c. 1999 Religion News Service

WASHINGTON _ As the Senate prepares to begin the trial phase of the impeachment of President Clinton, religious leaders from three of America’s largest faith groups Tuesday (Jan. 5) called for fairness, integrity and civility as the process unfolds.

Christian, Muslim and Jewish leaders, at a news conference sponsored by the liberal Interfaith Alliance, said they hoped the Senate proceeding would be a contrast to the often rancorous and bitter debate in the House over the allegations that Clinton has committed”high crimes and misdemeanors”warranting his removal from office.

The Alliance also said it plans to look beyond the impeachment battle and mount an effort to educate religious leaders across the nation on the importance of attacking issues while embracing one’s opponent.

The Rev. C. Welton Gaddy, executive director of the Alliance, urged Senators”to rise above partisanship; to set aside language that is shaped to fit sound bites or to strike as barbed quips.”The Senate can and must begin to repair the fabric of our society. How the Senate conducts its business and reaches its conclusion will be every bit as important as the final decision it makes about the fate of the president.” Gaddy, who is also president of the Alliance of Baptists, spoke along with Azizah Y. Al-Hibri, president of KARAMAH: Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights and law professor at T.C. Williams School of Law at the University of Richmond (Va.), and Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism.

Each of the religious leaders insisted that by urging civility they were not seeking to discourage legitimate debate. “Let us be clear; civility does not mean complacency. To be civil does not mean forfeiting our ability to criticize, in the strongest possible constructive terms, policies and ideas we don’t like,”Saperstein said.”It does mean finding ways of doing this while respecting, preserving, even defending, the basic humanity of those with whom we disagree.” They also denied criticism that the Interfaith Alliance’s call to civility was a thinly veiled attack on the GOP.”I am a Republican; I don’t think I would do that,”said Al-Hibri, shaking her head. “Regardless of our view on the subject matter, it has become patently clear to the American people that a serious constitutional discussion has often been tarnished, even debased, by the use of words that belong to a less dignified arena. These public words collectively far exceed in their harmful effect on our nation the morally offensive actions of an embarrassed leader,”said Al-Hibri.

Al-Hibri said”Satan”has sowed dissension among the American people and she urged political leaders to”be discrete in discussing moral issues, modest in pointing out the shortcomings of others, compassionate when judging them.” The Alliance also called for a”national summit”of religious leaders for Jan. 26 to discuss the issue of civility in the political process.

Participants will include church historian Martin Marty; the Rev. James Forbes, senior minister of Riverside Church in New York City; and the Rev. Robert Drinan, a former member of Congress who now teaches at Georgetown University.

Religious leaders traditionally opposed to the aims of the Interfaith Alliance have also been invited, said Gaddy. The Family Research Council, the Christian Coalition and other conservative Christian groups have long accused the Interfaith Alliance of a liberal agenda.

The summit is the first in a series of faith-based symposiums to be sponsored by the Washington-based Alliance, which boasts 80,000 members and over 100 affiliates in 36 states.

Following the national summit, community roundtables and public forums will be convened by local religious leaders around the country, including New York; Des Moines, Iowa; San Francisco; Atlanta; Orlando, Fla.; Manchester, N.H.; and Nashville, Tenn.

DEA END ROCKWOOD