c. 1998 Religion News Service

Lyons forced to move location of speech in Philadelphia

(RNS) The Rev. Henry J. Lyons, the denominational president facing charges of grand theft and racketeering, was blocked Saturday (April 4) from speaking at a church of his National Baptist Convention, USA, and had to borrow another denomination’s facility.”For my misguided judgment and errors I did make, I ask your forgiveness,”Lyons told a crowd of about 50 people at the headquarters of the African Methodist Episcopal Church First Episcopal District.

Without elaborating further on the charges against him, Lyons asked the audience to refrain from judging him until his side is heard, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

Lyons has been charged by Florida authorities with defrauding the Anti-Defamation League of money intended for the rebuilding of burned black churches. Prosecutors also alleged he inflated membership numbers for his denomination to entice companies to contribute to the church in exchange for product endorsements.

Lyons was in Philadelphia for an installation service for a new interdenominational ministers’ organization, which was scheduled to be held at Mount Olivet Tabernacle Baptist Church. But members of the congregation protesting Lyons’ appearance blocked the door by parking a church van in front of it and holding an informal service on a nearby sidewalk.

The church’s pastor supported Lyons’ appearance but many church members thought it was inappropriate.

The van’s windshield was covered with signs that said”No to Lyons”and”Lyons Go Home.””We’re not pointing fingers,”said Garri Wing, vice president of the church’s board of deacons.”We’re not laying blame. … We just don’t think it’s in our best interests for him to come.” At the pared-down service at the AME headquarters, Lyons said he would remain president of his denomination, despite some calls for him to step down until his case is resolved.”We will press on and we will pray and wait for the day that everything can be put on the table,”he said.”Once that happens, I maintain I will be exonerated.”

Dobson unleashes new criticism of Republicans in Congress

(RNS) Religious broadcaster James C. Dobson, maintaining pressure on Republicans in Congress that he says have failed conservative Christian voters, has reiterated his threat to campaign against the GOP if it does not work harder to pass”a pro-moral and pro-family agenda.” Dobson’s latest broadside against Republicans was contained in a letter mailed to some 2,300 individuals he said contacted him after his earlier criticisms of the GOP.

The Focus on the Family leader maintains that it was conservative Christian voters who have given Republicans their congressional majority, but that once in office the lawmakers all but abandoned such issues as abortion, school vouchers and middle class tax relief that they campaigned on.”In basketball parlance, (the GOP) legislative strategy is equivalent to a four corner stall in order to run out the clock,”Dobson said.”If that policy continues, I believe the GOP could lose seats in November and put the next presidential election in jeopardy.” In recent weeks, Dobson has gone public with his criticism of Republican lawmakers and held several well-publicized meetings with GOP leaders in an effort to pressure them into supporting his issues.

In his letter, dated Friday (April 3), Dobson said it is time for the Republicans to”fish or cut bait.””(Republicans) have to understand that we will abandon them if they continue to ignore the most important issues,”Dobson said.”The threat must be real for us to have integrity, and I am determined to deliver on the promises to campaign against them if nothing changes. But I’m praying that won’t be necessary.” Dobson said that”at least a defeated GOP would realize that it must address our concerns if it wishes to make a comeback.” Dobson also said he has no personal political ambitions and, contrary to some reports, will not leave Focus on the Family to start a third party, although he may take a leave of absence from the Colorado Springs-based organization”to further this cause.” Dobson protege Gary Bauer of the Family Research Council has said he may run for president in 2000.

England’s women Anglican clergy report harassment

(RNS) Many women priests in the Church of England experience bullying, harassment, or discrimination from their male counterparts, according to a survey conducted among the women priests of six of the church’s 44 dioceses.

Questionnaires were sent to all 365 women priests in the six dioceses and replies were received from 107. The Church of England, which ordained its first women priests four years ago, now has nearly 2,000 women clerics.

A majority of those responding to the survey reported widespread bullying by senior clergy, ranging from verbal abuse, intimidation, and physical or sexual harassment to ostracism and routine discourtesy.

Women priests said they were shunned by male colleagues, not informed about meetings, refused church keys, or even publicly humiliated.

The survey results were set to be published on April 24, the the findings were leaked to a London Sunday newspaper, The Observer.

NAACP chairman calls for renewed black-Jewish ties

(RNS) Julian Bond, the new chairman of the NAACP, Monday (April 6) urged re-establishment of the strong black-Jewish bonds that flourished during the heyday of the civil rights movement.

Addressing the Anti-Defamation League in Washington, D.C., Bond said that as head of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People he would work to restore the”coalition of conscience of blacks and Jews fighting together in common cause …” Bond, 58, was elected NAACP chairman in February, replacing Myrlie Evers-Williams, who stepped down. Formed in 1909, the NAACP is the nation’s oldest civil rights organization.

In his talk, Bond traced the history of black-Jewish cooperation for social justice, including the decline of that joint effort in recent years because of such divisive issues as affirmative action. Bond said four Jews were members of the NAACP’s first 30-member executive committee.

Despite that history of Jewish involvement in the NAACP, the organization and the Jewish community grew apart during the period when the former Benjamin Chavis served as the NAACP’s executive director.

