c. 1997 Religion News Service

Boggs confirms discussions about Vatican post

(RNS) Former Louisiana congresswoman Lindy Boggs has confirmed she has had several discussions with the Clinton administration about becoming the next U.S. ambassador to the Vatican.

Boggs told the New Orleans Times-Picayune Saturday (April 19) that administration officials contacted her about two weeks ago. She said their continuing conversations about the job have included discussion of a possible October posting to the Vatican.”Obviously, I’m honored, and I would consider it an exciting post,”said the 81-year-old Boggs.”It would be a wonderful chance to be in Rome representing the United States _ and hopefully to be there at the turn of the century and the millennium.” The White House has declined to confirm or deny whether Boggs is being considered for the post.

Boggs said she has not been officially notified about the administration’s final decision but added she believes she is qualified to assume the position.”I’m prepared for church protocol and State Department protocol,”Boggs said.

Boggs, who is a Roman Catholic, said she would consider it a great honor to be selected. “It would be a great thrill and beautiful capstone to my life in public service,”she said.

Boggs retired from the House of Representatives in 1990 after serving nine terms. She won a special election after her husband, House Majority Leader Hale Boggs, died in a plane crash in 1972.

Last week, outspoken current Vatican Ambassador Raymond Flynn told the Associated Press the Clinton administration was”leaning heavily”toward nominating Boggs. Flynn said the White House has asked him to stay in the post at least until July.

Muslims call for tighter safety standards in Mecca

(RNS) With hundreds of pilgrims still missing following last week’s deadly fire near Mecca, U.S. Islamic leaders are urging the Saudi Arabian government to establish tougher safety standards for the annual Muslim pilgrimage to the holy city.

India’s Foreign Ministry announced Monday (April 21) that 281 Indian pilgrims are still unaccounted for after last Tuesday’s fire, which destroyed about 70,000 tents housing pilgrims outside Mecca. An exploding canister of cooking oil is believed to have started the fire.

The official death toll released by Saudi officials stands at 343, although relief workers said over the weekend the actual number has risen to more than 400.

A statement from the India Foreign Ministry said there is still no exact figure on the number of Indian pilgrims killed. More than 1,500 pilgrims were injured in the fire, including nearly 500 Indians, according to the Associated Press.

In the United States, some Islamic leaders are calling on the Saudi government to take stronger steps to ensure the safety of those who make the hajj, or holy pilgrimage to Mecca. All Muslims who are physically and financially able are required to make the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once.”Those who announce themselves as the guardians of these shrines should live up to the responsibility or give up the responsibility to another organization of Muslims,”said Dr. Maher Hathout of the Islamic Center of Southern California, speaking in Los Angeles last week at celebrations marking the Eid al-Adha, which marks the biblical patriarch Abraham’s willinging to sacrifice his son.”As much as I hate to say it, it is sloppiness and lack of awareness of safety measures that should be taken by the authorities and by the people themselves,”Hathout said, according to the Los Angeles Times.

There have been several recent tragedies associated with the hajj. In 1994, 270 worshipers were crushed to death in a Mecca cavern, and in 1990, 1,426 people died in a stampede of pilgrims.

Armey says spiritual changes have impact on his work

(RNS) House Republican Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, said both his life and his work have been profoundly changed by a spiritual awakening two years ago when he”accepted Christ for my savior.” The second highest-ranking Republican in the House of Representatives said since then he has gained confidence and become more conciliatory _ although those qualities have prompted new criticism from some conservative Republicans who see Armey’s support of GOP moderates as a sell-out.

In an interview published in USA Today Monday (April 21), Armey spoke candidly about his religious beliefs. “I accepted Christ for my savior two years ago, and my life’s been getting better ever since,”Armey said.

Armey described his religious experience as a growing awareness prompted by a sermon, rather than”a road to Damascus thing.””It was just basically getting over being stubborn and prideful and having a compulsive need to believe I was self-sufficient,”he said.

The Rev. Ken Rogers of Lewisville Bible Church, an independent evangelical church north of Dallas, preached the sermon that sparked Armey’s newfound faith. The sermon pinpointed self-sufficiency as one of the attitudes that keep people away from God.”(Armey’s) faith is sincere,”Rogers told USA Today.”(He) shows genuine signs of a new life in Christ.” Some colleagues think Armey’s newly established alliances with GOP moderates mean he has mellowed his tone too much, but Armey insists his core beliefs have not changed.”I think all of us in public life need to have a greater willingness to accept that differences of opinion are legitimate,”Armey said. “We’ve got some folks that feel like it’s got to be absolutely perfect or it can’t move forward. They lose their chance to participate in building any of the good,”he added.

