c. 1998 Religion News Service
Update: Robertson claims `Gay Days’ comments were misrepresented
(RNS) Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson said Monday (June 15) his recent comments about”Gay Days”events in Orlando, Fla., were taken out of context, but the organization that disseminated his statements stands by their description of his remarks.”The statement I made was relatively simple,”Robertson said a week after his initially televised comments.”It said, `If you’re going to have one month dedicated to waving the flag of the homosexuals, it isn’t a very wise thing with the hurricane season coming up to wave a flag under God’s nose.'” Robertson, who made his original statement on the June 8 edition of”The 700 Club,”was referring to the decision by the city of Orlando to allow homosexual groups to fly rainbow flags from city light poles in connection with”Gay Days”at Walt Disney World.
He claimed that”an ultra-liberal group in Washington”took his statements out of context and”chopped them up”before telling news organizations that he said the Florida city was going to be struck by hurricanes and a meteor.”And my statement now and my statement shall ever be that we need the protection of God Almighty,”Robertson said in his newer comments.”And if we continue to slaughter unborn children, if we continue to engage in various types of sexual conduct which is displeasing to God, then this country will not have the defenses we’ve enjoyed for such a long time. I said it then. I say it now. But I did not make those extreme comments.” The Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, denied his group had misconstrued Robertson’s words.”There was absolutely no misrepresentation,”said Lynn, whose group regularly monitors”The 700 Club”on Robertson’s Christian Broadcasting Network.”Nothing whatsoever was taken out of context.” Lynn told Religion News Service that Robertson’s new statement on the issue does not clarify, but rather reaffirms his”extreme”opinions.”If I were Brother Robertson, I’d find what I said last week embarrassing and I’d be trying to dance away from it but he’s not doing a very good dance,”he said.”He’s not distancing himself from the fundamental, hateful comment that was made last week.” In a separate, but related matter, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott has drawn criticism for his remarks on”The Armstrong Williams Show”that he believes homosexuality is a sin, the Associated Press reported.”You should still love that person,”said Lott, R-Miss.”You should not try to mistreat them or treat them as outcasts. You should try to show them a way to deal with that problem, just like alcohol … or sex addiction … or kleptomaniacs.” Winnie Stachelberg, political director of the Human Rights Campaign, the country’s largest gay political group, called Lott’s comments”an indication of how the extreme right wing has a stranglehold on the leadership”of Congress.
European groups urge Kosovo peace
(RNS) After weeks of silence, religious voices in Europe are calling out for an end to the violence in Kosovo, the Serbian province whose population is predominantly ethnic Albanian.
In Decani, Kosovo _ cite of some of the worst violence in the fighting between separatist ethnic Albanians and Serbian police bent on ethnically cleansing the area _ Serbian Orthodox monks issued a statement decrying the violence.
And in Spain, participants of a major gathering of Christian women from across Europe issued a call for”full sanctions”against Serb-dominated Yugoslavia as a means of bringing a halt to the violence.
The monks, who live in an historic Serbian Orthodox monastery near Decani, expressed”great grief for the town … in which we have been living for years and which gives us a picture of what uncontrolled human madness can do.” Clashes between the ethnic Albanians and Serb forces have left 250 dead since February. Ethnic Albanians make up 90 percent of the 2.2 million people in Kosovo. Serbia and Montenegro comprise the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. “Although this church is deeply attached both spiritually and historically to the Serbian people, it nevertheless has a spiritual duty toward all others who live in this region, especially toward the vulnerable and the poor. “The violence cannot be overcome by violence, and any violent act immediately produces more violence,”the monks said in a June 12 statement.
The Ecumenical Forum of European Christian Women, meeting in El Escorial, Spain, issued a statement June 9 which, in addition to urging sanctions, called on the U.S. and European governments to stop deporting asylum-seeking Albanian refugees.
The statement also called on Yugoslav authorities to stop interfering with the delivery of aid, food and medicine to Kosovo.”As a forum of Christian women, we are obliged not to turn our backs to what is happening in Kosovo,”Swiss member Martha Schaedlin said.”We cannot wait until the media present us with images of mass slaughter before we act.”
Governor criticizes church involvement in mining issue
(RNS) West Virginia Gov. Cecil Underwood, a United Methodist, says members of his denomination should worry more about personal issues and end their effort to stop so-called”mountaintop removal”mining operations.”I think that this kind of social action by the church is outside its primary role,”Underwood told the Charleston Daily Mail.”They have other problems they should be concerned about.” Underwood’s remarks came in response to a vote at the West Virginia Annual (regional) Conference in which clergy and lay delegates called for a halt to mountaintop removal mining until the longterm human and environmental effects of the practice are studied.
