c. 2003 Religion News Service
Sign Faith Statement or Resign, Southern Baptist Missionaries Told
(RNS) The Southern Baptist Convention’s International Mission Board has given more than two dozen missionaries an ultimatum: Sign the denomination’s faith statement or resign.
Jerry Rankin, president of the board, sent a letter April 11 to 18 “missionary units,” or 31 people, seeking a decision by May 5, the denomination announced.
He intends to ask board trustees to terminate the positions of those who “continue to refuse accountability to the beliefs of Southern Baptist churches,” the announcement said.
Since his original request more than a year ago for affirmation of the 2000 version of the Baptist Faith and Message, 98.7 percent of the board’s 5,500 workers overseas have supported the statement.
Some missionaries who have not affirmed the statement believe the board is trying to coerce them into agreeing to something they consider to be a creedal statement that refers to “doctrinal accountability.” Baptist officials have denied the statement is a creed and Rankin said “no one was coerced” to affirm it.
In a letter to one missionary, Rankin said if the person did not affirm the document, “I would like to ask that you consider resigning rather than maintaining a position that would undermine the integrity and credibility of the IMB.”
Other letters to three missionary units did not include the choice of affirming the statement but asked them to resign.
Rankin said those six missionaries “have clearly and publicly stated positions contrary to the BF&M that are beyond acceptable parameters. They have adamantly refused to be accountable to the IMB and Southern Baptist churches as requested.”
The board did not release the names of the missionaries who were sent the letters.
By the end of the summer, at least 42 missionaries are expected to have submitted letters of resignation that cite Rankin’s request as a factor in their decisions.
“We deeply regret losing any missionary, but we are accountable to the churches in this matter,” Rankin said in a statement. “If a missionary’s disagreements are so great that he or she cannot in good conscience promise to work in harmony with the BF&M, we feel he or she has an obligation to Southern Baptists to tell them so.”
_ Adelle M. Banks
Abuse Lawsuits Filed Against Long Island, Cleveland Dioceses
(RNS) Nearly three dozen people who claim they were abused by Catholic priests on Long Island have filed two separate lawsuits against the Diocese of Rockville Centre, seeking $1.4 billion in damages.
The two suits, filed Monday (April 14), allege church officials knew of predatory priests and moved to protect them while not informing parishioners. One suit seeks $300 million; the other seeks $1.15 billion.
In February, a damning grand jury report accused the two-county diocese of systematically protecting abusive priests and called its child protection policies a “sham.” Prosecutors did not file charges because the statute of limitations had expired.
Attorney Melanie Little, filing on behalf of 11 alleged victims, accused three priests of abuse. She said she can overcome the time limitations by proving fraud by church leaders, including Bishop William Murphy and his deceased predecessors.
“The fraud is that they were representing that the schools, the churches, were safe, when the reality was they knew there were predatory priests,” she told The New York Times.
Attorney Michael Dowd, filing on behalf of 23 alleged victims, accused 14 priests of abuse. He said the grand jury report will help prove a consistent pattern of cover-up and denial. “They didn’t care about children,” he said. “They put the sexual predators ahead of the children they were charged to protect.
Church spokeswoman Joanne Novarro said, “The diocese intends to defend this case vigorously, as any institution in our society has a right and an obligation to do,” according to Newsday.
Meanwhile, in Cleveland, a lawyer has filed a racketeering suit against the Diocese of Cleveland, asking to see the personnel files on all church priests. The April 10 lawsuit accused the church of protecting known abusers and failing to report crimes to police.
Five Ohio residents say they were abused by priests in the diocese, according to the Associated Press. In the past year, 16 abuse suits have been filed against the diocese.
And in Mobile, Ala., Archbishop Oscar Lipscomb is coming under fire for not moving sooner to remove abusive priests. A poll by the Mobile Register and the University of South Alabama found that more than one-third of local residents want Lipscomb to resign. Just over half of Catholics _ 51 percent _ said Lipscomb should stay.
_ Kevin Eckstrom
Pope Approves Step Toward Sainthood for Last Austro-Hungarian Emperor
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope John Paul II has approved the first step toward sainthood for Charles of Hapsburg, the last Austro-Hungarian emperor, who died in exile in 1922.
The pope presided over a ceremony in the Apostolic Palace on Saturday (April 12) at which the Congregation for the Causes of Saints issued a decree recognizing Charles’ “heroic virtues” and declaring him worthy of veneration.
Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, prefect of the congregation, praised Charles as an exemplary “Christian, husband, father and sovereign.”
“A man of secure moral rectitude and solid faith, he always sought the good of his people and in his governing action was inspired by the social doctrine of the church,” Saraiva Martins said. “He fomented justice and peace and nourished a constant longing for holiness.”
Born at Persenbeug, Austria, on Aug. 17, 1887, Charles succeeded Emperor Franz Joseph to the throne in 1916 during World War I. Although considered a liberal ruler, he was deposed in 1918 with the dissolution of the empire and died of pneumonia on April 1, 1922, at age 35, in an unheated villa at Funchal on the Portuguese island of Madeira.