Supreme Court denies appeal by convicted Branch Davidians

(RNS) The U.S. Supreme Court Monday (April 21) denied the appeal of six Branch Davidians convicted in connection with the 1993 shootout that led to a stalemate between federal officials and sect members near Waco, Texas.

The justices without comment declined to hear the appeal of four men convicted of voluntary manslaughter and using a firearm during a violent crime, and two men convicted on weapons charges in connection with the violent clash that erupted on Feb. 28, 1993, when federal agents attempted to arrest Branch Davidian leader David Koresh.

Four agents and six Branch Davidians were killed during the shootout, which led to a 51-day standoff at the compound. The stalemate ended in a fiery blaze that killed another 79 Branch Davidians, including Koresh.

Five of the six convicted Branch Davidians urged the High Court to set aside the firearms convictions because they had been acquitted of the related charge of conspiring to murder a federal officer. The sixth Branch Davidian’s appeal argued that the federal ban on possessing machine guns is unconstitutional, the Associated Press reported.

Nun killed at Auschwitz one step closer to Catholic sainthood

(RNS) A Roman Catholic nun killed at the Auschwitz concentration camp in 1942 is one step closer to sainthood after the Vatican officially recognized the miraculous healing of a young Boston girl named for her.

The Vatican announced April 8 that Pope John Paul II had recognized the recovery of 2-year-old Teresia Benedicta McCarthy in 1987 as a miracle attributable to her namesake, Sister Teresia Benedicta, a Jewish-born Polish woman who converted to Catholicism and became a nun in 1933.

Sister Teresia Benedicta, who was killed in a gas chamber at Auschwitz, was beatified by Catholic officials in 1987. In the Catholic Church, before someone can be canonized, there must be a validated miracle associated with him or her. The path to Catholic sainthood is completed with the issuing of a papal”bull,”or statement, declaring the person a saint.

According to the Associated Press, ten years ago Teresia Benedicta McCarthy swallowed a potentially fatal dose of Tylenol and was nearly in a coma. Both her liver and her kidneys had failed, and doctors were doubtful about her chances for survival.

McCarthy’s parents prayed to Sister Teresia Benedicta. They said they had been fascinated by the nun’s story and when their daughter was born just one day before the anniversary of the nun’s death, they decided to name her in the nun’s honor.

After the prayers, the young girl made a full recovery and today is a healthy adolescent. One of McCarthy’s doctors, Ronald Kleinman, testified before Vatican officials investigating the miracle.”We do our best … but when they (patients) turn around, I think you have to acknowledge that there are other forces in play there that are beyond what we’re capable of doing,”Kleinman told the Associated Press.

Wycliffe Bible Translators USA names new executive director

(RNS) The international Christian ministry Wycliffe Bible Translators has announced that Roy Peterson has been appointed executive director of its influential U.S. branch based in Huntington, Calif.

Peterson, 42, will succeed outgoing Wycliffe Bible Translators USA executive director Hyatt Moore on June 1. Wycliffe Bible Translators USA is the largest of the 19 Wycliffe branches around the world.

Peterson has been director of the Central America Branch of the Summer Institute of Linguistics, Wycliffe’s sister organization, for the past three years. He was responsible for overseeing 33 language programs in Guatemala, Honduras and Costa Rica. He first joined Wycliffe in 1986.

Peterson said he intends to maintain his predecessor’s vision for translating the Bible into 1,000 new languages.

Peterson called on members of Wycliffe USA to step up efforts to”double our strength and find the personnel needed”to reach this goal.”In the light of the task before us, by the Lord’s grace we will double our strength, deepen our quality, remain faithful to God, finish the job,”Peterson said.

Wycliffe already works in 1,053 languages worldwide and has helped translate the New Testament into 432 languages for 30 million people. Its stated mission is to give all people access to the Bible in their native languages. Of Wycliffe’s 5,400 missionaries, 3,600 are from the United States.

Quote of the day: the Rev. Ronald F. Thiemann, dean of Harvard Divinity School

(RNS) The Rev. Ronald F. Thiemann, dean of Harvard Divinity School, recently commented on religious pluralism in the Winter/Spring 1997 issue of”Religion & Values in Public Life,”published by the school. He wrote:”It is essential that pluralism (openness to the voices of others) not be confused with moral or ethical relativism (the belief that there are no definitive standards for belief or action, that moral choice is simply the expression of personal preference).”Communities of faith must come to recognize the compatibility of deep and abiding commitment to the truth claims of one’s tradition and openness to and respect for the claims of another tradition. Truth-claiming and an acceptance of pluralism are not inconsistent.”

MJP END RNS