c. 2004 Religion News Service
Faiths Offer Prayers for Victims of South Asian Earthquake, Floods
WASHINGTON (RNS) As relief organizations collect aid for the South Asian victims devastated by Sunday’s (Dec. 26) earthquake and tidal waves, religious groups are holding services for families in the United States who have lost relatives in the disaster.
The Washington Buddhist Vihara, whose members are mostly from Sri Lanka _ home to an estimated 18,000 of the 44,000 victims _ will hold a memorial service on Friday (Jan. 31).
Katugastota Vidura, a monk at the Washington temple, said he and other monks have been visited by many families and conducted funeral services for their relatives who died in Sri Lanka. The rites include “transference” ceremonies to release the positive energy of the deceased’s life work. The Vihara is also collecting funds to send to survivors.
Some of the hardest-hit American Muslims are those with relatives in Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation, where the 9.0 earthquake originated off the coast of the island of Sumatra.
“Our chapters in various states are organizing prayer services for those who have lost loved ones,” said Rabiah Ahmed, a spokeswoman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations. “There is a prayer that Muslims engage in for those who have lost loved ones in a distant land, in the absence of the body. On Friday, the holy day, many mosques, I’m sure will be asking people to pray and give aid.”
Relief organizations have begun assessments of the disaster and are developing strategies to aid survivors, 1 million of whom are displaced and homeless.
Monsignor Karel Kasteel, secretary of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, which directs relief aid from the Vatican, said the pope is being kept informed on news from the affected nations. Cor Unum is working with the Catholic charity Caritas International to send aid and medical assistance.
“It is not only necessary to aid the people who have lost everything, tens and tens of thousands of persons, who no longer have anything, no work, house, livestock, but are threatened with epidemics,” Kasteel said.
Aid workers are especially concerned about cholera and other water-borne diseases. Kasteel said Catholic aid groups will focus on sending medical aid.
“From the picture arriving, everything is needed, but for now it is necessary to concentrate our forces on medicines to avert epidemics,” he said.
_ Celeste Kennel-Shank, with reporting by Peggy Polk at the Vatican
Pope May Rescind Miracles Needed for Sainthood
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope John Paul II is reported to be considering a proposal to abolish miracles as requirements for sainthood.
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, archbishop of Genoa, told the Genoa newspaper Secolo XIX recently that there is a growing feeling that the key requirement for sainthood is a life of “heroic virtue” and that miracles are “anachronistic.”
Bertone said the proposal was sent to the pope by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Until two years ago the cardinal held the No. 2 post of secretary in the congregation, the Vatican’s arbiter on questions of faith and morals.
An official of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, which is in charge of the process of creating saints, refused to discuss the report but indicated that doing away with the miracle requirement would be little short of revolutionary.
Asked for how long miracles have been needed for sainthood, he replied: “Always.”
There have been two major reforms in saint-making over the centuries. Pope Sixtus V centralized the process at the Vatican in 1588, and John Paul streamlined it in 1983 by cutting the number of miracles required from four to only one for martyrs and two for other candidates.
John Paul considers saints important examples for Catholics living in an increasingly secular world. In 26 years, he has proclaimed 483 saints and 1,345 blesseds, more than all his predecessors combined over the last four centuries.
At present, the three steps leading to sainthood are determination that the candidate has lived a life of heroic virtue and is therefore worthy of the title of venerable; beatification, which carries the title of blessed, and canonization, or sainthood.
Candidates who are not martyrs must qualify for beatification with a miracle. All candidates must be credited with another miracle after they have been beatified.
A miracle often is the cure of a terminally ill patient, who had prayed to the candidate to intercede for them. A panel of five medical experts, drawn from a pool of 100, must certify that the cure was “sudden, complete and permanent” and has no medical explanation.
_ Peggy Polk
Defrocked Lesbian Minister Decides to Appeal Conviction
(RNS) A United Methodist pastor who was defrocked because she is living in a lesbian relationship said she will appeal the verdict, in part to force the church to confront its deep divisions over homosexuality.
Irene “Beth” Stroud was stripped of her ministerial credentials in a church trial on Dec. 2 after she was found guilty of violating a church ban on “self-avowed practicing” gay clergy. She remains a paid staff member at First United Methodist Church of Germantown in Philadelphia.
Stroud announced her appeal on Monday (Dec. 27), saying she wanted to wait until after Christmas to reveal her plans. The case now goes to an appeals panel of the church’s Northeastern Jurisdiction.
“Whether my appeal is successful or unsuccessful, my hope is that the discussion will be healthy in the long run for the church and will ultimately change these portions of the (constitution) that I feel are morally wrong,” she said in an interview.
Stroud said the judge in her case, retired Bishop Joseph Yeakel, denied her due process by not allowing witnesses who would challenge the merits of the church’s gay clergy ban. She also contends that Yeakel erred in disqualifying jurors who could not promise to uphold church law.
Stroud said she hopes to put a human face on the gay clergy issue. She said her trial has caused many people to rethink their positions on homosexuality. “That’s really critical for the future of the church, and I hope my appeal can continue to contribute to that,” she said.
