c. 2003 Religion News Service
Lutherans Cut Budget, Lay-off Nine Employees
(RNS) The nation’s largest Lutheran church will cut its operations by $1.2 million and eliminate nine staff positions to balance against lower-than-expected income.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America said six full-time employees will lose their jobs, and three vacant positions will be eliminated. In addition, three contracted positions will soon expire.
The ELCA’s Church Council, which acts as a board of directors, approved the cutbacks Saturday (April 5). The 2003 budget is now $83.6 million after cutbacks totalling $1.7 million.
The Rev. Charles Miller, the church’s administration executive, blamed the cuts on “the harsh realities of the struggling domestic economy and a projected drop in income.”
Church departments have been asked to underspend their current budgets by $555,000 through travel cutbacks, decreased office expenses and leaving vacant positions unfilled, according to a church news release.
Some of the cuts will come by eliminating ELCA financial support for the venerable Protestant Hour radio program and cutting a church subsidy to The Lutheran magazine.
Last week the Presbyterian Church (USA) cut its 2004 budget by $3.1 million by eliminating 19 staff positions and using $1.67 million from its savings accounts.
_ Kevin Eckstrom
Religious Groups Push Bill to Ban `Conflict Diamonds’
WASHINGTON (RNS) Religious and human rights groups are rallying behind a bill to ban so-called “conflict diamonds” that are illegally mined in Sierra Leone, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and other nations.
The Clean Diamonds Trade Act would ensure that diamonds imported into the United States are legally mined. Money from the sale of conflict diamonds has been used to support terrorist groups or dictatorial regimes.
The House passed the bill on Tuesday (April 8) in a 419-2 vote. The Senate is expected to approve the measure soon, and President Bush has signaled that he will sign it.
“This will be a day long remembered not just for those in Washington, but more importantly for the victims of African diamond warlords who have suffered physically and emotionally for years,” said Richard Stearns, president of the Christian aid group World Vision.
The primary supporters of the bill include World Vision, Catholic Relief Services, Amnesty International, Oxfam America and the Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism.
The legislation would codify a verification system known as the Kimberly Process to ensure that diamonds are legitimately mined and traded. Some 50 countries have signed on to the agreement.
_ Kevin Eckstrom
Update: Paige Clarifies Comments on Religion and Schools
(RNS) U.S. Education Secretary Rod Paige has clarified remarks made to a Baptist publication after it created controversy among groups concerned about church-state separation.
Paige said his statement about religion and schools should not be interpreted as an endorsement of teaching any religion’s values in public schools, The Washington Post reported.
“I understand completely and respect the separation of church and state,” the education secretary said at a hastily called news conference on Wednesday (April 9).
Paige was quoted by Baptist Press, the news service of the Southern Baptist Convention, as saying, “All things equal, I would prefer to have a child in a school that has a strong appreciation for the values of the Christian community, where a child is taught to have a strong faith.”
At the news conference, he said his statements were about higher education.
The original comments prompted criticism from members of Congress as well as civil rights and education groups _ including Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the American Federation of Teachers and the Anti-Defamation League.
Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., wrote a letter being circulated among members of Congress that said: “We believe you owe a sincere and unambigious apology to the many American families whose faiths and educational choices your remarks have denigrated.”
Nadler and others suggested Paige should resign if he did not apologize.
The education secretary said he had no reason to do either because his intention was to convey that personally he would rather have a child in a college emphasizing strong Christian values.
Dan Langan, who at first said the article was accurate, later said Paige’s remarks were taken out of context.
Todd Starnes, the Baptist Press correspondent who wrote the story, agreed that Paige’s comments were responding to a question about universities. But he said Paige’s additional remarks about being puzzled about “animosity” toward God in the public schools were made in a broader context.
Italian High Court Rules Against Vatican Radio in Pollution Case
ROME (RNS) Italy’s highest appeals court has cleared the way for officials of Vatican Radio to be tried on charges of polluting the environment with electromagnetic emissions.
The Court of Cassation, acting on an appeal by the Italian government, on Wednesday (April 9) reversed the finding of a lower court on Feb. 19, 2002, that the officials could not be tried because Italy lacks jurisdiction over Vatican territory.
The court will report the “motivation” for its ruling separately, probably not until late spring or early summer.
“Vatican Radio takes notice of the court’s decision and will wait until it knows the motivation for the sentence,” the director of Vatican Radio said in a statement. “Radio Vatican repeats in any case that it has always taken into account international recommendations for the protection of the population from elettromagnetic emissions.”
The statement said that recent measures of emissions demonstrated that Vatican Radio had “faced constructively” the problems connected with Italian laws on emissions.
At issue are Vatican Radio’s powerful transmitters at suburban Santa Maria di Galeria, north of Rome. Residents of the town and nearby Cesano blamed a rise in cases of cancer and leukemia, especially among children, on the electromagnetic emissions from the transmitters.
Vatican Radio lowered the emissions to comply with Italian law after a bitter war of words with government officials, who had threatened to shut off its worldwide Easter broadcasts after technicians reported that emissions had reached seven to eight volts per meter. Italian law puts the limit at six volts per meter.
But the state pressed charges against Cardinal Roberto Tucci, president of the Jesuit-run Vatican Radio; the Rev. Pasquale Borgomeo, program director; and Costantino Pacifici, technical director.
The lower court accepted defense arguments that Vatican Radio’s transmitters were covered by the Lateran Pact, which governs relations between Italy and the Vatican. Article II of the pact recognizes the Vatican’s extra-territorial status.
The defense contended that the transmitters qualify for extraterritorial status granted to the Catholic church because Vatican Radio “broadcasts the voice of the pontiff and evangelical message throughout the world.”
The prosecution argued that the Italian court had jurisdiction over “a crime committed in Italy to the harm of Italian citizens.”
_ Peggy Polk
What Not to Sing at Yoru Wedding
(RNS) Couples in the diocese of Kerry, in western Ireland, have been warned against importing pop songs into their church weddings.
Guidelines issued by the Roman Catholic diocese state that all hymns and songs should be scripturally based.
“Songs/music from the shows, musicals and pop charts do a disservice to your celebration,” according to the guidelines. “Their (pop songs) beauty is best expressed at the reception.”
That rules out such favorites as “The Wind Beneath my Wings,” or “Lady in Red” _ even though the bride will be wearing white.
The guidelines even discourage the singing of a solo piece like Schubert’s or Gounod’s setting of the “Ave Maria” _ beloved of many an Irish tenor _ at communion, when “if possible people should sing together, reflecting the unity and communal nature of the ritual taking place.”
_ Robert Nowell
Quote of the Day: Basra Archbishop Djibrail Kassab
(RNS) “In these days of terror, Christians and Muslims have drawn even closer to each other. We were under the same bombs.”
_ Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Djibrail Kassab of Basra, Iraq, speaking to the Italian newspaper La Republica, about the war in his city.
DEA END RNS
