c. 2000 Religion News Service
New York, Museum Settle Dispute Over Controversial Art Exhibit
(RNS) The city of New York and the Brooklyn Museum of Art have reached a settlement in a lengthy dispute over an exhibit featuring a painting of the Virgin Mary that was decorated with dung.
The agreement, which was signed Monday (March 27) and approved by U.S. District Judge Nina Gershon, calls for the dropping of dueling lawsuits over the “Sensation” exhibit.
The judge specifically prohibited the city and Mayor Rudolph Giuliani from inflicting “any punishment, retaliation, discrimination or sanction of any kind” on the museum.
The settlement also calls for the city to spend $5.8 million over two years to renovate the museum. Each side will pay its own legal fees, the Associated Press reported.
Last September, Giuliani called the controversial painting “sick” and froze an annual $7.2 million operating subsidy for the museum. He then sued to evict the museum from its site on city-owned property.
Late last year, the judge declared the sanctions unconstitutional and issued a preliminary order restoring the funding. The mayor appealed her ruling.
Museum officials hailed the decision as a victory for free speech.
“Today, Mayor Giuliani has agreed that the preliminary injunction that he ridiculed a few months ago will become permanent,” said Floyd Abrams, the museum’s lawyer, at a news conference.
Giuliani had no immediate response, but the city’s corporation counsel Michael Hess said the administration was “very gratified” with the agreement.
“We felt at this time that it was time to end the hostilities on both sides,” Hess said.
Rwandan Pastor Returns to Face Genocide Charges
(RNS) A Rwandan clergyman accused of aiding the massacre of thousands of his countrymen left the United States on March 23 to face trial on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity.
Elizaphan Ntakirutimana, a 75-year-old Seventh-day Adventist pastor, fought his extradition back to Rwanda to stand trial in the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. The U.S. Supreme Court dismissed his appeal in January, clearing the way for his extradition.
If convicted, he could face life in prison.
Ntakirutimana was the pastor of a Rwandan church when ethnic infighting ravaged the country in 1994. Hutu militants killed more than 500,000 people, many of them members of the minority Tutsi tribe.
Prosecutors say Ntakirutimana told a large group of Tutsis they could find shelter in his church and hospital complex, and then participated in a daylong slaughter of the refugees. Some witnesses said they saw Ntakirutimana shooting victims.
Ntakirutimana moved to Texas to live with family members and was arrested there in 1996. The former pastor fought his extradition on the grounds that the United States did not have a treaty with the U.N. tribunal, but Congress passed a law in 1996 that allowed Ntakirutimana’s extradition.
“We hope and expect that he will receive a fair trial,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Don DeGabrielle, the Associated Press reported. “The tribunal was set up under the microscope of the entire world. All the nations that are U.N. members had participation of the establishment of rules and fundamental principles the tribunal would employ.”
Christianity Today Names Its Choices of Best Books
(RNS) The evangelical magazine Christianity Today has named the winners of its 1999 Book Awards, honoring the top book in each of 10 categories instead of the top 10 religious books in all categories.
“Is the Bible True? How Modern Debates and Discoveries Affirm the Essence of the Scriptures” by U.S. News and World Reports’ Jeffrey L. Sheler snagged first place in the apologetics/evangelism category, while “A Commentary on the Gospel of St. Matthew” by Craig S. Keener won the biblical studies division.
Top prize in the Christian living category went to Philip Yancey’s “The Bible Jesus Read.” Among books about Christianity and culture, first place went to “Intelligent Design: The Bridge Between Science and Theology” by William A. Dembski. Awards of merit in that category were given to “How Now Shall We Live?” by Charles Colson and Nancy Pearcey; “Blinded by Might: Can the Religious Right Save America?” by Cal Thomas and Ed Dobson; and “Just Generosity: A New Vision for Overcoming Poverty in America” by Ronald J. Sider.
“Leadership That Works: Help and Hope for Church and Parachurch Leaders in Today’s Complex World” by Leith Anderson was named No. 1 among books in the church/pastoral leadership division.
Jan Karon’s “A New Song” won the fiction category, and Gary Wills’ “Saint Augustine” topped the history/biography field. An award of merit in that same category was given to “Abraham Lincoln: Redeemer President” by Allan C. Guelzo.
First prize in the spirituality category went to “The Unknown God: Searching for Spiritual Fulfillment” by Alister McGrath. Top honors in the theology/ethics section went to “The Story of Christian Theology: Twenty Centuries of Tradition and Reform” by Roger Olson. An award of merit in that category was given to John Stott for “Evangelical Truth: A Personal Plea for Unity, Integrity and Faithfulness.”
Peter L. Berger’s “The Desecularization of the World: Resurgent Religion and World Politics” claimed the top prize in the missions/global affairs division.
Christianity Today also released its ranking of the 100 best books and authors of the century, a list topped by C.S. Lewis and his book “Mere Christianity.” Also in the list’s top 10 were works by Karl Barth, J.R.R. Tolkien, John Howard Yoder, G.K. Chesterton, Thomas Merton, Richard Foster, Oswald Chambers, Reinhold Neibuhr and Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
Turkish Official Denies Barring Greek Orthodox Leader’s Visit
(RNS) A Turkish interior ministry official has denied a report that Greece’s Orthodox church leader was banned from entering the country.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Archbishop Christodoulos was removed in 1999 from a government blacklist on which he had been placed for making anti-Turkish statements, such as support for Kurdish autonomy in southeast Turkey.
A Turkish newspaper reported the blacklist Sunday (March 26) and named eight other Greeks _ seven deputies and a retired naval commander _ as among the 56 Europeans banned from entering Turkey, the Associated Press reported.
After the report appeared, Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou said that if the report were true, it could “undermine Turkey’s course toward the European Union.”
Turkey’s campaign to join the European Union received a boost in December when Greece agreed to end its opposition to the idea after both countries pledged to find a peaceful solution to land disputes over Cyprus and the eastern Aegean sea.
The Turkish official said the newspaper’s report, which identified 56 Europeans blacklisted by the Turkish government, was false and outdated.
Vicar to Take to the Skies on Easter
(RNS) A rural Church of England vicar will be doing her own version of rising on Easter, as she takes to the skies by flying a helicopter to the churches of her parish where she must conduct services.
The Rev. Bridget Smith is priest-in-charge of Silverstone, a parish with three church, including one in Silverstone and two churches farther out in the country.
But Silverstone is also headquarters for British automobile racing and the British Grand Prix is being held on Easter.
That means, said Smith, that all the roads around Silverstone, including many of the narrow country lanes, will be clogged with traffic throughout the morning. The racetrack’s gates open at 5:30 a.m.
Even using the helicopter to hop between churches, however, may not give Smith much of a crowd _ most of her parishioners will be working at the racetrack.
She has thus canceled her usual 11 a.m. Sunday service in Silverstone but will begin the day participating in a 6 a.m. ecumenical service, then helicopter to the rural Abthorpe church for an 8 a.m. service and helicopter back to Silverstone for a 9:15 liturgy. Her third church plans to hold an Easter vigil service on the Saturday before Easter.
The helicopter is being provided by the racing association.
Quote of the Day: The Rev. Daniel Coughlin, new House chaplain
(RNS) “May this House and this nation be preserved in unity and enjoy the peace which the world cannot give, a deep, abiding peace which is your gift alone to give.”
The Rev. Daniel Coughlin, the first Catholic priest to serve as House chaplain, in his first prayer opening a daily session of Congress on Monday (March 27).
DEA END RNS