Although the jury of 13 pastors voted 12-1 to convict Stroud, the vote to defrock her was much closer, 7-6. Another lesbian pastor, Rose Mary Denman, was defrocked in 1987, while a third, the Rev. Karen Dammann, was acquitted last March in a verdict that angered conservatives.
Last May, the church’s highest court ruled that the practice of homosexuality is a “chargeable offense” for clergy and said defendants found guilty may not be appointed by bishops to new church posts.
_ Kevin Eckstrom
Brethren Leaders `Cautious’ After Visit From Draft Officials
WASHINGTON (RNS) Leaders of the Church of the Brethren said they are satisfied but still “cautious” that an unannounced visit by a Selective Service official to the historic peace church does not signal the military’s intent to reinstate the draft.
Brethren officials, who traditionally shun military service in favor of conscientious objector status, were surprised when Cassandra Costley made an impromptu visit to the church’s Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md., on Oct. 8.
Costley, who directs the Alternative Service Division of the draft program, said she stopped by to meet church leaders while she was in the area. The Maryland center was where conscientious objectors were trained for alternative service during World War II and Vietnam.
Phil Jones, director of the Brethren Washington Office, said Costley stressed that the Pentagon has no plans to reinstate the draft and considers conscientious objection a “legitimate response.” Still, he said the visit “raised red flags” with church leaders.
“The meeting went well,” Jones said in an interview, “but they didn’t totally convince us that there’s not any preparations for a draft.”
Costley met again with church leaders on Dec. 2 to address their concerns, and Brethren officials said they were satisfied but still “cautious.” “There’s a side of me that says be a little careful, that’s all,” said Dan McFadden, director of Brethren Volunteer Service.
If the draft were reinstated _ and President Bush has dismissed rumors that it will be _ Costley’s office would arrange for conscientious objectors to serve in two-year domestic service projects in lieu of military service. Jones said about 30 people have registered as objectors with his office this year.
“If we can take them at their word, they are not preparing specifically for a draft any time soon,” Jones said. Costley did not immediately return calls for comment.
_ Kevin Eckstrom
Republicans, Churchgoers Want More Religion in Political Life
(RNS) While nearly half of Americans think religion has too much political influence, Republicans and people who attend church frequently tend to think it should have more, according to a just-released Gallup Poll.
The poll, taken after the Nov. 2 elections, found that Americans generally think religion should have more influence on the country’s moral climate, but should play a less prominent role in politics.
Nearly half _ 48 percent _ said religion has too much influence on politics, while 40 percent said it should have more. Those figures represent a slight shift from 1996, when 42 percent said it had too much influence, and 44 percent had too little.
The political differences are stark. While 67 percent of Democrats said religion has too much influence, a majority _ 55 percent _ of Republicans said it should play a more prominent political role. More than half _ 57 percent _ of people who attend a church or synagogue once a week said religion should play a stronger role; in contrast, two-thirds of people who seldom or never attend church said it should play a lesser role.
The poll detected much wider agreement that religion could do more to influence the country’s moral climate _ 64 percent of Americans saw room for more influence, while 27 percent said religion already has too much influence on the country’s moral life.
The poll of 1,015 adults was conducted Nov. 19-21 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
_ Kevin Eckstrom
Honeycutt, Former President of Southern Seminary, Dead at 78
(RNS) Roy Honeycutt, the former president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, died Dec. 21 after suffering head injuries in an accident at his home.
Honeycutt, 78, is remembered for his leadership of the Louisville, Ky., seminary from 1982 to 1993, when the Southern Baptist Convention was embroiled in controversy over shifts toward conservative leadership, Baptist news services reported.
“He gave so much of his life to the Southern Baptist Convention and to Southern Seminary in particular,” said R. Albert Mohler Jr., current president of the seminary, in a statement released by Baptist Press.
“He led during difficult times and was not afraid of controversy. At the personal level he was as gracious a human being as you could ever expect or hope to meet.”
Honeycutt, an Old Testament scholar, served as dean of the school of theology and provost before becoming the seminary’s president and previously was on the faculty at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Mo.
After his retirement from the seminary presidency, Honeycutt, a Grenada, Miss., native, served as chancellor of Southern Seminary from 1994 to 1997.
_ Adelle M. Banks
State Court Says Religious Attire Can’t Determine Jury Selection
(RNS) The New Jersey Supreme Court has ruled that people cannot be barred from juries solely because their clothing or occupation suggest they are devoutly religious.
The court ruled on Dec. 22 that an assistant Essex County prosecutor abused his discretion during jury selection when he tossed a man whose attire and prayer cap suggested he was Muslim, and another who said he was a missionary. The prosecutor contended that people who are “demonstrative” about their religions “tend to favor defendants.”
In a 6-0 decision written by Chief Justice Deborah Poritz, the court noted that followers of certain faiths are readily identifiable by their clothing and that some religions, notably Mormons, require missionary activity. Excluding them from juries because of those displays of faith amounts to nothing more than “religious bias rooted in stereotypes,” Poritz wrote.
