c. 2004 Religion News Service

Leaders Urge Bush to Push Plight of Holy Land Christians

(RNS) Fifty Catholic and Protestant leaders have appealed to President Bush on behalf of the dwindling Christian population in the Holy Land, who they say are under economic and physical assault from Israel.

In a May 7 letter coordinated by the advocacy group Churches for Middle East Peace, the signers said “the endangered indigenous Christian population in the Holy Land could well disappear” unless Bush intervenes.

“We need your help in convincing the Israeli government that thriving Christian institutions are vital to all of our interests and to the future of a secure Israel,” the letter said.

The signers said denials and delays of visas for church workers are leaving social service agencies without “the spiritual and the professional staff that they need.” They also said an effort to tax humanitarian agencies may put many of them, including the Augusta Victoria Hospital on the Mount of Olives, out of business.

The letter also said Israel’s “security wall” has already cut off Palestinians from their land, employment and schools. “The separation barrier is damaging Christian institutions and the daily livelihood of individual Christians,” the letter said.

Brother Robert Schieler, a leader of the De La Salle Christian Brothers, who oversee Bethlehem University, said the plight of Palestinian Christians is not known by most Americans.

“I wonder if U.S. Christians who visit Bethlehem as tourists know that many of their Christian brothers and sisters who live and work and worship where Jesus was born are not able to travel just a few miles to Jerusalem to where Jesus died and was risen,” Schieler said in a statement.

Most of the signers were leaders of mainline Protestant churches; the others included heads of Eastern Orthodox churches, men’s and women’s Catholic religious orders and relief agencies.

_ Kevin Eckstrom

Survey: Protestant Clergy Most Likely to Use New International Version

(RNS) Protestant ministers are most likely to use the New International Version of the Bible in their work, a new study shows.

Thirty-one percent of senior pastors of Protestant churches prefer the version commonly known as the NIV, a study by Ellison Research shows.

Next in popularity were the King James Version, selected by 23 percent of pastors; the New Revised Standard Version, the choice of 14 percent; the New King James Version, the pick of 13 percent; and the New American Standard Bible, selected by 10 percent.

Asked how they selected the version they rely on most, 40 percent of ministers said they chose based on their sense of the accuracy of the translation, 16 percent focused on its reliability, 14 percent said they looked to the language style of the version and 13 percent said their choice was based on the solid reputation of the version.

The New International Version appealed most to Midwesterners and Westerners while the New Revised Standard was most popular in the Northeast.

Pastors of smaller congregations and ministers 60 years of age or older tended to opt for the King James Version. That version also was selected most by ministers in the South.

The nationwide study of 700 Protestant ministers has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.

The findings by Ellison Research, a Phoenix-based research firm, were reported in the May/June edition of the Facts & Trends publication of LifeWay Christian Resources, a division of the Southern Baptist Convention.

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Following information suitable for graphic:

Favorite Bible Versions of U.S. Protestant Pastors

New International Version: 31 percent

King James Version: 23 percent

New Revised Standard Version: 14 percent

New King James Version: 13 percent

New American Standard Bible: 10 percent

_ Adelle M. Banks

Faith Groups React to Ruling on Over-the-Counter `Morning After’ Pill

(RNS) The decision by the Food and Drug Administration to decline approval of the so-called “morning after” pill as an over-the-counter medication has drawn mixed reaction from the religious community.

The FDA announced Friday (May 7) that it had sent a “not approvable” letter to Barr Pharmaceuticals, the New Jersey-based company that has sought a new status for the drug. The company says the emergency contraception can reduce the risk of pregnancy by 89 percent after a single act of unprotected intercourse if it is taken within 72 hours.

Groups typically on opposite sides of abortion debates voiced praise and protests about the FDA action.

“We are pleased that the voice of reason prevailed,” said Cathy Cleaver Ruse, spokeswoman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Pro-Life Office. “A drug which can destroy human embryos and increases health risks to women and girls does not belong on the drugstore shelf.”

Conservative Christian organizations such as Family Research Council and Focus on the Family also applauded the FDA decision.

The Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism and the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice protested the move, saying it will not aid efforts to help women have reproductive freedom.

Differing with the critics, the coalition views emergency contraception as preventing pregnancy, not causing an abortion.

“From an interfaith perspective, emergency contraception is a responsible, safe and appropriate method to avoid unintended pregnancies and reduce the need for abortion,” the coalition said in a statement.

The FDA decision came five months after an agency panel had recommended that the medication be made available over-the-counter. But the FDA told Barr its application did not include enough data to show it could be used by young adolescent women without a prescription.

FDA and Barr officials said they would continue to work on possible future approval of the medication for over-the-counter use.

