c. 2004 Religion News Service

Pope Names Cardinal Law to Post in Rome

VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope John Paul II has named Cardinal Bernard Law, the controversial former archbishop of Boston, to the ceremonial post of archpriest of the Rome Basilica of St. Mary Major, the Vatican said Thursday (May 27).

Law, 72, has been resident chaplain at the convent of the Sisters of Mercy of Alma in Clinton, Md., since the pope accepted his resignation as head of the 2.1-million-member Boston archdiocese on Dec. 13, 2002, amidst criticism of the cardinal for failing to discipline priests accused of pedophilia.

St. Mary Major is one of four major basilicas in Rome under direct Vatican jurisdiction. Law, who will succeed Italian Cardinal Carlo Furno, 82, as archpriest, will be in charge of administration, including ceremonies and finances.

Although St. Mary Major is one of Rome’s most important basilicas the post of archpriest carries status rather than power. Law will continue to play a role in the Vatican, however, as a member of nine congregations and two councils.

The sex abuse scandal that swept the U.S. church in 2002 erupted first in Boston where Law was accused of moving priests accused of sexually abusing minors from parish to parish without subjecting them to church or civil discipline.

Law, the senior U.S. cardinal, submitted his resignation after 58 priests in his own archdiocese signed a letter urging him to step down for the good of the church.

The U.S. church has paid nearly $700 million in damages to victims of abuse. In Boston, Law’s successor, Archbishop Sean O’Malley, said last month that the archdiocese would sell the archbishop’s mansion and surrounding land for more than $100 million to Jesuit-run Boston College to help pay legal settlements.

_ Peggy Polk

Groups to Light Candles for Peace in Iraq

WASHINGTON (RNS) Interfaith groups around the country are planning to light candles in the windows of their homes, businesses and places of worship over Memorial Day weekend in response to the violence in Iraq.

The Interfaith Alliance announced the event, called “Lights for Human Dignity,” to encourage people to reflect on the “horrific and dehumanizing” actions that have taken place recently in Iraq.

These actions _ by both sides in the conflict _ “violate core civic and religious values that are embraced by people of every heritage,” said the Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy, president of The Interfaith Alliance, one of the nation’s largest interfaith groups. “We encourage people of faith and good will to reflect prayerfully, to demonstrate compassion for all victims of violence, to acknowledge our anguish and need for self-examination, and to foster reconciliation.”

The event is scheduled to begin at sundown on Sunday (May 30). People are asked to turn lights on or burn candles throughout the night until dawn on Monday, Memorial Day. This act will “bear witness to our commitment to peace and good will in Iraq, in the United States and around the world,” the group said.

“By this simple action we can demonstrate to the world that we share common values as people of faith and as patriots,” Gaddy said.

Many community and religious groups are participating in the event, including Muslims, Christians, Jews and Sikhs.

“Lights for Dignity is spiritually uplifting, bringing citizens of all backgrounds closer together,” said Salam Al-Marayati, executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, which is participating in the event.

Other interfaith services are also scheduled for Memorial Day weekend in response to events in Iraq. The National Council of Churches along with other churches nationwide are planning a number of prayer services, including one at the National City Christian Church in Washington on Thursday (May 27). Participants will bring flowers to honor the more than 800 Americans and numerous others who have died in the conflict.

_ Juliana Finucane

Amnesty: U.S. Terrorism War a Blow to Human Rights

WASHINGTON (RNS) One of the world’s top human rights organizations has accused the United States of “fighting injustice with injustice” in the Bush administration’s war on terrorism and fueling terrorists’ justifications for their attacks.

At the release of its annual human rights report Wednesday (May 26), William Schulz, Amnesty International USA executive director, said the United States must clean up its human rights record to avoid being perceived as an anti-Islamic country.

“The false idea that the United States is engaged in a crusade against the Islamic world is a critical component of the Islamist nihilists’ world view and spreading this idea is critical to their success,” Jessica Stern, a Harvard professor and author of “Terror in the Name of God: Why Religious Militants Kill,” told reporters at Amnesty’s news conference.

“The unprovoked attack on Iraq, followed by an occupation that is widely perceived as inept and arbitrary, has confirmed this view among potential sympathizers. The occupation has given disparate groups from various countries a common battlefield to face a common enemy.”

Stern, who has interviewed hundreds of terrorists around the world, said that terrorist incidents have doubled since the Sept. 11 attacks and the launch of the Bush administration’s war on terrorism.

“The global security agenda promulgated by the U.S. administration is bankrupt of vision and bereft of principle,” Amnesty International’s secretary general wrote in the annual report’s introductory message. “Sacrificing human rights in the name of security at home, turning a blind eye to abuses abroad and using pre-emptive military force where and when it chooses have neither increased security nor ensured liberty.”

