c. 1997 Religion News Service

Vatican urges priests to redouble efforts to halt divorce

(RNS) The Vatican, saying divorce had become a”social wound”in many countries, has asked its priests to improve pastoral efforts among people in troubled marriages and remind Catholics who remarry that they are”living in a state of sin.” While breaking no new ground, the Vatican instructions, contained in guidelines issued by the Pontifical Council on the Family, are intended to refocus attention on the growing number of Catholic marriages that end in divorce.

Divorce is not legally recognized by the church because marriage is a sacrament. According to church rules, divorced Catholics who remarry without an annulment are barred from receiving Holy Communion or giving confession. The document, released Tuesday (Feb. 25), reaffirms those requirements.

It also reiterates that remarried Catholics are living in a”state of sin”because they do not honor their original marriage vows, including their duty to be faithful to chastity.”In many countries, divorce rates have become an open wound,”the panel wrote.”The statistics indicate a continuing increase in fallen marriages.” The council cited numerous causes for what it characterized as a”worrisome”situation. Among them, it said, were lack of interest among governments to promote the stability of marriage, legislation that permits divorce, the negative influence of the mass media and inadequate Christian training.

Pope John Paul II has said that divorced Catholics”remain (church) members because they have received baptism.”He has urged compassion in helping troubled marriages.

But in keeping with the pope’s firm line against divorce, the panel said priests”must not express any sign, public or private, that could appear to be a legitimization of the new union.”

Congressman: `Schindler’s List’ shows need for new TV ratings

(RNS) The NBC broadcast of”Schindler’s List,”seen by an estimated 65 million Americans, has prompted new debate about the effectiveness of the TV industry’s new age-based rating system.

In a controversial statement released Tuesday (Feb. 25), Rep. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., criticized NBC for broadcasting the Holocaust film”on a Sunday evening during a family time.” Coburn said the movie exposed viewers to”the violence of multiple gunshot head wounds, vile language, full frontal nudity and irresponsible sexual activity.” Coburn, co-chair of the Congressional Family Caucus, said the movie’s”TV-M”rating for mature audiences did not override the”outrage”of the broadcast.”Less than two months into this new rating system, the airing of this program raises the question of the sincerity of the networks in their purported efforts to restore decency to television programming,”Coburn said.

The Republican congressman called for more effective”legislative ideas”to address sex and violence on television.

But several usual allies criticized Coburn’s comments. “To equate the nudity of the Holocaust victims in the concentration camp with any sexual connotations is outrageous and offensive,”said Sen. Alfonse D’Amato, R-N.Y., in a speech on the Senate floor.

William Bennett, also a Republican and a frequent critic of contemporary culture, called Coburn’s statement”foolish.””Coburn’s view obscures, even obliterates, the distinction between gratuitous violence and nudity _ that is violence and nudity to titillate _ and violence and human realism essential to the telling of an important story or historical truth,”Bennett told the Associated Press.

Disagreement over the effectiveness of the TV industry’s voluntary ratings system will be aired at a Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hearing scheduled for Thursday (Feb. 27). At least eight members of Congress are expected to testify against the system.

Anti-Semitic incidents reported down for 1996

(RNS) For the second straight year, 1996 saw a decline in reported instances of anti-Semitism in the United States, a report by the Anti-Defamation League said Wednesday (Feb. 26).

Abraham H. Foxman, ADL national director, said the two-year drop represents the first multi-year decline of anti-Semitic incidents in a decade.”It tells us that the combination of law enforcement action and educational outreach is an effective one-two counterpunch that is reaping results,”he said.

States with the largest Jewish populations continue to have the greatest number of anti-Semitic incidents, according to the report, which is an annual audit of such incidents that have been reported to police or the New York-based ADL.

New York had 328 reported incidents, down from 370 the previous year; New Jersey had 238, up from 228; California 186, down from 264; Florida, 123, down from 152; Massachusetts, 106, up from 85; Pennsylvania 77, up from 59; Maryland 70, up from 62; and Illinois 65, up from 53.

In all, 1,722 anti-Semitic incidents were reported by the ADL, a 7 percent decrease from the 1995 total of 1,843. More than 940 of the 1996 incidents involved harassment _ threatening statements, phone calls and hate mail _ of Jewish individuals or institutions. The remainder involved incidents of anti-Semitic vandalism, such as the defacing of synagogues.