_ Adelle M. Banks

Survey: Most Dioceses Have No Formal Policy on Dissenting Politicians

WASHINGTON (RNS) A survey by a Catholic abortion rights group shows that nearly two-thirds of Catholic dioceses have no formal policy about restricting Communion for pro-choice politicians.

Research by Catholics for a Free Choice showed that 62 percent of dioceses have an informal policy on how to treat politicians who dissent from the church’s opposition to abortion, and half have unwritten policies that include various sanctions.

Only one diocese _ La Crosse, Wis. _ has a formal policy denying Communion to pro-choice politicians. Archbishop Raymond Burke, who instituted the policy last year before he was transferred to St. Louis, has not said whether he will issue a similar formal policy in his new post.

Bishops in Lincoln, Neb., Camden, N.J., and Colorado Springs joined Burke to say they would deny politicians Communion, while 14 others have publicly encouraged dissenting politicians to abstain from the sacrament.

Frances Kissling, president of the group, said the research shows that bishops who publicly deny sacraments are a distinct minority.

“Even though there’s been an enormous amount of publicity given to the bishops who have instituted draconian policies, the fact is that most bishops are loath to use the sacraments as a political tool,” she said.

The study included responses from 133 of 178 U.S. dioceses; researchers did not include Eastern Rite eparchies. Eighty-five dioceses had informal policies, while 67 had used unwritten sanctions including a ban on bestowing honors on politicians, or public speaking bans.

At the same time, conservatives who support sanctions have criticized Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of Washington for hesitating to use Communion as a “sanction.” McCarrick is heading a task force of bishops who are drafting guidelines on how to handle dissenting politicians.

A full-page newspaper ad sponsored by the American Life League said McCarrick’s hesitation is “comforting words” for Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, but “cold comfort for the 1.3 million babies surgically aborted every year.” A spokeswoman said McCarrick would have no comment on the ads.

_ Kevin Eckstrom

N.J. Political Leader to Leave Catholic Church Over Communion Issue

NEWARK, N.J. (RNS) Only days after the Newark archbishop called it dishonest for Catholic politicians to receive Communion if they favor abortion rights, a legislative leader said he will leave the Catholic church.

State Senate Majority Leader Bernard Kenny, a Democrat from Hudson County and a former altar boy who regularly attended Saints Peter and Paul Church in Hoboken, N.J., said he had considered leaving the church about two years ago because his views on several issues, including abortion, conflicted with the church’s.

Kenny said he decided to act after Newark Archbishop John J. Myers published a pastoral letter last week.

“Even before the bishop’s communication on Wednesday, I’d been struggling privately about how I can be a member of this church when I’m taking positions inconsistent with what they are espousing,” he said Sunday (May 9).

“I don’t take issue with the church taking these positions. The church is an autocratic institution; it’s never pretended to be otherwise. It’s ruled by the Vatican, and the bishops do what the pope says. I respect that,” he said. But he said he opposes church doctrine against abortion, stem-cell research, civil unions for gay people and the death penalty.

Myers’ pastoral letter said it is “objectively dishonest” for Catholics who publicly dissent from church doctrine on abortion to receive the Eucharist.

Kenny said he is unsure where he will worship in the future but that the Episcopal church is a possibility.

“I know several Episcopal churches fairly active in my community, active in social justice issues,” he said. “I have a lot of respect for them. I’m going to look at that, but I haven’t made up my mind yet.”

_ Jeff Diamant

Update: Archbishop Brady Makes Call for IRA Disarming Explicit

LONDON (RNS) Archbishop Sean Brady of Armagh, Ireland, has called on the Irish Republican Army to disarm and disband.

The call, made in an interview with BBC Radio Ulster on Sunday (May 9), makes explicit what Brady had implied in a speech given in London last week.

“We must dispel any ambivalence in our own (Roman Catholic) community about the presence or actions of non-democratic and totally unaccountable armed groups in our own community,” he said, referring to the IRA.

“I’m calling on people to forsake once and for all the armed struggle.”

For decades the IRA has been a waging a sometimes violent struggle for separation of the six counties of northern Ireland from British rule and for unification with Ireland. They have been opposed by equally militant and violent Protestant forces.

_ Robert Nowell

Quote of the Day: Former University of Notre Dame President Theodore Hesburgh

(RNS) “Thinking of this as `Touchdown Jesus’ was just not in my mind, or anybody else’s for that matter. And it’s become a kind of nice, friendly familiar name for this beautiful piece of art.”

_ The Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, former president of the University of Notre Dame, on the 40th anniversary of the “Touchdown Jesus” mural near Notre Dame’s football stadium. Fans say the mural of Jesus, with his arms outstretched, looks like a referee signaling a touchdown.

DEA/PH END RNS