c. 1998 Religion News Service
Reformer picked as new Orthodox Church head in Greece
(RNS) A reformer has been chosen the new head of the Orthodox Church in Greece.
Metropolitan Christodoulos, 59, was elected archbishop of the Orthodox Church in Greece Tuesday (April 28) by the church’s top clerics. He received 49 of 76 votes cast, the Associated Press reported.
Christodoulos replaces Archbishop Seraphim, who died April 9 at age 84.
Christodoulos is considered a broadminded reformer attuned to the needs of young people in contemporary society.
Under Seraphim, who was more conservative, relations were poor between the church in Greece and the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the Istanbul-based Orthodox primate who is the symbolic head of the world’s 350-million Orthodox Christians.
Seraphim and Bartholomew differed on the latter’s attempts to mend the nearly 1,000-year-old schism with the Roman Catholic Church and over territorial matters.
In addition to facing the need to mend that rift with Bartholomew, Christodoulos _ who had been metropolitan of Dimitriados in Greece _ will have to deal with declining church participation and allegations of church fiscal mismanagement and embezzlement.
In New York, Archbishop Spyridon, who heads the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, called Christodoulos”a dynamic, devout and inspired religious leader.” Orthodoxy is the constitutionally recognized state religion in Greece, where more than 90 percent of the nation’s 10.2-million people have been baptized into the church.
Cardinal Law calls for `meaningful’ ban on human cloning
(RNS) Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston, chairman of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee for Pro-Life Activities, has asked Congress to enact a tough,”meaningful”ban on human cloning.
Law made his comments in sending each member of Congress an information packet prepared by the church addressing objections which have stymied a congressional consensus on the issue, including the ethically complex question of whether a ban would block essential medical research using human embryos, the question of what a”human embryo”is and the argument that it is not known whether the use of cloning in humans would produce an”embryo.” Law argued that the”relevant”scientific literature agrees that from the one-celled state onwards, the being produced by human fertilization or cloning is a developing human embryo.
Law said the argument that”cloning must be used to produce human embryos for destructive experiments if medical research is to advance lacks a basis in fact.”
Alabama governor apologizes for profane comments on prayer
Eds: Note language in 6th graf)
(RNS) Alabama Gov. Fob James, an outspoken advocate of fostering Christian morality in the public realm, has apologized for using profanity to describe his state’s new”moment of silence”law, which he signed but criticized for not allowing vocal prayer in public schools.
James said he mistakenly thought he was having a private discussion with state Rep. Perry Hooper Jr. when he vented his frustration over court rulings restricting the role of religion in public schools, the Washington Times reported.
He made his comments Monday (April 27) after signing the law sponsored by Hooper, a Republican from Montgomery. The law requires public-school teachers to begin each school day with a minute of quiet reflection, during which Hooper hopes students will pray.”You realize that ain’t worth the damn paper it’s written on, I guess,”James said to Hooper. Their conversation was taped by WSFA, a Montgomery television station.”We’re going to require the teachers …”Hooper started to reply.”You ain’t going to require s– until you get some relief from the U.S. Congress,”James replied.”Y’all are just going through the motions, and I’m going along with you. That’s the bad part of it.” In public comments, James had never criticized the moment-of-silence law.
The governor’s microphone was connected to television cameras at the time, but his words weren’t picked up by speakers at the bill-signing ceremony.
Robertson settles defamation lawsuits with law professors
(RNS) Regent University chancellor Pat Robertson has settled lawsuits with a group of former law professors who sued him for defamation.
Three professors had sought $10 million each in the suits, which were settled Tuesday (April 28), the second day of jury selection in the first lawsuit to go to trial.
A group of professors complained to the American Bar Association that Robertson forced out the law school’s dean Herbert Titus, in 1993. The law school, which was accredited by the ABA in 1996, was seeking accreditation at that time, the Associated Press reported.
