c. 2000 Religion News Service
National Council of Churches Lays Off Three More Employees
(RNS) The National Council of Churches, still reeling from the worse fiscal and management crisis in its 51-year-history, has laid off three more employees, bringing the total number of downsized staffers to 13.
The Rev. Bob Edgar, the NCC’s general secretary, said the additional lay-offs, all from middle management positions, were “not unexpected” and are part of an overall fiscal restructuring that requires the ecumenical council to stay within its budget.
“For a long time we lived outside our budget and now we’re living inside our budget,” Edgar told Religion News Service. “These are some of the choices you have to make when you’re leading a fiscally challenged institution.”
The NCC, which represents 35 mainline Protestant and Orthodox churches, has been grappling with a staggering debt as it tries to determine how it would be most effective in the future.
Earlier this year, NCC leaders asked member communions and Church World Service _ the NCC’s humanitarian arm _ to help pay down a $6.4 million debt in its reserve funds. Most of that money has been promised, but not all of it has been delivered, said Carol Fouke, an NCC spokeswoman.
The Presbyterian Church (USA), which promised $500,000 for the bailout, has already given $100,000, and a church panel will recommend on Saturday (Sept. 23) that the remaining money be given to the NCC, even though not all of the conditions have been met, according to Presbyterian News Service.
Tensions between the NCC and Church World Service were alleviated when the two agencies agreed to become financially independent from each other earlier this year.
Edgar said the layoffs are part of the “tinkering” process that all troubled organizations go through when trying to make major changes. Edgar said the process will take at least two years, but that the NCC has already made significant progress.
“This has more to do with staying on focus and staying on message and vision and making sure we’re within our budget,” Edgar said. “We made a commitment that we’re going to be fiscally responsible, and this is part of that action.”
Judge Clears Government in Suit Over Branch Davidian Deaths
(RNS) A Texas federal judge cleared the federal government of any wrongdoing in the deaths of 80 Branch Davidians in a suit brought by the victims’ families.
U.S. District Judge Walter Smith ruled late Wednesday (Sept. 20) that federal agents acted within the limits of the law, the Associated Press reported.
That ruling clears the government in a $675 million wrongful-death lawsuit.
“The only gunfire on April 19, 1993, was generated by certain Davidians inside the compound,” the judge wrote of the standoff in Waco, Texas.
He said there was no evidence to support the claim that the agents fired weapons on that day.
The siege began Feb. 28, 1993, when agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms attempted to arrest David Koresh, leader of the sect. Six Branch Davidians and four ATF agents died when a gunfight broke out.
The standoff concluded when the FBI agents pumped tear gas from tanks into the compound. A fire started and Koresh and almost all of the Davidians died, some from gunshots and others from the fire.
“The FBI acted with restraint … despite the deadly gunfire directed at them during the tear gas operation,” Smith wrote.
Michael Caddell, lead attorney for those filing the suit, could not be reached immediately for comment.
The AP reported that Deputy Attorney General Erich Holder of the Justice Department said the decision “appropriately recognizes that many law enforcement officers risked their lives to uphold our nation’s laws.”
Florida Lawyer Named New President of Family Research Council
(RNS) A Florida attorney has been named to succeed Gary Bauer as the president of the Family Research Council.
Kenneth L. Connor, 53, will become the new leader of the conservative Christian public policy organization based in Washington. He succeeds Bauer, who led the council for a decade before his departure in January 1999.
In 1994, Connor was an unsuccessful contender for the Republican nomination for governor of Florida. An anti-abortion proponent, Connor has served as president and chairman of the board for Florida Right to Life, vice chairman of Americans United for Life and chairman of the board of Care Net, which has more than 500 affiliated pregnancy care centers.
Kristin Hansen, spokeswoman for Family Research Council, told Religion News Service that Connor gradually will phase out of his legal role in Florida before moving to Washington.
“It’s a real exciting time for FRC,” she said. “He’ll be doing some traveling with us this fall and then beginning in January, he’ll be with us more full time.”
