c. 1998 Religion News Service
Experts testify about religion and the public schools
(RNS) Representatives of two groups that have differing views on religion and the public schools _ the Rutherford Institute and American Atheists _ were among the experts who addressed a U.S. Commission on Civil Rights hearing on the subject Friday (Aug. 21) in Seattle.
While the Rutherford Institute discussed its concerns about religious discrimination, the American Atheists group focused on its sense that some students cannot have freedom from religion in the public-school setting.
Theo Vander Wel, an affiliate attorney with the Rutherford Institute, recounted instances of students being persecuted in Washington state for their religious beliefs, including being discriminated during”See You at the Pole”prayer events and having their religious clothing censored.”Most of the religious rights complaints I receive arise out of the public schools and I have become involved in addressing hundreds of problems that students, parents, and administrators have faced in Washington,”said Vander Wel, who represents the civil liberties group based in Charlottesville, Va.
Ellen Johnson, president of American Atheists, testified that students are often a”captive”audience when religion is addressed in public schools.
She also cited numerous instances where what she called”`blind-side’ proselytizing”occurs, including religious clubs holding meetings in more public venues, such as school lobbies and lunchrooms, than other student groups.”While there is ample provision … for the rights of religious individuals in the schools, there is nothing to provide for, or protect, atheist students in the public schools,”she testified.
The Seattle hearing was the third on the topic, following previous briefings in Washington and New York City. Barbara J. Brooks, a commission spokeswoman, said the commission is likely to submit its findings and recommendations on the matter to the president and Congress by early 1999.
Catholic religious order leaders set priorities
(RNS) The leaders of the major organizations of Roman Catholic nuns and religious order priests and brothers, meeting in Milwaukee, Wis., have reaffirmed their commitment to human rights as a top social action priority for the church’s religious orders.
The leaders, representing the Conference of Major Superiors of Men and the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, adopted a four-page plan aimed at implementing the human rights agenda, including calling their brothers and sisters in religious orders to a”conversion in their attitudes, understanding of and complicity in racism, sexism, unjust economic systems and other human rights violations.” In addition to the specific plan for implementing a human rights agenda, the more than 1,000 leaders gathered in Milwaukee for the Aug. 20-23 meeting also called for cancellation of the international debt of the world’s poorest nations and urged a moratorium on the use of the death penalty.”No one gives us human rights; they are our birthright,”said Jesuit Father James Hug and Dominican Sister Maria Riley in a joint keynote presentation to the group.”We have human rights because of our human dignity as sons and daughters of God.
In separate statements, the presidents of the two organizations also issued responses to the terrorist attack on the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania and the American retaliatory strike at targets in Sudan and Afghanistan.”We believe that the global community needs to address the increasing use of terrorism,”said Sister Mary Waskowiak of the women’s group in condemning the attack on the U.S. embassies. But she also said her group opposed the use”of retaliatory violence that only escalates the conflict and causes additional death and suffering.” Brother John Klein, president of the men’s group, criticized both the terrorist act and the U.S. retaliation.”Anyone who chooses the path of violence in such a (tightly interdependent) world sustains an enormous burden of justifying the use of violence for resolving conflict. … We must work assiduously for a world under the rule of law rooted in justice and seeking,”Klein’s statement said.
Beatification proposed for Spanish architect
(RNS) Cardinal Ricard-Maria Carles, Archbishop of Barcelona, Spain, has proposed the beatification of the Spanish architect Antonio Gaudi whose distinctive modernist works are well-known landmarks in the Catalan capital.”There are dozens of opinions about”Gaudi, the archbishop said in a letter that referred to the architect as”a genius,”Reuters reported Monday (Aug. 24).”But there are also some unknown aspects (of Gaudi’s life). One of these aspects is Gaudi’s intimate and spiritual life.” Carles said Gaudi, who spent the last 40 years of his life working on the massive but still unfinished Sagrada Familia Cathedral in Barcelona, was inspired in his work by his faith. He was killed in an accident in 1926.
The unfinished cathedral is marked by huge honeycomb towers and twisted colorful spires lauded as examples of the architect’s hatred of straight lines.
Beatification is often a first step toward eventual consideration for sainthood.
Update: Dozens more crosses placed at Auschwitz
(RNS) Even as the Polish government and the nation’s Roman Catholic Church leaders seek to resolve the issue of the placing of Christian crosses next to the Auschwitz death camp, militant Catholics placed erected dozens more of the central Christian symbol.
Most of the more than 50 crosses put up Sunday (Aug. 23) at the disputed site were about 13 feet tall, the Associated Press reported. They increased the number of crosses in the field bordering Auschwitz to well over 100.
Among those putting up crosses, according to the report, was a group that identified itself as a nationalist skinhead organization.
The cross plantings have angered Jewish groups in Poland and around the world. Jews object to any religious symbols being placed next to the camp where 1.5 million people _ 90 percent of them Jewish _ died at the hands of the Nazis.
The site also contains a much larger cross, placed there for a Mass celebrated by Pope John Paul II. It was the planned removal of the papal cross that in part sparked the present campaign by the militant Catholics.
The Polish hierarchy is scheduled to meet later this week to seek a resolution to the conflict. Last week, the government announced it was terminating the lease of the group presently holding the land but that group has promised a court challenge over legal control of the property.
Conservative Congregationalists mark 50th anniversary
(RNS) The Conservative Congregational Christian Conference celebrated its 50th anniversary at a recent convention where it also opposed assisted suicide.
The denomination was begun in 1948 by evangelical Congregational churches who were upset about the pending merger that created the liberal United Church of Christ. It now has about 40,000 members within 242 churches.
In a”Statement Regarding Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide,”the denomination maintained its belief in the sanctity of human life.”Modern society is increasingly faced with questions regarding individual autonomy in relation to both how people choose to live and how they choose to die,”the statement, released Aug. 17, reads.”We of the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference believe that God’s written Word teaches principles which provide clear guidance in making decisions about life and death.” The statement differentiated between life support and active euthanasia.”There is a profound difference between allowing a person to die comfortably without life-prolonging measures and actively causing the person’s death,”the statement continues.”Although the motive of wanting to end suffering may seem reasonable enough, the practice of active euthanasia is an irreversible decision made by fallible humans at a time of great vulnerability.” The statement concludes by encouraging the relieving of unnecessary pain through”appropriate measures”and urging church members to make their wishes known through legal documents such as living wills.
During the annual meeting, held July 27-31 in Minneapolis, attendees referred a proposed statement on racial reconciliation to a task force to develop it further for the next annual meeting. They also honored Ted Engstrom, president emeritus of World Vision U.S., a Christian relief and development agency, with the”Outstanding Layman”award for his years of service to evangelical Christians.
Quote of the day: Rev. Nathan Baxter of Washington National Cathedral
(RNS)”I feel it was an obligation to use this pulpit to speak out on this matter that relates to the soul. My feeling is people are tremendously conflicted. My sermon was an effort to clarify that we are conflicted and help us understand.” The Rev. Nathan Baxter, dean of Washington National Cathedral, quoted in USA Todays on Monday (Aug. 24), explaining why he chose to address President Clinton’s recent admission to an inappropriate relationship with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
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