Saraiva Martins noted that on his wedding to the Bourbon Princess Zita of Parma in 1911, Charles told his new wife, “Now we must lead each other to heaven.” The couple had eight children and “lived in love and faith,” the cardinal said.
Archduke Otto, 90, Charles’ eldest son and head of the House of Hapsburg, led a family delegation to the ceremony at which the pope also approved 15 other decrees.
For Charles to be declared blessed, the next step toward sainthood, the church will require proof of a miracle attributed to his intercession. Following beatification, a second miracle is required for canonization.
Precedents for the canonization of emperors stretch back to Constantine, who converted to Christianity in the fourth century.
_ Peggy Polk
Haiti Sanctions Voodoo as Official Religion
(RNS) The government of Haiti has allowed voodoo as an officially sanctioned religion, but followers say it will take more than a government decree to unravel years of misunderstanding and persecution.
Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, in a recent executive order, called the religion “an essential part of national identity” and invited voodoo followers to register with the Ministry of Religious Affairs. After registering, followers will be able to legally perform weddings, baptisms and other rituals.
“In spite of our contribution to Haitian culture, we are still misunderstood and despised,” Philippe Castera, a voodoo priest, told the Associated Press.
Voodoo combines elements of African religion with Catholic spirituality. Voodoo teaches belief in a supreme God, and that spirits can be summoned through gifts and offerings to bring ill will or good fortune to others.
Popular beliefs about voodoo link it with witchcraft, but adherents deny the connection.
Despite its heavy presence in Haitian and Caribbean culture, voodoo has come under attack in the country. In the 1940s, a Catholic-led campaign destroyed many voodoo temples and ritual objects.
In 1986, many voodoo practitioners were killed on the pretext that they had been accomplices to deposed dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier.
Dobson Remains Chairman of Focus on the Family; New President Named
(RNS) James Dobson, longtime president of Focus on the Family, has decided to expand his role as chairman of the conservative Christian group but pass on the presidency role to a successor.
Don Hodel, the former president of the Christian Coalition and a Cabinet member in the Reagan administration, will begin serving as president and CEO on May 15.
“This redefined responsibility will assure Dr. Dobson’s continued leadership of the organization but without the burden of day-to-day management,” the Colorado Springs, Colo.-based ministry announced. “It will allow him to spend more time on ministry objectives that only he can accomplish.”
Dobson, who founded the ministry in 1977, will continue his role as host of the ministry’s radio program, also called “Focus on the Family.”
Hodel was the Christian Coalition’s president from 1997 to 1999 and was energy secretary and interior secretary during Reagan’s presidency. He has served on the ministry’s board of directors since 1995.
In another transition in the organization, John Paulk, an outspoken member of the “ex-gay” movement, has announced he will leave the organization as of May 6. Since 1998, he has managed the ministry’s homosexuality and gender department and spoken from personal experience for the controversial Christian movement portraying homosexuality as a lifestyle that can be left behind.
Paulk is moving with his wife and children to the Pacific Northwest to be closer to extended family.
“I will always have a heart for men and women struggling with homosexuality, but after working 16 years on this contentious issue, it’s time for me to pursue other endeavors,” he said in a statement.
Dobson said of Paulk, “While we’re sad to see him go, we know God has great plans for him, Anne and the boys in the coming days.”
_ Adelle M. Banks
Unconfirmed Reports Say Pope Will Visit Russian City of Kazan
VATICAN CITY (RNS) According to unconfirmed reports originating in Poland, Pope John Paul II will pay a brief visit to the Russian city of Kazan en route to Mongolia in August to return a precious 16th century icon to the Russian Orthodox Church.
A Polish radio station broadcast the report on Monday (April 14), citing sources close to the Polish-born pope. Kazan, the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Tartarstan, is located some 500 miles east of Moscow in the central Volga region and would be on the pope’s direct route to the Mongolian capital of Ulan Bator.
Although John Paul has been invited to travel to Mongolia in late August, there has been no official confirmation of the trip, and spokesmen for the Russian government and the Orthodox and Catholic churches in Moscow cast doubt on the possibility of a “technical stop” at the Kazan airport. The Vatican neither confirmed nor denied the report.
The purpose of the stop would be for John Paul to return to the Russian Orthodox Church the icon of the Madonna of Kazan, which now hangs on a wall in his private apartments in the Apostolic Palace. The icon is venerated throughout Russia and was used as a standard in battle to rally Russian troops.
It is doubtful, however, that the Roman Catholic pontiff would set foot on Russian territory without the approval of Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexey II as well of as civil authorities.
John Paul has for years hoped to meet with Alexey in a major step toward Catholic-Orthodox reconciliation. The patriarch has refused, accusing Catholics of seeking converts in Russian Orthodox territory since the fall of communism.
_ Peggy Pope
Quote of the Day: Religion Writer and Editor Philip Zaleski of Northampton, Mass.
(RNS) “I believe that the more people pray for something, well, it’s like more people knocking on a door. It may be more likely that the door will be opened. Every person that prays is a soul who has a legitimate claim upon God. So how can God ignore a chorus of souls? It seems it would carry a natural force with it.”
_ Religion writer and editor Philip Zaleski of Northampton, Mass., in an interview with Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly television program.
DEA END RNS
