c. 2000 Religion News Service
Survey: 83 Percent of Americans Support Evolution in Schools
(RNS) _ A leading liberal watchdog group said Friday (March 10) that 83 percent of Americans want evolution, not creationism, taught in U.S. schools, but wide numbers agree creationism also belongs somewhere in the classroom.
Officials from the People for the American Way Foundation released what they said was the first comprehensive survey of American opinion regarding the teaching of evolution and creationism in the nation’s schools. The foundation commissioned pollster Daniel Yankelovich to survey 1,500 people in November.
While the polling data clearly suggests wide support for teaching the theory of evolution, a significant number of people said they also support creationism being taught in classrooms. A full 79 percent of respondents say the belief that God _ not random acts of science _ created the world belongs somewhere in schools, according to the survey.
The crux of the debate is where and when those theories and beliefs should be taught, foundation president Ralph Neas, said.
“Schools should be able to teach about religion, but when you’re talking about evolution you’re teaching a science, and when you’re talking about creationism, you’re talking about a belief,” Neas said. “There is a correct way to do it constitutionally and there’s an incorrect way to do it.”
Lutheran Bishops Try to Quiet Criticism Over Proposed Episcopal Agreement
(RNS) _ Bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America reaffirmed their support for the proposed full communion agreement with the Episcopal Church in a pastoral letter which they hoped might dampen “continuing tensions” over the proposed agreement.
Last year, the nation’s largest Lutheran body with 5.2 million members agreed to enter into “full communion” with the Episcopal Church, an accord that stops short of a full merger but allows both churches to recognize each other’s clergy, sacraments and join in missions projects. Episcopalians will vote on the agreement at their July convention in Denver.
A key sticking point with many Lutherans, however, is the acceptance of the historic line of Episcopal bishops. Under the accord, the role of Lutheran bishops would be elevated, and critics say the agreement would needlessly create more bureaucracy, alter Lutheran identity and downplay the role of the laity.
The church’s 65 bishops and presiding bishop drafted the letter on March 6, after opponents to the agreement met in Milwaukee last month to consider alternatives. That group suggested, among other things, that ELCA leaders delay implementation of the agreement until after the 2001 Churchwide Assembly.
The bishops, however, said that was not an option.
“We recognize that persons of integrity and conscience find themselves in disagreement with one another on various issues, notably over policies and practices related to ordination,” the 66 bishops wrote. “We trust that God’s reconciling power will continue to guide the conversations among supporters and opponents in this matter.”
The bishops did say, however, that they were open to the “exploration” of ways to address the concerns of members opposed to the agreement.
U.S.Catholic Leaders Ask Forgiveness
(RNS) Following the lead of Pope John Paul II, Roman Catholic leaders nationwide will apologize this weekend for the sins committed by members of the church against a number of groups, including non-Catholics, homosexuals, Jews and African-Americans.
“We will be looking back to those moments when, through her members, the church was not faithful to herself, to the message of Christ, and it’s good for us … to name those things,” said Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston, according to the Associated Press. Law was to hold a prayer service Saturday (March 11) to apologize to Jews, African-Americans, non-Catholics and other groups.
Archbishop Rembert Weakland of Milwaukee and Archbishop Michael Sheehan in Santa Fe will also issue appeals of pardon, the Associated Press reported.
During a service Friday night (March 10), Sheehan was to ask forgiveness from groups such as other Christians, Native Americans and victims of sexual abuse.
Weakland, Sheehan and Law join church leaders in Colorado and California who have already issued apologies.
On Thursday (March 9), Archbishop Charles J. Chaput in Denver asked Jews to forgive Catholics for, among other things, “the ignorance and prejudice which still exist” against Jews. His letter followed an apology Monday (March 6) by Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles to homosexuals, members of other faiths and other groups.
“We must continue our many efforts at all levels to bring people together in a spirit of mutual respect and cooperation,” said Mahony.
The apologies come at the beginning of the Christian season of Lent _ a 40-day period of contrition. Pope John Paul was to ask forgiveness himself for Catholics on Sunday. During a Day of Pardon Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, the pope was to express regret for past wrongs of the Catholic Church, including the Crusades and the Inquisition.
Pope Gives Final Approval to Sainthood for Mother Katharine Drexel
(RNS) Pope John Paul II gave final approval Friday (March 10) for Mother Katharine Drexel, a Philadelphia heiress who ministered to Native and African-Americans, to become American’s second native-born saint.