The ruling entitles Lloyd Fuller, 24, of Orange, to a new trial on his conviction for robbing a take-out restaurant while armed with a water pistol. He was sentenced in 2001 to 10 years in prison and is currently at a halfway house.
“The court has struck another blow against those who would discriminate on the basis of religion,” said Assistant Deputy Public Defender Frank Pugliese, who argued Fuller’s case.
The ruling, which granted that jurors can be dismissed if there is some other evidence that they are biased, was applauded by the Rutherford Institute, a Virginia-based group that fights for religious liberty, and the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. Both had joined the case as friends of the court.
“Excluding people from juries based on their religious belief or expression violates the principles of freedom found in the Bill of Rights,” said Ed Barocas, legal director of the New Jersey ACLU.
_ Robert Schwaneberg
Survey: 44 Percent Favor Curtailing Civil Liberties for Muslims
(RNS) Americans are almost evenly divided between those who believe that civil liberties for Muslim Americans should be restricted and those who do not, a national study has found.
Forty-four percent of those surveyed by the Media and Society Research Group at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., said they believe the U.S. government should curtail civil liberties for Muslim Americans in some way.
Forty-eight percent said that such liberties should not be restricted in any way.
The survey, which was released Dec. 17, polled 715 people nationwide by telephone. The margin of error was 3.6 percent.
Some of the restrictions that survey participants supported were that Muslims should be required to register with the federal government (27 percent), government agencies should be allowed to closely monitor mosques (26 percent) and undercover law enforcement agents should infiltrate Muslim civil and volunteer organizations (29 percent).
Sixty-five percent of those who described themselves as “highly religious” said that Islam encourages violence more than other religions do, the survey reported. Only 42 percent of nonreligious respondents expressed this view.
Intensity of religious belief was not the only factor measured. Survey organizers also noted that exposure to television news correlated with responses: Those with more exposure to TV news tended to favor restricting civil liberties more than those who weren’t TV news consumers.
“We need to explore why these two very important channels of discourse may nurture fear rather than understanding,” said James Shanahan, principal investigator in the study and an associate professor of communications at Cornell.
Muslim organizations reacted with dismay to the study’s findings.
“Our nation and its values are diminished whenever any faith or ethnic group is viewed with such suspicion and hostility,” said Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Washington-based civil liberties group.
_ Holly Lebowitz Rossi
Holocaust Victims Database Attracts More Than 3 Million Visitors
(RNS) More than 3 million people from 163 countries have visited the Web site of Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority, since it uploaded a database of victims’ names in November.
The Central Database of Shoah Victims’ Names was launched Nov. 22 with 3 million entries, about half of the 6 million Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Prior to the database’s launch, the Web site, http://www.yadvashem.org, attracted about 150,000 visitors monthly.
The database is an effort to compile as much information as possible about the full list of Holocaust victims before the generation who witnessed it is gone. Organizers say they hope the high traffic will lead to the discovery of stories yet to be told.
Visitors can create a “page of testimony” for victims whose names are not yet recorded in the database. They can include information about the person’s life before the Holocaust, the circumstances of death, personal details or stories about the person and photos.
The high number of visitors is an encouraging sign that as Holocaust survivors age, the atrocities they survived are not being forgotten, organizers say.
“These numbers illustrate the place of the Shoah in the public consciousness, and the desire of people to remember it and know more about its victims,” said Avner Shalev, chairman of the Yad Vashem directorate.
_ Holly Lebowitz Rossi
Ad Citing `Immaculate Contraception’ Banned
LONDON (RNS) An advertisement for the “morning after” pill has been withdrawn because its reference to “Immaculate Contraception” has been deemed religiously offensive.
The advertisement, for Levonelle One Step, manufactured by Schering Health Care, appeared as a poster on the London Underground and was also intended for press advertisements. It featured a headline saying: “Immaculate contraception? If only …”
Following complaints, the company removed the posters and canceled press bookings.
In its adjudication, the Advertising Standards Authority _ which received 179 objections, the most this year for a non-broadcast advertisement _ concluded that the headline, with its reference to the Roman Catholic dogma of the Immaculate Conception, was “likely to cause serious or widespread offense” and welcomed the advertisers’ decision not to use the advertisement again.
While upholding the complaint that the advertisement was offensive on religious grounds, the authority rejected the complaint that it was irresponsible because it could encourage casual sex and trivialized unwanted pregnancy. The authority said such effects were “unlikely” given the advertisement’s reminder that the “morning after” pill ought not to replace normal contraception.
_ Robert Nowell
Quote of the Week: Julie West of Edmonds, Wash.
(RNS) “I had gotten a legal opinion from the Rutherford Institute saying I was within my rights before I brought the cake to school. That’s Christmas this year, I guess: candy cane frosting and a legal opinion.”
_ Julie West, an Edmonds, Wash., resident who baked a cake decorated with the words “Happy Birthday Jesus” for her son’s elementary school holiday party to protest her annoyance that people wish her “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas.” She was quoted by USA Today.
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