Amnesty International has urged the Bush administration and Congress to reaffirm their commitment to the Geneva Conventions and the Convention Against Torture by forming an independent commission to examine the administration’s detention practices, Schulz said.

“The United States government must change the culture that leads to the torture of detainees,” he said.

When Stern interviewed Jewish, Christian and Muslim extremists, she said they all emphasized humiliation as one motivation for their cause.

“If we humiliate people in the Islamic world, we are assisting the terrorists,” she said, referring to the photos of American soldiers abusing Iraqi detainees. “Jihadi leaders are already exploiting the opportunity afforded by the crimes committed by American interrogators.”

Amnesty International also criticized the United States for allowing the death penalty, its treatment of asylum seekers, efforts to avoid International Criminal Court prosecution and the denial of attorney or family access to detainees suspected of terrorist activities.

_ Mandy Morgan

RCA to Consider Obstacles to Women Becoming Pastors, Coffee Ethics

(RNS) The Reformed Church in America will debate whether to remove church laws that critics say keep women from serving as pastors at its upcoming General Synod in Wheaton, Ill.

In addition, delegates will consider efforts to make the “sacred institution of coffee hour” more environmentally friendly by using fair-trade coffee and non-styrofoam cups.

The 171,000-member church will consider a resolution to delete so-called “conscience clauses” that were adopted in 1980 to protect churches who did not want a woman pastor.

Critics say the clauses portray women as “second-class officeholders” who may be rejected. Present language says, among other things, that pastors may not be “penalized for conscientious objection to or support of the ordination of women to church offices.”

A resolution that will be presented at the June 4-9 convention says the only way to protect female clergy is to delete the language in its entirety. “It would not reopen the question of women in office. It would continue present practice without the erroneous perception that women’s office is somehow lesser,” says a report from General Synod Council.

In 2002, the General Synod voted to delete the language, but the measure failed to be ratified by local church bodies known as classes. Any changes made at this year’s meeting would also need to be ratified.

A separate resolution urges churches to use ceramic mugs, fair-trade and organic coffee or paper cups for weekly after-church coffee hours. The resolution notes that the global coffee market has bottomed out, forcing many coffee growers to live in dire poverty.

“Unfortunately, many churches unknowingly contribute to the abuse of the poor and the degradation of God’s creation by partaking in the seemingly harmless ritual of sharing coffee,” says a resolution that will be considered.

The statement recommends not using styrofoam _ “most churches have a surplus of mugs getting dusty in their kitchen cupboards” _ and buying fair-trade coffee that sets a guaranteed price for growers.

“No one wants this time of fellowship to contribute to injustice, and these simple changes are an opportunity to honor the same Lord the family of faith gathers to worship,” the resolution says.

_ Kevin Eckstrom

New Chief of the Air Force Chaplain Service Named

(RNS) Chaplain (Major General Select) Charles C. Baldwin has been chosen as the new chief of the Air Force Chaplain Service.

The appointment of Baldwin, who has served as deputy chief of the chaplain service since 2001, is effective June 1, said Air Force spokeswoman Jennifer Stephens.

In his new position, Baldwin will be considered the “senior pastor” to more than 850,000 people in the combined active-duty, Guard, Reserve and civilian force. He will specifically lead about 2,200 chaplains and enlisted support airmen in the active and Air Reserve components of the Air Force.

Baldwin replaces Chaplain (Maj. Gen.) Lorraine K. Potter, who is retiring after serving in the position since 2001.

He is endorsed by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, a moderate Baptist group based in Atlanta, and will be stationed at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington.

“They say there are no atheists in a foxhole … well, there are,” said Baldwin, who served as a senior chaplain in Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Storm, in a news release issued by Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.

“But when you are under fire in circumstances like that, you actually give more consideration to things eternal.”

_ Adelle M. Banks

Quote of the Day: Peter Howard, an aide to Colorado Springs Bishop Michael Sheridan

(RNS) “The Eucharist is not an absolute right for Catholics. If in the Methodist church anybody can approach the table doing whatever they want to do in their lives, then that’s Methodism. That is not Catholicism.”

_ Peter Howard, executive assistant to Roman Catholic Bishop Michael Sheridan of Colorado Springs, reacting to an ad sponsored by St. Andrew United Methodist Church in Centennial, Colo., that said “All Are Welcome at Christ’s Table.” Sheridan came under fire for telling Catholics who vote for politicians who support gay marriage, abortion, euthanasia or stem-cell research they would be banned from Communion.

DEA/JL END RNS