c. 1997 Religion News Service
Promise Keepers sets date for”mass gathering of men”in D.C.
(RNS) Promise Keepers, the evangelical organization that gathers thousands of men in sports stadiums for rallies, has announced the date for its long-planned”mass gathering of men”in Washington, D.C.
The event, called”Stand in the Gap: A Sacred Assembly of Men,”will be held from noon to sundown Oct. 4 on the Mall between the U.S. Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial. The event’s title comes from Ezekiel 22:30, in which God says,”I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none.” Promise Keepers’ president Randy Phillips said in a statement that the event is not intended to be a political one.”We are going to demonstrate our spiritual poverty as a church before a holy God,”he said.
The event aims to include a variety of denominations, races and socio-economic groups.
In a letter to Promise Keepers’ supporters about upcoming 1997 rallies, Bill McCartney, the group’s founder, urged attendance at regional gatherings to help prepare for the Washington event.”When we gather as a multitude of godly men in Washington, D.C. _ on our knees in humility and on our feet in unity _ we must already be practicing a lifestyle of prayer, humility and repentance,”McCartney wrote.
The theme of the regional conferences is”The Making of a Godly Man.”Each program is scheduled to feature a clergy conference on Friday mornings prior to sessions on Friday evenings and Saturdays that deal with issues such as avoiding isolation, getting out of debt, and embracing reconciliation.
Here are the dates and locations for the 1997 rallies: May 2-3, Detroit and Los Angeles; May 9-10, Cincinnati; May 16-17, Houston and Tampa, Fla.; May 23-24, Chicago and Seattle; May 30-31, Birmingham and Kansas City, Mo.; June 6-7, Knoxville, Tenn.; June 13-14, Buffalo and Washington, D.C.; June 27-28, Fresno, Calif., and Miami; July 18-19, St. Louis, Mo.; July 25-26; Pittsburgh; Aug. 15-16, Minneapolis; Oct. 24-25, Irving, Texas.
Hawaii approves proposed amendment banning same-sex unions
(RNS) Hawaii’s state House approved a proposed constitutional amendment Thursday (Jan. 23) to ban same-sex marriages, an issue that has been fought in the state’s judicial system for several years.
The effort by the state legislators is a speedy attempt to undo Hawaiian court rulings, the Associated Press reported.
By a 44-7 vote, the House sent the expedited legislation to the state Senate. If approved, voters would consider the proposed amendment in November 1998.
In 1993, Hawaii’s Supreme Court ruled that denying marriage licenses to same-sex couples violates the equal protection clause of the state’s constitution. The following year, the state legislature limited marriage to couples of the opposite sex.
Last December, Circuit Judge Kevin Chang ruled that the state had failed to demonstrate a compelling reason to ban same-sex marriages. But Chang delayed his order to license such unions pending the state’s appeal to the state Supreme Court.
There are mixed opinions about whether the Senate will approve the measure. While some say it is expected to be approved, Dan Foley, an attorney who represented three same-sex couples in their lawsuit against Hawaii, said there are legal flaws in the amendment passed by the House. He thinks it is unlikely that its current language will be passed by the Senate.”They may eventually come up with a constitutional amendment, but it won’t be this one,”Foley predicted.”It was just rushed through.”
Red Cross considers armed guards to protect foreign workers
(RNS) The International Committee of the Red Cross is considering using armed guards to protect its foreign field workers after nine were killed in attacks last year.
If approved, the plan would be a major departure from the Red Cross’ long tradition of using only its neutral emblem and its impartiality to prevent attacks, the New York Times reported.
Red Cross security chief Philippe Dind said the Swiss-run relief agency is responding to the changing nature of world conflicts and the declining respect for the organization’s emblem.”We will reinforce physical, passive protection measures,”said Dind.”We wish to use armed guards in proportion to the external danger to protect our people in their residences and offices.” In 1996, nine Red Cross employees were killed in conflict zones, the most casualties sustained by the agency in its 133-year history.
In December, six medical staffers were shot to death as they slept in a hospital compound in Chechnya. Last June, three Swiss staff members were killed when they were ambushed in Burundi.
More recently, three Spanish aid workers from Doctors of the World, another international relief group, were killed Jan. 18 in what appeared to be a deliberate attack against aid agencies working in northeastern Rwanda.
