller, a Baylor student who is helping plan the event.
Baptists traditionally have taught that dancing is a sin, but that message is heard far less in church pulpits today. Sloan said he understands opposition to dancing, although many Baptist are no longer offended by it.”Basically, I respect deeply the values promoted by the original ban against dancing,”he said.”But it was never the genre of dancing that was criticized. It was things that were associated with dancing,”such as drinking and promiscuity, he said.
India’s Bharatiya Janata Party promises Hindu transformation if elected
(RNS)-The Bharatiya Janata Party, which supported the destruction by a Hindu mob of a mosque in Ayodhya in northern India in 1992, has released its election manifesto for upcoming national elections in India.
The party has declared that the central plan of its campaign will be to support the transformation of officially secular India into a country for Hindus. National elections begin April 27.
If elected, the party pledged to curtail foreign funding of religious and missionary organizations and make”forcible and fraudulent”conversions a”punishable offense.”Hindu-backed policies would be the”mantra”to”re-energize the Soul of India.” Other measures would include a national ban on the slaughter of cows, calves, bulls and bullocks. The slaughter of cows is banned in 9 of India’s 26 states.
The party said it also would forcibly deport illegal Muslim immigrants from Bangladesh, but grant citizenship rights to illegal Buddhist immigrants who also have flooded into India from Bangladesh.”On coming to power the BJP Government will facilitate the construction of a magnificent Rama Mandir (temple) at Ayodhya,”the manifesto promises.”This dream moves millions of people in our land, and the concept of Ram lies at the core of their consciousness.” Ram, the incarnation of the Hindu deity Vishnu, is a key figure in the Hindu epic, the Ramayana, and is especially revered by some Hindu nationalists.
Quote of the Day: Jonathan Kozol, author of”Amazing Grace: The Lives of Children and the Conscience of a Nation.” (RNS)-Writing in his book about his visits to the South Bronx to learn about spiritual life and urban America, Kozol said:”Saddened by the streets, I am repeatedly attracted into churches. I search them out, and although some of the pastors speak of politics and strategies of change, it is not their politics that I am really seeking, but their company. Many, in their conversations, cite the Gospels. When I mention I am Jewish, they have often gone out of their way to draw upon Isaiah and Ezekiel and the other prophets. Meeting these men and women is a stirring experience for me. They are among the most unselfish people I have ever known. Many really do see Jesus in the faces of the poorest people who they serve.”
MJP END RNS
