c. 2000 Religion News Service

Salvation Army Changes Rules for Married Officers

(RNS) The Salvation Army has relaxed the rules for its members to allow officers _ including church pastors _ to marry non-officers in “exceptional circumstances.”

In an Aug. 28 letter to officers worldwide, the Salvation Army’s top official, Gen. John Gowans, announced a series of changes to the Army’s corps of 25,475 officers.

Officers, who serve as ordained ministers in local churches and service projects, had been required to marry a fellow Army officer in order to serve in the 135-year-old Protestant church. The marriage requirement, along with the distinctive uniforms and military-style structure, had been one of the Army’s defining characteristics.

Gowans said that in “exceptional circumstances,” officers will be allowed to be married to a non-officer, although Gowans did not say what “exceptional circumstances” might be.

Gowans was presented with a series of recommendations by an Army panel, and he said exceptions to the changes could be made, depending on the needs of local Army territories.

Gowans rejected a proposed short-term commitment of service in the Army; currently, officers must commit to a lifelong term of service. He did, however, agree to allow Salvationists to serve an agreed-upon term of service with the title of lieutenant.

Traditionally, Army officers take a two-year training program and enter the Army with the rank of lieutenant. After serving for five years, lieutenants are promoted to captain. With the new change, the rank of captain will be the entry-level position.

“God raised up the Salvation Army for a purpose,” Gowans said in a press release. “He gave it a mission. As I have reflected on each recommendation, my principal thought has been: Will acceptance of this recommendation help or hinder the Army’s fulfillment of its God-given mission _ in the world as a whole and in each particular part of it?”

Diane Winston, author of “Red-hot and Righteous: The Urban Religion of the Salvation Army,” said the new rules may signal a change in strategy for the Army.

“Historically, the Army wanted officers to marry fellow officers so there would be harmony in the home as far as religious commitment,” Winston said. “With two people united in both work and family matters, the Army knew it could count on its officer to remain true. A change in that system would suggest that headquarters believes it could recruit more officers under more relaxed guidelines.”

Justice Department Intervenes in Case of Harassed Jewish Teacher

(RNS) The Clinton administration is coming to the aid of a Jewish teacher who is suing his Michigan school district after he claimed he was the victim of anti-Semitic harassment and threats of violence in his classroom.

The Department of Justice said the L’Anse Area Schools violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act by allowing a teacher, Louis Owen, to be subjected to harassment based on religion or national origin.

Owen, a 30-year teaching veteran, first filed a complaint in April 1999, claiming his classroom had been vandalized and sprayed with swastikas and anti-Semitic slurs, including death threats.

Owen has since left the school district and filed a private lawsuit in federal court in March.

The Justice Department, which will file a complaint with the U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids, Mich., said the school did not “reasonably” or “appropriately” address Owen’s concerns and did not take proper measures to keep Owen free from religious harassment.

“Harassment and discrimination on the basis of religion or national origin is against the law and will not be tolerated,” said Bill Lann Lee, assistant attorney general for civil rights, in a press release. “The Department of Justice will act swiftly to hold employers responsible for permitting an atmosphere where this harassment is tolerated.”

Pope Meets With Rwandan Bishop Cleared of Genocide Charges

(RNS) Pope John Paul II met privately Friday (Sept. 8) with Bishop Augustin Misago, the Rwandan prelate imprisoned, tried and found innocent of genocide charges.

“I came to Europe to heal my heart and to see the pope, but I will return to Rwanda in a few days,” Misago told the missionary news agency Fides. “I know I run risks, but I must return. My people are there. The faithful are waiting for me in Gikongoro, and they have always been on my side.”

Misago, the bishop of Gikongoro, was arrested on genocide charges in 1999 in connection with the massacres of some 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus by Hutu extremists during a three-month rampage in 1994.

He was imprisoned for nine months before his trial.

Accused of helping to organize the massacre of thousands of refugees at the Murabi camp on the night of April 20, 1994, and of sending three priests and 30 schoolchildren to their deaths, he faced execution by firing squad if convicted, but a court in Kigali absolved him of all charges on June 15.

Misago, 57, claimed he was the innocent victim of a campaign by the government of then President Pasteur Bizimungu to discredit the Roman Catholic Church, which it accused of remaining silent during the massacres.

The bishop said after the verdict that he would travel to Rome to thank the pope for his support. John Paul sent him a telegram during the trial saying he believed in the bishop’s innocence and hoped that he would be absolved of all charges.

The Vatican did not disclose what was said during Misago’s 20-minute audience with the pope.

Sect Member Ordered Into State Custody Until She Gives Birth

(RNS) A Massachusetts judge said an unborn child told him, “I don’t want to die like my brother,” so he has ordered the baby’s mother to remain in state custody until she gives birth.

Judge Kenneth Nasif ordered Rebecca Corneau, a 32-year-old member of a conservative religious sect, to remain in state custody for another 30 days until she gives birth. Corneau is suspected of allowing her first child, Jeremiah, to die because her fundamentalist sect will not seek medical care.

Nasif said he knew the unborn baby would say, “I want to live. I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die like my brother, Jeremiah, did,” according to a lawyer in the closed-door hearing, the Associated Press reported.

Corneau’s husband, David, is in jail with seven other sect members for refusing to cooperate with an investigation into the sect. The Corneaus’ first child died last year, and a cousin, Samuel Robidoux, died in the same month after his mother stopped breast-feeding, according to prosecutors.

The Attleboro-based sect of about two dozen adults _ most of whom are related _ says wives must put their husbands second only to God, and members shun government, organized religion, banking, science and medicine as blasphemy.

Quote of the Day: Jerry Rankin, president of the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention.

(RNS) “The way to salvation is a narrow path. We emphatically disagree with the Vatican, however, on the direction that path takes.”

_ Jerry Rankin, president of the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, speaking about a recent document on salvation issued by the Vatican saying the Roman Catholic Church is the only “true instrument for the salvation of all humanity” and that non-Catholic churches “suffer from defects.” Rankin was quoted in Baptist Press.

DEA END RNS