Vatican makes its case against women’s ordination in one book
(RNS) The Vatican presented its most comprehensive case to date Friday (Jan. 24) on why it believes the Roman Catholic Church will never ordain women.
Top experts on the church’s doctrine announced the release of a book compiling major recent church documents on the topic and a collection of scholarly essays supporting the church’s position.
Bishop Angelo Scola, head of the Vatican’s prestigious Lateran University, called the book”an obligatory point of reference”on the issue, the Associated Press reported.”The church does not have the power to modify the practice, uninterrupted for 2,000 years, of calling only men to the ministering priesthood, in that this was wanted directly by Jesus,”Scola said at a news conference.
Jesus chose to appoint only men as the 12 apostles and the priesthood is”objectively linked to the male sex of Jesus,”he argued.
The book is part of a series of documents by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Among the documents in the book are writings by the late Cardinal Joseph L. Bernardin of Chicago, European theologians and others.
Also included in the book are: a 1976 statement by the doctrinal office on the topic; a 1994 apostolic letter by Pope John Paul II in response to the Anglican Church’s approval of the ordination of women; and a formal reiteration of the pope’s”definitive”stand on the issue by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, head of the doctrinal office.
Court in Greece bans Scientology group
(RNS) A court in Greece has ruled that an Athens-based Scientology group is illegal and must immediately disband.
Athens Judge Contantia Angelaki ruled that the Greek Center of Applied Philosophy, which is affiliated with the Church of Scientology, had obtained its license under false pretenses, according to court documents obtained Thursday (Jan. 23) by the Reuter news agency.
The center applied for an operating license as a non-profit, public interest organization. However, Angelaki said that the group’s true purpose was to make a profit from its members.
The judge said the group put people’s mental and physical health at risk, Reuter reported.
More than 96 percent of Greek citizens are (Christian) Orthodox, and the Greek Orthodox Church testified against the Scientology center in the court case.
Scientology, which was founded in 1954 by U.S. science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, has generated controversy in many places around the world.
The Paris-based International Herald-Tribune recently printed an open letter from 34 entertainment industry leaders comparing the treatment of Scientologists in Germany to the treatment of Jews by the Nazis in the 1930s. The letter called on Chancellor Helmut Kohl to stop German religious discrimination against Scientologists.
Critics who consider Scientology a cult have organized several boycotts in Germany against films and concerts starring active Scientologists.
Long-time Catholic Church leader in Peru dies
(RNS) Cardinal Juan Landazuri Ricketts, who led the Roman Catholic Church in Peru until 1988, died of cancer Jan. 17 at age 83. He had been hospitalized since Dec. 24.
Landazuri became archbishop of Lima and Primate of the Peruvian Catholic Church in 1955. A year later, he became head of the Peruvian Bishops Conference. He held both posts until his retirement in 1988.
Landazuri was a relentless advocate of worker and human rights. In particular, he vehemently opposed the disappearance of the detained and the imprisonment of the innocent by the government.
As a peacemaker, the cardinal maintained good ecumenical relationships, and firmly supported the Interconfessional Committee created by Catholic, Methodist, Lutheran, Presbyterian and Anglican churches. He is also credited with helping to avoid a schism in the Peruvian Catholic church, when in 1984 a crisis erupted over the controversial doctrine of Lima’s Gustavo Gutierrez, one of the founders of liberation theology.
Landazuri was born in southern Peru in 1913. In 1933, he joined the Franciscan order and was ordained in 1939. After studying in Rome, Landazuri was named auxiliary bishop of Lima in 1952 and archbishop in 1955.
Quote of the Day: Rex Horne, pastor of President Bill Clinton
(RNS) Rex Horne, pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church, President Clinton’s Little Rock, Ark., church, was interviewed recently by Associated Baptist Press, an independent Baptist news service. Horne said fewer than a dozen members have left his church over the controversy that has erupted in the denomination about Clinton’s Southern Baptist affiliation. Some Southern Baptists are adamantly opposed to Clinton and his policies concerning homosexuality and abortion. Said Horne:”While it would have blown a lot of churches apart, this church is as strong as ever. I’ve known churches that have lost more people over the color of the carpet.”
END RNS