On Sept. 26, the organization will publicly announce the selection of Connor as well as a new national advisory committee, that will include representatives of a variety of fields, including media, academia and public policy.
Iran Reduces Sentences of Jews Convicted As Spies
(RNS) Leaders of an American Jewish organization have condemned an Iranian appeals court’s decision to reduce the sentences of 10 Iranian Jews found guilty in July of passing confidential information to Israel.
“Regretfully, once again Iran’s judiciary has rejected an opportunity to undo the injustice against the Jewish defendants in the Shiraz trial,” Ronald S. Lauder and Malcolm Hoenlein, chairman and executive vice chairman, respectively, of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, said in a statement.
“While this is a positive step to which the defendants were entitled, we remain outraged that after more than 11/2 years of harsh imprisonment, separated from their families, the defendants remain in jail for crimes that the court itself acknowledges they did not commit,” they said.
In July, an Iranian closed court found the 10 guilty of passing confidential information to Israel, and sentenced them to prison terms ranging from four to 13 years.
On Thursday (Sept. 21), the appeals court gave the two men who received the longest prison sentences _ shoe salesman Dani Tefilin and university professor Asher Zadmehr _ reduced terms of nine and seven years, respectively, the Associated Press reported. Others were given new terms that ranged from two to nine years, and included time already served.
“These sentences are the lowest possible sentences and we have used the ultimate of Islamic kindness and generosity,” provincial judiciary chief Hossein Ali Amiri said. “According to the law, these charges could have brought execution.”
Meanwhile, the Vatican said Thursday its diplomats intervened with Iranian authorities several times to ensure that they respected the rights of the 10.
Chief Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls confirmed the Vatican’s interest in the case in a carefully worded statement issued shortly before an Iranian appeals court handed down its verdict.
“The Secretariat of State touched upon the fate of the aforementioned prisoners with Iranian authorities more than once, both directly and indirectly,” the Vatican spokesman said.
Navarro-Valls said the Vatican action was “in tune with the position of the Catholic church” on the need to respect the rights of the accused in a “fair and just trial” and to ensure the rights of prison inmates.
The appeals court also decided the men were innocent of belonging to an illegal spy ring and recruiting spies for the group, but upheld the espionage convictions, Amiri said.
Bishops Urge U.S. Cleanup of Filipino Military Bases
(RNS) The U.S. government needs to do more to clean up toxic waste at former military bases in the Philippines, the nation’s Roman Catholic bishops said in a letter to a congressional panel.
The letter, sent by Gerard F. Powers of the bishops’ Office of International Justice and Peace, came at the urging of four Filipino bishops whose dioceses have been directly affected by the environmental damage.
Powers urged Rep. Douglas Bereuter, R-Neb., chairman of the House International Relations Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, to support a resolution that calls attention to the issue.
“Taking some action to alleviate this human tragedy would clearly be an important step in maintaining and improving our good relations with the people of the Philippines,” Powers wrote.
In an attached statement, the Filipino bishops said the United States needs to clean up toxic materials left at Clark Air Force Base in Angeles City and the Subic Naval Base in Olongapo City, both of which are now closed. The bishops said 20 children and eight adults have died because of the waste, and as many as 100,000 drank contaminated water.
The bishops said the situation “patently shows a disregard for a fundamental human right to food and water uncontaminated with industrial chemicals.”
“Long after American forces left, fuels, cleaning fluids, lubricants and other chemicals continue to leech into the land and groundwater, endangering the lives of local population and the environment,” the bishops said.
Quote of the Day: The Rev. Joan Brown Campbell, religion director at the Chautauqua Institution
(RNS) “I learned about grace at the Communion table. These are the gifts of God for the people of God. All the people. There is no place for racism, sexism or homophobia.”
_ The Rev. Joan Brown Campbell, director of the department of religion at The Chautauqua Institution and retired general secretary of the National Council of Churches. She was quoted in the Thursday (Sept. 21) edition of USA Today.
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