The Roman Catholic pontiff, presiding over a public Consistory for the Causes of Saints, also agreed to the canonizations of 120 Chinese martyrs, a group of Mexican martyrs and three other founders of religious orders.
John Paul will celebrate two canonization Masses in St. Peter’s Square during Holy Year, on May 21 and Oct. 1.
Drexel, who founded the order of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament in 1891, will be the fifth U.S. saint but only the second born in the country. Mother Elizabeth Ann Seton of Baltimore was the first.
Born in Philadelphia in 1858, Drexel was the debutante daughter of an international banker. She shunned society to become a nun, invested her fortune of some $20 million in schools, missions and other services for Indians and African-Americans and established America’s first black college, now Xavier University.
Drexel will become a saint only 45 years after her death in 1955.
Cardinal John Krol of Philadelphia introduced her cause for canonization in 1964 and she was beatified, the last step before canonization, in 1988.
The process of canonization starts with establishing that the candidate lived a life of “heroic virtues” worthy of veneration. To become blessed, a candidate must either have died a martyr or be deemed responsible for a miracle that cannot be explained by the laws of science. A second miracle is required for canonization.
Drexel is credited with restoring the hearing of two deaf children. The second miracle, certified by a Vatican medical board on Oct. 7, 1999, was the cure of an unidentified 17-month-old child born with nerve deafness in 1992.
In addition to Seton, the other American saints are Mother Frances Cabrini, Bishop John Neumann and Sister Rose Philippine Duchesne.
Sierra Leone Relief Workers Abducted, Found With Injuries
(RNS) United Nations peacekeepers have located two missing staff members of a relief agency who were reportedly abducted Tuesday (March 7) in Sierra Leone.
Aaron Kargbo and Aruna Sherrif, workers with the Adventist Development and Relief Agency in Sierra Leone, were found Wednesday (March 8) alongside a road somewhere between Port Loko and Freetown, according to Prince Cummings, the agency’s Sierra Leone director, in an agency press release.
The agency is the humanitarian arm of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
As of Thursday (March 9), the two were in critical condition with bullet wounds and other injuries at the Port Loko government hospital.
“We’re not absolutely sure who abducted them so we won’t speculate at this point,” said Rick Kajiura, who works with the relief agency. “No one has been caught, but the vehicle (Kargbo and Sherrif were driving) was taken, so maybe robbery was the motive. We’re just not really sure at this point.”
Sherrif, who joined the relief agency’s staff about two months ago, and Kargbo, a three-year member of the agency’s staff in the West African nation, both worked in Port Loko, a center for rehabilitation for ex-combatants. The two were returning to Port Loko on March 7 (Tuesday) from Freetown, where they and four other staff workers had journeyed to get equipment from the relief agency’s field office. Staff members in Port Loko reported Kargbo and Sherrif missing after they failed to return from Freetown.
Israelis Hope Papal Visit Will Create Atmosphere For Peace
(RNS) A member of the Israeli government pledged Friday (March 10) that Pope John Paul II’s pilgrimage to the Holy Land will be entirely nonpolitical but predicted it will create “the best atmosphere for peace” in the Middle East.
“We are doing everything to disengage political problems from the visit that it may be a pilgrim visit,” Haim Ramon, minister for Jerusalem affairs, told reporters after an audience with John Paul and meetings with Vatican officials to discuss final arrangements for the pope’s March 21-26 trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories.
Israeli and Palestinian leaders have agreed that the pope’s presence should not be used “for political profit,” Ramon said. “The visit of the pope will create the best atmosphere for peace and reconciliation between peoples without going into current problems between us and the Palestinians.”
“This is the wish of the pope,” he said. “When the holy father spoke to me this morning, he emphasized it again and again.”
The minister said the government had agreed to a request from the Palestinian National Authority to allow Christian Palestinians to attend a mass March 24 on the Mount of Beatitudes. “We have not limited access of Christian Palestinians. It is important to us to give full access,” he said.
Quote of the Day: University of Akron political science professor John Green.
(RNS) “Evangelicals are people who take the word `evil’ very seriously. It’s not just rhetoric to them.”
_ University of Akron political science professor John Green speaking March 9 after a gathering of the National Association of Evangelicals on why Sen. John McCain’s description of Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell as “evil” failed to win him votes with the religious right on Super Tuesday.
DEA END RNS
