c. 1999 Religion News Service

Pennsylvania couple sues public school counselor over teen’s abortion

(RNS) A Pennsylvania couple has sued a public school guidance counselor, charging he violated their constitutional rights by helping their minor daughter obtain a secret abortion.

Howard and Marie Carter of Hatboro, a Philadelphia suburb, sued the Hatboro-Horsham School District and counselor William Hickey on Monday (Aug. 16) in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia.”This case is about parents’ constitutional right to parent,”said John Stepanovich, senior regional counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice, a public interest law firm founded by religious broadcaster Pat Robertson.”A school official on the public payroll usurped the role of these parents and arranged for a clandestine abortion for their 17-year-old-daughter.” The suit alleges that when the couple’s eldest daughter discovered her pregnancy in March 1998, she sought the advice of Hickey, her guidance counselor at a school in the community where her family had recently moved.”Hickey repeatedly emphasized … that going to New Jersey for the abortion would ensure that the abortion would remain secret from her parents,”the complaint states.

The teen-ager, who subsequently graduated from high school in June 1999, told the counselor she was a Southern Baptist and abortion was contrary to her and her parents’ beliefs, the suit alleges.

The suit further charges Hickey responded to the teen’s doubts by telling her”welcome to the adult world”and”someday you’ll look back on this and laugh.” The parents, who say they continue to suffer emotional damage, are seeking a permanent injunction to prevent the school district’s employees from counseling minors about abortion or pregnancy without obtaining written parental permission. They also seek compensatory and punitive damages.

The school district has referred calls regarding the matter to the district’s solicitor. He was not immediately available for comment on Tuesday (Aug. 17).

Pennsylvania law requires consent of a parent or a judicial exemption for a minor to undergo an abortion while New Jersey does not require parental consent.

The teen’s parents allege that the abortion would not have occurred if they had been informed of their daughter’s plans.

The suit charges Hickey helped the student get in touch with the out-of-state abortion clinic, arrange for the necessary financing and provide an excuse for her absence when the abortion was performed.

First statewide school voucher program begins in Florida

(RNS) The first statewide school voucher program began Monday (Aug. 16) in Florida, as supporters cheered the change and opponents criticized the move as a violation of the separation of church and state.

Twenty of the state’s 58 voucher students began classes at St. Michael Interparochial School in Pensacola.”One child getting a better education makes our world a little bit better,”said Sister Robert Ann, the school’s principal.”And if they have a little bit of religion, all the better.” The program began at four Roman Catholic schools and a nonreligious private school. It permits students in public schools deemed to be Florida’s worst to receive vouchers of up to $3,389 a year to pay for parochial or private school education at taxpayer cost.

The only eligible children are those who have attended schools the state has determined are failures, the Associated Press reported. Florida has 2 million students in public schools.

While voucher supporters cheered the opening school day as historic, opponents believe the program violates the constitutional principle of separation of church and state.

The NAACP, Americans United for Separation of Church and State and other groups have filed suits challenging the program.

Voucher funds are taken from public education for the Florida program. Participating parents do not have to pay the difference between the tuition charged by the private schools and the voucher amount. Private schools charging more must absorb the expense.

While five private schools have agreed to take voucher students, some administrators fear lowering academic stands and others are taking a wait-and-see attitude.

Regardless of their religion, voucher students must attend Mass and religion classes with their classmates, said Sister Mary Caplice, superintendent of Pensacola’s Catholic schools.

Smaller voucher programs are in effect in other cities, including Cleveland and Milwaukee.

Ignoring protests, U.N. General Assembly will open on Yom Kippur

(RNS) The United Nations General Assembly has dismissed protests from the United States and Israel and will open its annual debate this year on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar.

As leader of the U.N.’s host country, President Clinton was scheduled to address the General Assembly’s Sept. 20 opening session. However, he will skip the date”out of respect for the Jewish residents of the New York area”and will speak instead on Sept. 21.

The United Nations closes for two Christian holidays, Christmas and Good Friday, and the Muslim celebrations of Eid al-Adha and Eid al-Fitr. The world body has never acknowledged Judaism’s holiest days, the Associated Press reported.

U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, replying to a letter from the American Jewish Congress urging closure on Yom Kippur, said the General Assembly’s 185 members alone could change the date of the body’s opening session, but had declined to do so. “Let me express my sincere regret for the discomfort that the decision of the General Assembly may have caused you and members of the Jewish faith around the world,”Annan said in his own letter to Phil Baum, AJC executive director.

“Son of Sam”Discusses His Faith with Larry King

(RNS) Confessed killer David Berkowitz told Larry King on Monday (August 16) that”God has had mercy on me and he’ll have mercy on anyone who calls upon him.” The so-called”Son of Sam”slayer spent most of a hourlong interview on CNN’s”Larry King Live”discussing his faith and life in prison.

The 46-year-old Berkowitz, sentenced to consecutive life terms with no chance for parole, said he has been”a believer in Jesus for 12 years.”He told King his conversion came after another inmate came to him and shared his faith.

When King asked if he is no longer a Jew, Berkowitz said,”I feel that I’m totally Jewish. I was born a Jew, I feel I’m going to leave this world a Jew. I believe that Jesus is the Messiah of the Jews and he loves the Jewish people … I worship the God of Israel.” Berkowitz, who was convicted of murdering six people and wounding seven others in 1977, said it was hard for him to accept the idea God could forgive him and he understands why some doubt his sincerity.”I pray for those who lost loved ones everyday.”If I could talk to them I would say that I’m sorry and that I know it isn’t enough,”he said.

