c. 2000 Religion News Service
Vermont House Approves `Civil Unions’ for Gays
(RNS) The Vermont House, in a historic vote Thursday (March 16), agreed to permit gay couples to form “civil unions” giving them the same rights and benefits afforded married heterosexual couples.
The bill, which passed by a vote of 76-69, is expected to receive approval from the state Senate by the end of April. The legislation also has been supported by Democratic Gov. Howard Dean.
If it becomes law, Vermont will have gone further than any other state in recognizing couples of the same sex, the Associated Press reported.
“This certainly is groundbreaking,” said Peg Byron, education director for Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, a gay advocacy group. “I think it really sets a moral as well as a legislative example for the rest of the country.”
State lawmakers adopted an amendment making it clear the term “marriage” continues to refer solely to the union of a man and a woman.
Opponents to the bill consider it an assault on morality and traditional marriage.
“This bill is not about the civil rights of a minority,” said Roman Catholic Bishop Kenneth Angell in a statement. “This bill is about a minority imposing their concept of morality upon the morality of the majority.”
The legislation is being considered after the state Supreme Court ruled in December that it was unconstitutional to deny same-sex couples the benefits of marriage. That court let the Vermont Legislature determine whether gay marriages should be allowed or some kind of domestic partnership should be created.
Under the bill, partners could apply for a license from town clerks and have their civil unions “certified” by a judge, a justice of the peace or a member of the clergy.
Some 300 state benefits or privileges available to married couples also would become available to same-sex couples in areas such as medical decisions, property transfers, inheritance and taxes. Couples could file a joint state income tax return, but federal taxes _ along with Social Security and immigration rights _ would not be recognized by the federal government.
Appeals Court Says Florida Graduation Prayers Legal
(RNS) A federal appeals court has ruled a Florida school system’s policy permitting prayers at graduation ceremonies _ if students vote to have them _ is legal.
The decision issued Wednesday (March 15) by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirms a policy created by the Duval County schools in 1993.
The appellate court ruled that the policy recognizes the “crucial difference between government speech endorsing religion” and private speech that may contain a prayer. Thus, the court decided the policy is constitutional, the Associated Press reported.
“The total absence of state involvement in deciding whether there will be a graduation message, who will speak or what the speaker may say combined with the student speaker’s complete autonomy over the content of the message convinces us that the message delivered, be it secular or sectarian or both, is not state-sponsored,” the court ruled.
The decision was hailed by supporters of school prayer and criticized by opponents.
“I am elated with this victory,” said Mathew D. Staver, president and general counsel of Liberty Counsel, an Orlando, Fla.-based legal defense organization that represented students who wanted to include a religious message or prayer at graduation ceremonies.
“Students do not shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or freedom of religion when they enter the graduation podium.”
The national director of programs for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes also welcomed the decision.
“With all the challenges facing students and educators today, the court’s decision to uphold student-initiated prayer reinforces a positive influence in our schools,” said Milt Cooper of FCA, which is based in Kansas City, Mo.
Critics of the decision hope it will be considered and overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court.
“We are disappointed that the full panel has declared that a majority could impose their will on a minority and compel others to listen to prayers that are offensive to some,” said Phil Baum, executive director of the New York-based American Jewish Congress.
Ellen Johnson, president of American Atheists, said the decision allows children to be used as a “faith shield” to exploit a captive audience.
“We are disturbed by the court’s refusal to acknowledge the obvious differences between private and public religious expression,” said Johnson, whose organization is based in Parsippany, N.J.
Hillary Clinton: Let Feds Probe Church Vandalism
(RNS) Two days after the latest attack in a string of vandalisms of religious statues in New York, first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton suggested the federal government get involved in investigating the incidents.
Clinton, who is campaigning for a New York Senate seat, also issued an appeal to Congress for legislation that would permit an investigation by the National Church Arson Task Force and grant federal prosecutors more resources.
Nearly a dozen statues at Catholic churches, homes and clubs in Brooklyn have been attacked by vandals since September, prompting Bishop Thomas Daily to issue a memo urging parishes to remain aware of any activity around churches. The latest attack came Wednesday (March 15) on a statue of the Virgin Mary at the Holy Cross Church in Flatbush. Two other churches were struck Sunday (March 12), and in January, the vandals struck three churches, a convent and a private home over two days _ smashing the hands and faces of statues of the Virgin Mary and Pope Pius X and leaving behind a note that claimed the pope was “Satan who deceives the Earth,” the Associated Press reported.
