c. 1998 Religion News Service

Clergy comment on Clinton as Starr report becomes public

(RNS) Clergy ranging from the rabbi of Monica Lewinsky’s family to the president of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops commented over the weekend on independent counsel Kenneth Starr’s report detailing sexual relations between President Clinton and the former White House intern.

Rabbi David Wolpe spoke harshly in a 20-minute sermon Saturday (Sept. 12) at Sinai Temple, a Conservative synagogue where members of Lewinsky’s family pray.

He described the president as”a brilliant, precocious, talented, remarkable child.” Through his behavior Clinton”has demeaned and cheapened his office in the scandal _ and he turned repentant when he had no choice,”Wolpe said.”Is this a surprise to anyone that powerful men and young women have affairs? I’m not condoning it. I don’t like it, but I’m not shocked.” The remarks mark the first time Wolpe had spoken from the pulpit on the Clinton sex scandal.

Meanwhile, Bishop Anthony M. Pilla, president of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, said in an interview that it is incumbent upon Clinton to give evidence that his behavior will change following his words Friday concerning his”broken spirit.””It seems almost as if this whole thing was forced, and there’s an element of trust,”said Pilla.”…People have been hurt. People have been scandalized. Saying the words is just the first step.” Meanwhile, Clinton’s own pastor, Rex Horne of Immanuel Baptist Church in Little Rock, Ark., has spoken publicly for the first time about his famous member.

In an interview on ABC News”World News Tonight,”Horne said Thursday (Sept. 10):”I was grieved about the whole thing. I definitely think what the president did and what he has admitted to is indefensible. It is inexcusable, but I do not believe it’s unforgivable.” Reporter Peggy Wehmeyer asked Horne to share his personal knowledge about the president.”I believe that there’s a real tension in his life related to faith,”Horne answered.”I believe that there are things that he wants to do and he does not do them. There are some things that he does that he doesn’t want to do. And I think that he’s at a real crossroads in his life in a lot of different ways.” In response to questions about what advice he would give the president, Horne, responded:”Just simply to make things right with God, and let everything else fall where it will.”

Atlanta and Dallas papers share top religion coverage prizes

(RNS) The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Dallas Morning News were among the top winners in awards presented Saturday (Sept. 12) by the Religion Newswriters Association for religion coverage in the secular media during 1997.

Writers from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Houston Chronicle, the (Salt Lake City) Deseret News, and the Everett (Wash.) Herald won top honors in individual achievement categories. The awards were presented in Atlanta during RNA’s annual conference.

The Atlanta and Dallas papers tied for first-place in the Harold Schachern Award competition for religion pages or sections. Third place was awarded to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

In the individual categories, Ann Rodgers-Melnick of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette won the top prize in the John Templeton Award competition for religion reporter of the year. Susan Hogan-Albach of the Minneapolis Star Tribune and Adelle M. Banks of Religion News Service finished second and third.

Richard Vara of the Houston Chronicle took the top prize in the James O. Supple Award competition for religion writer of the year. Second place was awarded to David O’Reilly of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Third place went to Carol McGraw of the Orange County (Calif.) Register.

In the George Cornell Award competition for reporters at newspapers with circulation between 50,001 and 150,000, the winner was Lois M. Collins of the (Salt Lake City) Deseret News. Laura Tutor of the Anniston, Ala., Star and Melanie Smith of the Decatur, Ala., Daily took second and third place honors.

Steve Nantz of the Everett (Wash.) Herald won top honors in the Louis Cassels Award contest for religion coverage at newspapers with circulations below 50,000.

RNA, with some 200 members, is the professional organization for journalists who cover religion at secular media.

Pakistani Shiite sentenced to death for blasphemy

(RNS) For the first time, a Muslim has been sentenced to death under Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy law _ the same law that prompted a Roman Catholic bishop to commit suicide earlier this year.

The condemned man, Ghulam Akbar Khan, is a member of Pakistan’s Shiite Muslim minority. The vast majority of Pakistanis are Sunni Muslims, who differ with Shiites over various points of Islamic doctrine dating back to the seventh century. Shiites make up about 15 percent of Pakistan’s 130 million people.

