c. 1997 Religion News Service
Vatican newspaper urges respect for gays
(RNS) The Vatican’s semi-official newspaper Wednesday (April 23), underscoring the church’s complex _ and to some, ambiguous _ stance on homosexuality, called on Roman Catholics to be more compassionate and accepting of gays while stressing the church’s belief that homosexuals must abstain from any sexual activity.
The article in L’Osservatore Romano said gays can be”sanctified and holy”if they follow the church’s rules about sexual activity. It said gays should have a full role in the church and should be able to participate in the sacraments _ if they remain chaste.”God loves all of us as we are, with our limits, our peculiarities, which can become paths to holiness,”said the article, written by Jean-Louris Brugues, a member of the church’s International Theological Commission.
Its tone was more compassionate and accepting of homosexuals than past teachings of the church, according to news reports.
It said gays _ like heterosexuals _ are called to use their gifts to serve others and to build up the kingdom of God.
Brugues called for the”acceptance of people in their diversity,”and asked priests not to show”contempt”for homosexuals but to treat them as they would other Christians.”Every human being without exception is called with his whole being to salvation, not despite of but because of the particular nature of how a personality develops,”the article said.
Arci Gay, Italy’s largest gay rights group, praised the Vatican for drawing attention to gay rights in the church, but criticized its stance against homosexual practices, calling it”heartless and cruel.”
Update: Seminary trustees change minds, keep music school open
(RNS) Trustees of Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary have changed their minds about closing the Southern Baptist seminary’s financially troubled music school after two music faculty members resigned in hopes of keeping the school open.
The new decision, which includes restructuring the Dixon School of Church Music to make it”financially viable,”came after Craig and Beth Singleton voluntarily resigned as church music faculty members.”Such a turn of events has obvious impact on the long-term financial concerns of the music school and warranted reconsideration of the matter by our board,”said William O.”Bill”Crews, president of the seminary in Mill Valley, Calif.”We want to honor the steps initiated by our faculty as they seek the best interest of the seminary and the benefit of the churches.” The Singletons, whose resignations are effective July 31, chose not to make a public statement about their actions, reported Baptist Press, the official news service of the Southern Baptist Convention.
The trustees were polled by telephone about their new decision during the April 18 weekend. They had voted April 8 to close the school because of a”financial emergency.”
Two book distributors consider merger
(RNS) Ingram Christian Resources, a division of Ingram Book Group, plans to acquire Spring Arbor Distribution Co., a major wholesaler of Christian books and related products.
Ingram, one of the largest book distributors in the country, and Spring Arbor have reached an agreement in principle, reported Publishers Weekly.
Founded in 1978, Spring Arbor has annual sales of more than $220 million in books, music, Bibles and other products. It is based in Belleville, Mich.
The two companies are waiting for federal government approval of the merger before they disclose more information about the proposed acquisition. The transaction, if approved, would fit into Ingram’s recent targeting of the religious book market as a major growth area for the company, which is based in La Vergne, Tenn.
In a recent statement about their merger discussions, Thomas B. Murphy, board chairman of Spring Arbor, and John R. Ingram, board chairman of Ingram Book Group, described their talks as”substantive and mutually positive.”They also said that usual business operations would continue at each company while their discussions continue.
Sri Lanka appeals for preservation of Buddha statues
(RNS) Sri Lanka has asked the world community to back its request that Afghanistan preserve two fourth-century statues of Buddha the Taliban Islamic government says it plans to demolish.
The government said it would destroy the two statues, one of them the tallest standing Buddha in the world,”because Islam has forbidden statues.” A Taliban commander of the purist Islamic militia announced that the army would destroy the statues if it captured the central Bamyan province, now under control of the opposition Shiite Muslim faction of Hezb-i-Wahdat.
About 3,500 Taliban, members of the Sunni sect of Islam, have gathered in a valley near Bamyan to prepare to capture the province.
Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar and Minister for Religious and Cultural Affairs Lakshman Jayakody met with representatives of more than a dozen Islamic nations to ask them to cooperate in preserving the statues, Reuters reported.”With great respect and humility and with limited knowledge of the teachings of Islam, I do not think it could possibly be that Islam would encourage the destruction of objects held sacred by other faiths,”Kadirgamar said.
Kadirgamar said the predominantly Buddhist Sri Lanka would view the destruction of the statues as a calamity.
The United Nations has told Taliban not to destroy the statues, citing a U.N. resolution passed last year calling for the preservation of monuments and culture in war-torn Afghanistan.
Update: Massacres continue in Algeria
(RNS) Muslim rebels continued a killing spree in Algeria, hacking to death 42 people overnight Tuesday (April 22). It was the second massacre within 24 hours. Algerian newspapers reported the latest slaughter of villagers, including 17 women and three babies, by men using axes and swords.”This barbarity is condemned by all religions, laws and morals of humanity,”said the National Liberation Front, the former ruling party in Algeria.
Government officials blamed Islamic radicals for the deaths but no group has taken responsibility.
The massacre occurred in Omaria, a village south of Algiers. The number of people killed in recent weeks is 300.
In the latest incident, attackers cut villagers’ throats and left 42 dead and 25 injured. Just a day before, Muslim rebels killed 93 people, including 43 women and girls, in a nearby village.”It’s hard to remember a more vicious terrorist insurgency than this one, a more cynical group than these Islamic terrorists and they deserve special criticism and condemnation by the world community for these despicable acts,”U.S. State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns said.
The Associated Press reported the Vatican and other governments have also condemned the actions of the rebel group.
Some see the massacres as an attempt to destabilize the country in the weeks before upcoming legislative elections, scheduled for June 5.
The conflict began in 1992 when government officials canceled an election that the now-banned Islamic Salvation Front, a Muslim fundamentalist party, was about to win. About 60,000 people have been killed in the ongoing struggle.
Quote of the day: The Rev. Juan Julio Wicht, freed Peruvian hostage
(RNS) The Rev. Juan Julio Wicht, a Jesuit priest, was among the 71 hostages freed by a Peruvian military assault Tuesday (April 22), ending a 126-day siege by Marxist guerrillas. In an interview with Reuters, Wicht spoke of the raid:”This armed attack was practically inevitable but it is not the answer. Peace doesn’t come through bullets, we must learn this.”
MJP END RNS