No suspects have been identified so far, and the New York Police Department’s Bias Unit is offering a $40,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.
17 NBC Affiliates Drop `God, the Devil and Bob’
(RNS) Seventeen NBC affiliates have decided not to air the controversial “God, the Devil and Bob” show, a new animated program some critics consider offensive.
Leslie Reed, senior press manager for NBC, said Friday (March 17) that the latest station to decide not to air future episodes is the affiliate in Mobile, Ala.
But Reed said the show has not prompted as many reactive phone calls as she had anticipated.
“We’ve gotten very few calls,” she told Religion News Service. “Quite frankly, I expected more of an outcry.”
She said the network has received a “couple of hundred calls,” with some people describing the show as blasphemous and others saying, “Everyone should just relax. It’s just a TV show.”
The show, which began midseason, will be on only in March and April during the current season, she said.
An upcoming episode titled “God’s Girlfriend” will not air until the next season. That episode features Elizabeth Taylor in a guest-star role in which she plays a woman who previously had the job now held by the main character Bob _ to be God’s prophet.
“In the story line, she sort of got a crush on God … but they were never boyfriend or girlfriend,” Reed said.
NBC executives probably won’t make a decision until April about whether to continue the show in the fall, Reed said.
“The ratings have been low so it could go either way, but the show has definitely not been canceled,” she said.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations is among the groups that have voiced concerns about the show.
“This kind of tasteless and trivial portrayal of God does a disservice to the millions of American television viewers who have deeply felt religious beliefs,” said Nihad Awad, executive director of CAIR.
Earlier, NBC issued a statement in response to those who said the show was offensive.
“`God, the Devil and Bob’ is an animated sitcom in which the main character, Bob, deals with the moral dilemma of good vs. evil in each episode,” the network said. “As such, it follows in the long tradition of entertainment vehicles that comedically depict this universal struggle. It was never our intention to offend anyone.”
National Council of Churches Hails Evangelical Bylaw Change
(RNS) The general secretary of the National Council of Churches has hailed the decision by the National Association of Evangelicals to permit membership of denominations affiliated with other umbrella organizations of churches.
“The National Council of Churches welcomes this change in bylaws and rejoices in this new opportunity to draw closer to brothers and sisters in Christ,” said the Rev. Bob Edgar in a statement. “This bold step by the NAE is evidence of God’s abiding Spirit working in and through us for the sake of the world.”
The board of directors of NAE decided March 6 to change the organization’s bylaws to permit denominations that are members of ecclesiastical groups other than the NAE to hold dual membership with the evangelical organization if they are willing to commit to the group’s statement of faith and mission.
Edgar noted that the organizations, which have had an antagonistic relationship for more than 50 years, have recently experienced “a softening of the sharp conflict” between the more liberal NCC and more conservative NAE.
In 1996, the Rev. Don Argue, former president of the NAE, was the first representative of the evangelical organization to address a General Assembly of the NCC. Last fall, when the NCC celebrated its 50th anniversary, Bishop Kevin Mannoia, the new NAE president, took part in a dialogue with NCC, Roman Catholic and Pentecostal representatives.
“I look forward to becoming better acquainted with the NAE and its work and priorities,” said Edgar, who started his position in January. “Reliant on God’s guidance, we look forward to a future that brings us into the candid and discerning kind of conversation that ought to characterize Christian fellowship.”
Burger King Revamps `Offensive’ Whopper Radio Ad
(RNS) After protests from American Muslims, fast food giant Burger King has agreed to revamp a radio ad for its new bacon cheddar Whopper that featured a character named “Rasheed” who greeted his “brothers and sisters” with “peace.”
Islamic law prohibits the eating of pork products, and Muslims routinely greet each other with the phrase “peace to you.” Muslims also refer to each other as “brothers” and “sisters.”
The ad, which takes place in a coffeehouse, featured “Rasheed” _ a Muslim name _ talking about the new burger. In a letter to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Burger King Vice President Robert Doughty said the new character will be named “Soloman” who will address his “friends,” rather than “brothers and sisters.”
“The advertisement was written to take place in a coffeehouse and was not meant to refer to any religion or organization,” Doughty wrote to CAIR. “We are making these changes so there is no confusion.”