Despite the overall decline in reported anti-Semitic incidents, Foxman said”electronic hate”on the Internet directed against Jews is a growing problem. While yet to be quantified, Foxman said”electronic hate is the dark side of technology, and anti-Semites have particularly taken to the medium.” Update: Ala. to consider allowing Commandments in courts, schools

(RNS) In the latest installment of the ongoing controversy over an Alabama judge’s refusal to remove a replica of the Ten Commandments from his courtroom, a state senator has introduced legislation that would allow all schools and courtrooms in the state to have such displays.

Democratic State Senator Roger Bedford introduced two bills Tuesday (Feb. 25) that would allow the Ten Commandments, the U.S. Constitution, and the Declaration of Independence to be displayed in schools and courtrooms across the state. Under the legislation, judges and school officials would decide whether to display one or all of the documents.

Circuit Judge Roy Moore has refused to remove a hand-carved plaque of the Ten Commandments from the front of his courtroom. Last week, the Alabama Supreme Court delayed a lower court’s order that Moore remove or change the display. The ruling is being appealed.

Moore has been supported by Alabama Gov. Fob James, who said publicly that federal authorities would have to”run over the state troopers and the National Guard”if they tried to remove the plaque.

Bedford told the Associated Press he is proposing legislation to help avoid a confrontation over the issue.”As a conservative Christian, I want to support Judge Moore. But a more appropriate thing would have been for the governor to ask for a change in the law,”he said.

The Alabama Civil Liberties Union called the bills unconstitutional and”a publicity gimmick.” A dozen Democrats are co-sponsoring Bedford’s legislation.”It seems it would give the ACLU a lot of heartburn to have a prominent Democratic senator sponsor it,”said Roy Smith, a Republican state senator.

A separate lawsuit is pending in state courts over Moore’s refusal to stop opening his court sessions with prayers by a Protestant minister. Bedford’s bills do not address the prayer issue.

Reconciliation ministry to receive peace prize

(RNS) The Niwano Peace Foundation of Japan has named the Corrymeela Community, a Northern Ireland reconciliation ministry, recipient of the 14th annual Niwano Peace Prize for promoting interreligious cooperation.

The prize recognizes the 180-member community for advancing the cause of world peace. Corrymeela, which is Gaelic for”hill of harmony,”is a community comprised of both Protestants and Catholics.

The community will receive a prize of 20 million yen _ about $170,000 _ from the Japanese foundation at an awards ceremony in May.

Corrymeela Community leader Trevor Williams said he was hesitant to receive such recognition since the group is”a very small part of those working for peace in Northern Ireland,”according to Ecumenical News International, a Geneva-based religious news agency.

Williams said that to help foster respect and trust between Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland, the Corrymeela Community has worked at the grassroots level to change attitudes and eliminate fear and prejudice.”What keeps us going is that in our experience as a community … we have glimpsed the possibility of another Northern Ireland, where the differences between us are no longer a source of threat, but a cause for celebration,”Williams said.

The Niwano Peace Foundation is affiliated with the Japanese lay Buddhist organization Rissho Kosei-kai, which has about 6.5 million members around the world.

UCC executive Valerie Russell dies

(RNS) Valerie E. Russell, executive director of the United Church of Christ (UCC) Office for Church in Society, died Sunday (Feb. 23) of an apparent heart attack while enroute from a national church meeting in Florida. She was 55.

Russell suffered the attack at an airport in Raleigh-Durham, N.C., after attending an annual meeting of UCC executives held last week in Orlando.

She assumed leadership of the UCC Office for Church in Society in 1991. Prior to that, she spent 10 years as the first female president of the 181-year-old City Mission Society in Boston.

The Rev. Paul H. Sherry, UCC president, said Russell’s leadership and passion will be missed.”She was a dear friend to us all, a visionary leader, and a passionate and eloquent advocate for justice and compassion,”he said.

The Office for Church in Society has established the”Valerie E. Russell Scholarship Fund for Young Black Women”in Russell’s memory.

Funeral services will be held Tuesday (Mar. 4) at the Pilgrim Congregational Church in Cleveland. A memorial service is planned in Boston for March 7.

Quote of the Day: Sister Wendy Beckett, British nun and TV art critic

(RNS) Sister Wendy Beckett, a Carmelite nun who hosts a popular British TV series about art, is hoping to broadcast a similar series over PBS in the United States this fall. In an interview with USA Today, she spoke of the spiritual dimension of the arts:”When I say `Look out at beauty,’ I would really like to say, `Look out at God,’ but to even say `God,’ or even `religion,’ frightens people, and I want no part of that. But if you say, `Look out at beauty, which is God, an unearthly God,’ then you can move beyond ego into this silent, eternal world of beautiful objects, sculpture and painting …”

MJP END RNS