c. 1998 Religion News Service

Baptist leader pleads innocent to federal charges

(RNS) The Rev. Henry Lyons, president of the National Baptist Convention, USA, pleaded innocent Monday (July 6) to federal charges that he used his office to cheat corporations out of money to augment his lavish lifestyle.

Lyons was indicted Thursday (July 2) on 56 counts of fraud, money laundering, tax evasion and conspiracy. He remained free Monday after his lawyer presented documents showing six supporters would post property as Lyons’ $125,000 bond, the Associated Press reported.

His attorney said the St. Petersburg, Fla., pastor was not able to raise all of the bond money himself because most of his assets have been frozen by the government as part of its case against him.

Lyons, 56, faces up to life in prison and fines of $25 million if he is convicted on all charges.

About 30 members of his Bethel Metropolitan Baptist Church crammed into a small federal courtroom in Tampa to support him.

Also on Monday, codefendant Brenda Harris arrived from Tennessee, where she organized meetings for the denomination, to plead innocent to eight counts of conspiracy and fraud in connection with the allegations. She agreed to post $6,000 in a court fund toward her bond of $50,000.

Lyons, Harris and Bernice Edwards are accused of using the denomination’s name to gain money to purchase trips, cars, houses and country club memberships.

Edwards, another church official, is free on $250,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court during the week of July 13, USA Today reported.

Aid group sees North Korea food crisis easing

(RNS) North Korea’s food crisis has eased some this year as the nation has been aided by a massive influx of international food relief, according to an official from Caritas, the international Roman Catholic relief agency.

But the crisis is by no means over and the improvement should not be a signal to the international community to end food aid, said Kathi Zellweger, director of international cooperation for Caritas.”The international aid has made an impact, but we cannot stop,”Zellweger told reporters Tuesday (July 7) in Beijing after returning from a weeklong tour of North Korea.”It is very important that we continue with our aid program to give North Korea enough time to shift from disaster relief to rehabilitation and to development,”she added.

Crops in North Korea were hit by two consecutive natural disasters: flooding in 1995-96 and a devastating drought last year. Aid agencies active in the country say the nation’s food supply system has ceased functioning. It’s short-term food supply will depend on whether there is enough rainfall in July and August to ensure a good rice and corn crop.

Religious and other private aid groups, along with the United Nations and a number of governments, have been pouring aid into the country _ about 400,000 tons this year _ but it has not been enough to meet the estimated shortfall of 1.95 million tons.

Pope names new bishop for Rapid City, S.D.

(RNS) Pope John Paul II has named Monsignor Blase Cupich, a pastor in Omaha, Neb., as the new bishop of Rapid City, S.D., Archbishop Agostinio Cacciavillan, Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to the United States, announced Tuesday (July 7).

Cupich, 49, succeeds former Bishop Charles Chaput, who was named archbishop of Denver in February 1997.

Cupich, a native of Omaha, has his bachelors degree from the college of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn. He studied theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and earned a doctorate from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

He was ordained to the priesthood in 1975 and has served in various posts in the Diocese of Omaha. Between 1981 and 1987 he served on the staff of the Apostolic Nunciature in Washington.

Church of England calls for news ways of dealing with drug crimes

(RNS) The Church of England’s general synod, holding its first-ever general debate on drug issues, has called for a new way of dealing with drug-related crimes stressing detoxification and rehabilitation rather than imprisonment of criminals convicted of drug-related crimes.

Speakers at the synod, meeting in York, pointed to experiments in the United States where youthful offenders are sent before a specially trained team of magistrates who can sentence the offenders to a yearlong course of rehabilitation with monthly appearances before the court to assess progress with lapses punished by fines, community service or prison.

The synod also called for new efforts at anti-drug education.”We need to realize that for many young people, drug use is a fact of life, part of their normal recreation,”said Bishop Robert Hardy of Lincoln.”This is not to condone it, but to argue that the problem must be tackled in social, medical, and above all, educational terms.”

Quote of the Day: Country music singer Larry Gatlin

(RNS)”Turning my will over to God is a daily deal with me. When I do it early in the morning, my day is usually great. When I wait until noon or midday, my day usually stinks until I get alone somewhere with that God who did all the star-scattering and breath-giving and say, `OK, Father, forgive my arrogance. You can have your world back.'” _ Larry Gatlin, lead singer and songwriter for The Gatlin Brothers country music group, in his new book”All the Gold in California: And Other People, Places, & Things”(Thomas Nelson).

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