But John Taylor, a member of Asbury United Methodist Church in Charleston and a sponsor of the resolution at the Methodist meeting, said he had seen wide areas of southern West Virginia devastated by the mining method.”They take everything, dump it in the creek and ruin the land,”he said.”We are selling our birthright for porridge. The coal company is getting the cream, and we’re getting skim milk.” Critics argue mountaintop removal irreversibly robs the landscape and pollutes streams. The coal industry, however, maintains its reclamation products restore nature’s balance to the mountains, though reducing their size.
Underwood, a former coal company executive, said his fellow church members should focus their efforts on such causes as Mission West Virginia, a statewide interfaith network the governor created to work against illiteracy and other problems that perpetuate poverty.
Although a supporter of mountaintop removal, Underwood has appointed a task force to study the effects of practice.
True Love Waits’ next phase to include Golden Gate Bridge display
(RNS) The next phase of True Love Waits, a Southern Baptist campaign promoting sexual abstinence that has been supported by numerous faith groups, will include a display at the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
Plans for”Crossing Bridges with Purity”were announced during the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention, held June 9-11 in Salt Lake City.
Cards detailing pledges of sexual abstinence until marriage by students will be collected during 1999 and featured in a national display at the San Francisco bridge on Oct. 2, 1999. Later in the year, from Dec. 29-31, 1999, there are plans for an international display near the International Date Line.”The great majority of True Love Waits teen-agers are moving into a new era of history with their heads held high and a strong commitment to moral purity,”said Richard Ross, a spokesman for True Love Waits.
Prognosis good for Mahony after prostate cancer surgery
(RNS) Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony underwent successful surgery for prostate cancer Monday (June 15), just hours after celebrating Mass dedicated to the sick and suffering in Southern California.
Physicians expect Mahony, 62, to make a full recovery within weeks and it is possible he will not need further cancer treatments, the Los Angeles Times reported.”It went very well. We had no unexpected complications,”said Dr. Donald G. Skinner.”At this point in time, everything is about as good as could be.” Mahony’s secretary, Msgr. Kevin Kostelnik, said their has been an outpouring of prayers and concerns from Southern Californians and well-wishers around the world.”I wish to assure you of my fraternal support and closeness in prayer,”read part of a letter to Mahony from Pope John Paul II.
Church of England sees gain from Viagra sales
(RNS) Things are looking up _ financially _ for the Church of England.
Since last year, the church’s stock in Pfizer, the U.S. drug company that developed Viagra, the anti-impotence drug selling far beyond expectations, has increased in value by more than $3.3 million.
With American doctors writing more than 100,000 new Viagra prescriptions each week, Pfizer stands to take in $1 billion a year by 2000 from sales of the drug.
The Church of England’s investment portfolio is used to provide pay, pensions and housing for clergy. Church commissioners who manage the church’s investments said they see nothing wrong with investing in a reputable company that produces new drugs to cure legitimate medical problems.”We were in touch with Pfizer before Viagra was launched because we knew it was on the way,”commissioner spokesman Arun Kataria told Ecumenical News International, the Geneva-based religious news agency.”We have a regular review procedure for investments, and would take up with a company any concerns about how a product was being marketed.” Critics of Viagra have expressed concern that a growing global black market is springing up for the drug, suggesting Viagra may be used not only to treat impotence but also to enhance performance of recreational sex, ENI reported.
Templeton honored with Small Press Book Award
(RNS) A book by Sir John Templeton, a longtime benefactor of groups that foster understanding of religion, has been honored with the 1998 Small Press Book Award.”Worldwide Laws of Life: 200 Eternal Spiritual Principles”(Templeton Foundation Press) was recognized in the religion/philosophy/inspirational category at the BookExpo America convention, held in late May in Chicago.
The book, drawn from major scriptures of the world and a variety of schools of philosophical thought, is a collection of daily guidance, practical morality and personal inspiration.
Quote of the day: Actor Bruce Willis”Modern religion is the end trail of modern mythology. But there are people who interpret the Bible literally. Literally! I choose not to believe that’s the way. And that’s what makes America cool, you know?” _ Actor Bruce Willis, whose latest film”Armageddon”is due out in July, in a recent interview with George magazine on why he calls organized religion”dying forms.”
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