Chavis’ overtures to Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, whom Jews consider anti-Semitic, caused the strain. Chavis has since changed his name to Benjamin Muhammad and has become a key aide to Farrakhan.

Bond proposed no specific programs for strengthening black-Jewish ties. Nonetheless, Abraham Foxman, ADL national director, praised Bond for”reaching out and setting the right tone.” Bond is a longtime civil rights leader who spent 21 years as a member of the Georgia legislature. He currently teaches at the University of Virginia and Washington’s American University.

South African churches generally oppose same-sex union proposal

(RNS) A survey of major South African religious bodies suggests there is likely to be strong opposition from church groups when Nelson Mandela’s government introduces proposed legislation to give legal recognition to same-sex relationships.

But, bucking the trend _ and his own church’s teaching _ a South African Roman Catholic auxiliary bishop has said he believes _ personally _ that same-sex unions should be legalized so that”homosexuals get the same legal protection as heterosexuals.” The survey of church bodies was conducted by Ecumenical News International, the Geneva-based religious news agency, in the wake of a decision by the African National Congress, the main government political party, to voice support for legislation likely to be introduced later this year recognizing same-sex unions.

ENI said that most of the church groups it surveyed on the ANC plan responded with policy statements condemning homosexual acts while declaring themselves eager to minister to gays and lesbians.”Homosexual relationships and practices contravene the will of God,”said Willie Botha, a spokesman for the Dutch Reformed Church, one of the largest in South Africa. “However, homosexual members of the church deserve regular pastoral care; they should share in the fellowship during worship services and should be given every opportunity to serve the Kingdom of God,”he added.

Other church bodies saying they remain _ at the moment _ committed to traditional views of marriage included the United Congregational Church of South Africa and the Methodist Church. The Anglican Church did not respond to ENI’s survey.

But Roman Catholic Auxiliary Bishop Reginald Cawcutt of Cape Town, who supports the recognition of same-sex unions, said that all gays were seeking is equal treatment with heterosexuals in such areas as pension funds, insurance, ownership of property and benefits given to married people by commercial concerns, and visiting rights at hospitals.”My personal opinion is that the church should not oppose the request for state recognition of gay union,”Cawcutt said.”The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that gay people `must be accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity.’ It further says that `every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided.'”

Israeli Knesset gives non-binding approval to `Who is a Jew’ plan

(RNS) In a non-binding vote, Israel’s Knesset asked the government Monday (April 6) to adopt a set of recommendations for settling a longstanding controversy between Orthodox and non-Orthodox Jewish groups over the question of”Who is a Jew.” The Knesset, in a 26-5, recommended that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu adopt the proposals of a recent commission headed by Finance Minister Ya’acov Ne’eman, which call for cooperation between Orthodox and non-Orthodox Jews on the conversion of non-Jews.

The Ne’eman committee recommended that the major Jewish faith groups create a joint”conversion institute”in which all potential converts would study, while the actual conversion procedure would be carried out by state-appointed Orthodox rabbis, as it has been in the past.

However, it is not clear if the recommendation can be implemented because Israel’s chief rabbis have rejected any proposal for cooperation with their non-Orthodox peers.

Meanwhile, representatives of the more liberal Jewish Reform and Conservative groups said that in the absence of a pledge by the chief rabbis to recognize their legitimacy, their movements will continue to perform conversions independently and seek state recognition for the process through the civil courts.”We appreciate their (the Knesset’s) good intentions, but the Chief Rabbinate holds the key,”the Reform and Conservative leaders said in a joint press release following the vote.

Ne’eman, noting the conversion issue has bitterly divided the Jewish people for decades, has recommended the government set up the conversion institute even without the chief rabbis full approval and argued Orthodox rabbis outside of the chief rabbinate can be identified who would go along with the plan for an institute.

Muslim pilgrimage concludes

(RNS) The annual Muslim hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca, ends Tuesday (April 7) with the Eid ul-Adha festival, which commemorates Islam’s belief in the prophet Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son Ishmael.

Some 2.3 million Muslims from about 100 nations participated in this year’s hajj, according to reports from Saudi Arabia.

Monday (April 6), one of the most sacred days of the Muslim calendar, the pilgrims congregated at the plain of Arafat for prayer. Some climbed the Mount of Mercy, where the Prophet Muhammad, Islam’s founder, is believed to have delivered a famous sermon during his farewell pilgrimage to the spot.

The Eid is celebrated with the sacrificial slaughter of more than 1 million sheep, goats, cows and camels. Muslims who have not gone on the hajj also celebrate the Eid in communities around the world.

Making the hajj is required of all Muslims who are physically and financially capable. This year’s hajj has so far been free of the tragedies that have marked past celebrations. Last year, a fire broke out among pilgrims’ tents, killing 340 people and injuring 1,500.

Quote of the Day: Mormon church president Gordon B. Hinckley

(RNS)”I would enjoy sitting in a rocker, swallowing prescriptions, listening to soft music and contemplating the things of the universe. But such activity offers no challenge and makes no contribution.” _ Gordon B. Hinckley, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, on why at age 87 he continues to travel widely on behalf of his church.

DEA END RNS