Robertson, a religious broadcaster who hosts”The 700 Club”on the Christian Broadcasting Network, wrote a widely-circulated letter in February 1994 comparing the professors to cult leader Jim Jones and saying they were”inept as lawyers”and”not capable teachers of law.” Circuit Judge Edward Hanson Jr. said the settlement terms reached with former professor Paul Morken were confidential.
Robertson attorney Glen Huff said Regent and Robertson also settled identical suits filed by former professors Jeffrey Tuomala and Robert Bern. Huff declined to provide details of the terms.
Robertson’s letter accused the faculty members of attempting to shut down or hurt the law school at the evangelical Christian university he founded.”No rational professional person seeks to destroy the source of his own employment and career advancement,”he wrote.”Only cultists after the order of Jim Jones or the Branch Davidians do such things.” Jones’ followers poisoned themselves in a mass suicide in Guyana in 1978. The Branch Davidians, who followed their leader David Koresh, died in 1993 when their Texas compound burned down after a standoff with federal agents.
Congress passes U.N. funding bill, adds anti-abortion provision
(RNS) The Senate on Tuesday (April 28) narrowly _ 51-49 _ passed legislation authorizing the United States to pay almost $1 billion in back dues it owes the United Nations but added anti-abortion provisions almost certain to bring about a presidential veto.
Many Protestant, Catholic and Jewish religious groups, arguing the U.S. has a moral duty to pay its U.N. dues, have been lobbying for passage of a so-called”clean”bill, without amendments such as the abortion provision.
The abortion provision prohibits the United States from giving money to any non-governmental organizations involved in international population and development work who might lobby foreign governments to change their policies on abortion _ even if no U.S. money is used in the lobbying effort.
Clinton earlier had threatened to veto any bill containing such an amendment.”By including this extraneous but controversial provision relating to family planning, the Congress leaves the president no choice but to veto the bill,”White House spokesman Barry Toiv said.
Meanwhile, House leaders suggested that if Clinton wanted to get the money for the United Nations and various State Department programs he should sign the bill.
In other abortion-related developments around the nation and world:
_ The Florida state Senate on Wednesday approved legislation permitting the state to issue a specialty license plate with the slogan”Choose Life.”The measure, which waits debate in the House, was labeled a political statement on abortion, not a pro-adoption message as some supporters argued.
_ In Sacramento, Calif., Richard Andrews, former leader of a group called the Christian Coalition for Public Policy, was sentenced Tuesday to nearly seven years in prison for setting fires at seven abortion clinics in California, Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. Andrews, 60, a retired insurance executive, was also affiliated with the national anti-abortion group Operation Rescue, which uses civil disobedience in its effort to stop abortions but which has disavowed the use of violence.
_ The Christian Civic League of Maine and the Christian Coalition of Maine, who last February successfully mounted a campaign against the state’s gay rights laws are now taking aim at abortion. The two groups have launched a petition drive to put a ban on a controversial late-term abortion procedure up for a vote in a statewide referendum. The referendum language would mirror that of a proposed federal statute that has been twice vetoed by President Clinton.
_ In Wisconsin, Gov. Tommy Thompson, calling the late-term procedure”morally repugnant,”signed into law legislation outlawing the procedure in the state. Thompson said the procedure, which opponents call”partial birth abortion,”is an”ethically corrupt procedure that will not be tolerated in Wisconsin.” _ Supporters of legal abortion and family planning in Britain are joining together in the most significant attempt in 30 years to make abortions easier to obtain in Britain. the group is pushing for a change in Britain’s 1967 abortion law that would allow women abortion on request during the first three months of pregnancy.
Quote of the day: United Methodist Bishop Kenneth Carder
(RNS)”Perhaps crisis talk may be the real crisis confronting the United Methodist Church. It seems to be diverting us away from the bold and hope-filled proclamation of God’s reign of justice, compassion, generosity and joy. While we engage in crisis talk within the church, the world keeps filling with hurting, broken, starving, abused, hated, oppressed and dying people who need to hear and see a church that really believes the gospel.” _ United Methodist Bishop Kenneth Carder of Nashville responding to suggestions from some conservatives that the denomination is in a crisis over the issues involving homosexuality.
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