The ad was geared toward African-Americans, one of the fastest-growing segments of Islam. CAIR has recently demanded changes in several advertisements and persuaded a North Carolina-based advertising company to pull an ad that featured Muslims “praying” to a basketball.
“It is important that any company respect the sensitivities of its customers,” CAIR board member Omar Ahmad said in a statement. “We commend Burger King for its quick action.”
Update: Free Speech Protest at Catholic College
(RNS) About 50 students at a private Catholic university in Rhode Island gathered Thursday (March 16) to protest the suspension of three fellow students for using an image of the Virgin Mary on an abortion rights flier.
“We’re speaking to our right to free speech and to protest the administration’s action,” said sophomore Devan Chase, 20, who helped organize the protest, held outside the university’s administration building.
Junior Patrick Moran, sophomore Christopher White and senior Daniel Pastrana were each given $1,000 fines and suspended for the remainder of the semester from Providence College, where Roman Catholics make up more than 80 percent of the 3,700-member student body, and a number of Dominican friars and nuns serve on the faculty. In February the three posted on a classroom door a flier that read “How’s this for an immaculate concept: Keep Abortion Safe and Legal,” an act brought to the attention of administrators by a theology professor.
The Rev. Philip Smith, president of the university, contended the poster was a “deliberate misuse of a venerated person,” but the three students say it was intended to provoke discussion, not offend.
John Colby, a psychology professor at the university, said the administration’s decision to suspend the students was wrong, and the school should have explained to the students why some people found their poster offensive, the Associated Press reported.
“We’re supposed to be here to share ideas and debate,” said Colby. “We’re providing for the opportunity for people to express different points of view. It’s not as though they committed some crime.”
One protester disagreed.
“The right to free speech is not all-encompassing,” said junior Stephanie Fitzgerald, 20. “The fliers themselves were a defamation of the image of the Virgin Mary. It’s a Catholic institution’s duty to uphold the teachings of the faith.”
Jesus’ Good Friday Route Being Renovated
(RNS) The Via Dolorosa, or Stations of the Cross, marking the traditional route through Jerusalem’s Old City that Jesus was said to have taken just prior to his crucifixion, has been renovated just in time for Pope John Paul II’s upcoming visit.
The renovation, sponsored by the Jerusalem Foundation, includes sand-blasting of building fronts and repainting metal grillwork to create a feeling of continuity along the route. The facades of the stations, stone illustrations of events in Jesus’ last hours of life, have been cleaned and enhanced with signs and illumination.
Approximately half of the funds for the $1 million renovation was raised by the Jerusalem Foundation, a nonprofit organization devoted to enhancing Jerusalem and its quality of life, while the remainder was financed by the Israeli government and Jerusalem Municipality.
British Churches Back New Sex Ed Rules
(RNS) The Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church have welcomed proposed new rules about sex education that the government is proposing to replace the controversial law barring local authorities from promoting the teaching in any government-supported school of the acceptability of homosexuality “as a pretended family relationship.”
Following consultation with Bishop Alan Chesters of Blackburn, chairman of the Church of England Board of Education, and Archbishop-elect Vincent Nichols of Birmingham, chairman of the Catholic Education Service, as well as with a number of other religious and other bodies, Secretary of State for Education David Blunkett announced Thursday (March 16) that the government will propose an amendment to pending legislation that, in the words of the two bishops, “goes a long way toward meeting the concerns we have expressed.”
The Labor government of Tony Blair has proposed doing away with current law, but the proposal has been met with a firestorm of criticism from the churches and other religious groups.
The new amendment, if adopted, will apply only to England and Wales. What will replace the ban in Scotland is a matter for the Scottish Parliament to decide, government officials said.
The proposed amendment obliges the Secretary of State to issue guidelines designed to ensure that in sex education pupils “learn about the nature of marriage and its importance for family life and for the bringing up of children” and “learn the significance of marriage and stable relationships as key building blocks of community and society.”
Older pupils are also to learn “the reasons for delaying sexual activity and the benefits to be gained from such delay.”
Quote of the Day: Hispanic evangelical leader Jesse Miranda
(RNS) “A sermon to be divine doesn’t have to be eternal.”
The Rev. Jesse Miranda, president of AMEN, the Alianza de Ministerios Evangelicos Nacionales (Alliance of National Evangelical Ministries), speaking at a March 8 banquet of the National Association of Evangelicals in Arlington, Va.
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