Khan was convicted of taking in vain the name of the Prophet Muhammad, Islam’s founder. The offense occurred during a scuffle with a rival Sunni Muslim, the Associated Press reported Thursday (Sept. 9). Khan may appeal his case to a higher court.

Pakistani Christians, who account for about 2 percent of Pakistan’s population, say the blasphemy law is widely misapplied by Muslims seeking to settle scores with members of the nation’s minority communities.

Dozens of Christians have been convicted under the law since it was introduced in 1985. None have been executed by the government _ they have either fled the country or their convictions were overturned on appeal _ but some have reportedly been killed by Muslim mobs.

Earlier this year, Bishop John Joseph, 65, committed suicide to protest the blasphemy law after it was imposed on a Catholic Pakistani.

Revised Conservative Jewish prayer book out in time for Rosh Hashanah

(RNS) Judaism’s Conservative movement has published a new,”gender-sensitive”prayer book in time for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, which begins at sundown Sunday (Sept. 20).

Known in Hebrew as”Siddur Sim Shalom,”the prayer book is the first revision of the Conservative liturgy in 13 years and was seven years in the works.

The new prayer book adds gender-sensitive language and the names of the biblical matriarchs _ Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah _ to the”Amidah,”the central prayer of every Jewish worship service. Previously, only the names of Judaism’s founding fathers _ Abraham, Isaac and Jacob _ were included in the Conservative version of the Amidah.

The gender-sensitive language changes include largely replacing the pronoun”He,”when referring to God, with”God”or”Adonai,”Hebrew for God.

Because”He”was left in the liturgy when it was deemed consistent with”literary and traditional criteria,”Rabbi Leonard Cahan, who chaired the revision committee, said the new prayer book is best described as”gender sensitive”rather than”gender neutral.”Cahan is spiritual leader of Congregation Har Shalom in Potomac, Md.

The prayer book also differs from the earlier version by including a home ritual section, brief commentaries on the prayers included in the book and an expanded supplementary reading section. Prayers celebrating the existence of the State of Israel and marking commemoration of the Holocaust also have been added.

The revised prayer book also features larger type and increased use of transliteration. It also has been split into two volumes; one for the Sabbath and holidays, the second for weekdays. The latter has yet to be published.

The Conservative movement is Judaism’s middle-of-the road stream between more traditional Orthodox and more liberal Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism.

House passes resolution on kidnapped missionaries

(RNS) The House of Representatives has passed a resolution drawing attention to the six-year-old kidnapping of three men from the Florida-based New Tribes Mission.

Mark Rich, David Mankins and Rick Tenenoff were abducted from their homes in a Panama village on Jan. 31, 1993. Columbian revolutionaries are believed to be responsible.

The men’s fate remains unknown despite efforts by their families to learn about their whereabouts.”I have met with the families of these men and their pain will continue until some real answers about the fate of their loved ones are provided,”said Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), sponsor of the resolution and a member of the House International Relations Committee.”This resolution is the least that Congress and the president should do to find those answers.” The New Tribes Mission Resolution, passed Wednesday (Sept. 9), seeks the help of the president and other American officials in drawing attention to the situation in discussions with foreign governments, nongovernmental organizations and religious groups.”The international community should encourage any and all groups believed to have information on this case to come forward to help the families of the kidnapped missionaries,”the resolution reads.

The wives of the missing missionaries testified before the International Relations Committee in March. Former hostages Terry Anderson and Terry Waite have supported the families’ efforts to free the missionaries, whose mission agency is based in Sanford, Fla.

Quote of the day: Lynn Dyckman, Waterloo, Ontario

(RNS)”Jesus never spoke about homosexuality _ not one word. He spoke a lot about wealth. I’ve never seen a church ask the rich to sit outside the gate. I’m always asked to sit outside the gate.” _ Lynn Dyckman, a Mennonite from Waterloo, Ontario, on why she joined a protest supporting gay Mennonites at the July Conference of Mennonites in Canada meeting after the gays had been denied exhibit space inside the Starford Coliseum where the meeting was held.

IR END RNS