Berkowitz said he had struggled with emotional problems all of his life and his killing spree came after he became involved with Satanism.”I had allowed this Satanic thing to control me and I felt these paranormal powers.” Berkowitz came back into the spotlight after Spike Lee’s film,”The Summer of Sam,”was released earlier this year.

Berkowitz now serves as a counselor and”informal chaplain”in prison and has led Bible studies. He concluded the interview with King by reading from the Bible and telling the talk-show host he would pray for him.

Mississippi student told Jewish Star of David is also a gang symbol

(RNS) A Mississippi school board has told a Jewish 11th grader he cannot display his Star of David pendant because it could be mistaken for a gang symbol.

Harrison Central High School administrators last week ordered Ryan Green to wear the pendant under his shirt or not at all. On Monday (Aug. 16), the local school board in Gulfport, Miss., backed the decision.”I don’t appreciate calling the Star of David a gang symbol,”said Ryan’s father, Tom Green.”Ryan Green’s Star of David necklace is clearly an expression of his Jewish faith, just as a necklace with a cross is an expression of Christian faith,”added David Inggebretsen, who heads the Mississippi branch of the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU was mulling legal action in the case.

The six-pointed Star of David _”Magen David”in Hebrew _ has been associated with Jews and Judaism since biblical times, according to the Encyclopedia of Judaism. In the 19th century, it was adopted by European Jews as an identifying symbol and was subsequently selected by the State of Israel for the central symbol on the nation’s flag.

However, Harrison County law enforcement and Gulfport school officials said the star is also incorporated into some gang symbols, and that they hoped to avoid gang violence by banning all clothing or items depicting anything that might be construed as a gang symbol.”This is not a religious issue. This is a safety issue,”said Harrison County Sheriff’s public affairs officer Frank Baskin, the Associated Press reported.

Maryland task force probing `cults’ on campuses hit with law suit

(RNS) A Maryland task force looking into the extent of”cult”activity at the state’s public universities and colleges had prompted a law suit by opponents who say the panel violates constitutional rights and amounts to a religious inquisition.

The suit was filed Monday (Aug. 15) in Baltimore by several groups and individuals, including the International Coalition for Religious Freedom, which is associated with the Rev. Sun Myung Moon’s Unification Church. The suit seeks to halt the task force’s investigation. “The United States has correctly criticized European states for scrutinizing smaller and newer religions through government commissions such as this one,”said Dan Fefferman, ICRF executive director.”The state of Maryland has been manipulated into engaging in religious McCarthyism by carrying out a biased inquisition into new religious minorities as `cults.'” The task force was established last year by the Maryland legislature following complaints to lawmakers by the parents of a University of Maryland at College Park student who claim their daughter was persuaded to join the International Churches of Christ by the resident supervisor of her on-campus dormitory. The parents contend that the university failed to protect the girl, who has since left the controversial church.

The task force has held a series of hearings and is scheduled to report back to the legislature by the end of September.

However, critics _ who include religious freedom advocates and representatives of the Church of Scientology, the Unification Church and other such often unpopular movements _ say the”Task Force to Study the Effects of Cult Activities on Public Senior Higher Education Institutions”is biased against new and smaller religious groups.

The suit claims the task force violates the First Amendment’s free exercise clause, the Maryland constitution and the U.N.’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

In establishing the task force, the Maryland legislature noted that”cult recruitment activities are often directed towards students on college campuses.”The lawmakers also said they were concerned about protecting students from groups who”threaten”their”mental, emotional, or physical well-being.” Task force chairman William T. Wood declined to comment on the law suit.

Update: Mellon reverses decision on doing business with Focus on Family

(RNS) The Mellon Bank says it has reversed itself and is now willing to do business with Focus on the Family.

According to bank spokesman Ron Gruendl, the financial institution sent a letter to the conservative ministry Thursday (Aug. 12) saying in part that”based upon our understanding of Focus on the Family’s mission statement, we are willing to manage its annuity program.” Gruendl, who would not supply a copy of the letter, said it did include the nondiscrimination policy of the bank and said doing business with Focus was contingent on not violating that policy.

But James Dobson, president of Focus on the Family, said the ministry, too, has changed its mind and now will not give its business to Mellon.

Speaking on the Focus on the Family radio show Tuesday (Aug. 17), Dobson characterized the tone of last week’s letter as”condescending.””We never asked them to violate any nondiscrimination policy,”Dobson said.”We don’t discriminate and we don’t ask anyone else to do so either.” The controversy began when Focus on the Family approached Mellon to manage their gift annuity program. Mellon turned down the business because”our nondiscrimination policy … and Focus on the Family’s mission statement are in conflict,”according to a statement released by the bank.

Mellon was inundated by phone calls from Focus supporters who learned about the controversy on the widely-broadcast radio program last week.

Quote of the day: James W. Keyes, C.E.O. of 7-Eleven, Inc.

(RNS)”We started out several months ago thinking about the Y2K problem. We’ve gone from that to realizing this may be the single biggest opportunity we’ve ever had. It has gone from a Y2K problem to a Y2K opportunity.” _ James W. Keyes, chief operating officer of 7-Eleven, Inc., telling the Washington Post Tuesday (Aug. 17) that the convenience store chain will stockpile bottled water, cans of tuna fish, candles, batteries and other such items in hopes of cashing in on consumers’ fears over possible computer failures linked to the start of the new millennium.

DEA END RNS