c. 2005 Religion News Service

Israeli Archaeologists Fear Forgeries May Damage Profession’s Credibility

JERUSALEM (RNS) Some archaeologists are concerned that last week’s indictments leveled against members of a sophisticated antiquities forgery ring will give Israeli archaeology a bad name.

The criminal indictments followed an exhaustive investigation by the Israeli police and Antiquities Authority, which had long suspected four men of masterfully forging such important relics as the James Ossuary, a 2,000-year-old limestone burial box bearing the Aramaic inscription, “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus.”

During a Dec. 29 press briefing, Shuka Dorfman, the director of the Antiquities Authority, told reporters that the activities of the ring, led by Israeli antiquities dealer and collector Oded Golan, are “the tip of the iceberg. We believe this is happening worldwide and has generated millions of dollars.”

The authorities’ longstanding doubts about the authenticity of the James Ossuary and several other important artifacts were made public last year on Israeli television’s investigative reporting program “Uvda” (“Fact”). The hour-long report alleged that Golan and at least three accomplices forged fake inscriptions and markings on genuinely ancient artifacts.

Golan continues to deny all charges leveled against him.

One of the alleged forgeries is the Yoash stone, a tablet bearing references to the First Jewish Temple, located atop the Temple Mount _ the disputed holy site that Muslims call Haram al-Sharif. Jews considered the Yoash stone of great importance because it added credibility to their claims to the mount at a time when some Muslims, including the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, deny any Jewish connection to it.

The forgeries were so well done, according to members of the Antiquities Authority, that even many of the world’s top experts were fooled. Further indictments are expected, Israeli police said.

Shimon Gibson, the Israeli-British archaeologist who last year announced he had discovered a cave that may have been used by John the Baptist to anoint his followers, told RNS: “The entire archaeology community is reeling as a result of these indictments. It’s now quite clear that if these allegations are credible, it means that some artifacts which are in museum collections are now known to be forgeries.”

_ Michele Chabin

Pope Saw 2.2 Million People at Public Events in 2004

VATICAN CITY (RNS) Despite his failing health, Pope John Paul II saw 2.2 million people at general and special audiences, liturgical celebrations and the Angelus prayer during 2004, the Vatican says.

In a year-end statistical report, the Prefecture of the Pontifical Household said that John Paul, who is 84 and suffers from Parkinson’s disease, conducted 48 general audiences attended by 504,600 pilgrims during the year.

Another 197,200 people were present at special audiences, 523,000 at liturgical celebrations and slightly more than 1 million at the midday Angelus prayer on Sundays and holidays.

Unable to walk, the pope presides over audiences and celebrations from a throne on wheels. He usually leads the Angelus prayer from his study window overlooking St. Peter’s Square.

In the more than 26 years since his election on Oct. 16, 1978, the pope has received a total of 17.6 million pilgrims at 1,160 general audiences held on Wednesdays in St. Peter’s Square or the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican.

The totals for 2004 were roughly average for the years of the past decade.

_ Peggy Polk

New President of Fellowship of Christian Athletes Named

(RNS) Former National Football League coach Les Steckel will become the new president and CEO of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, the ministry has announced.

Steckel, 48, will succeed Dal Shealy, who is retiring. He begins the new position on March 1.

Shealy will become director of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes’ new Football Coaches Ministry.

Steckel served as the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings and was the offensive coordinator for two teams that made it to the Super Bowl _ the New England Patriots in 1986 and the 2000 Tennessee Titans.

“In Dal Shealy’s tenure over the last 13 years, the ministry has experienced tremendous growth,” Steckel said in a statement. “As he passes the baton on March 1, 2005, he will leave a legacy of integrity and servanthood. With God’s guidance and grace, I will do the same.”

The Kansas City, Mo.-based ministry was founded in 1954 and works with coaches and students involved in athletics. Its “huddles” meet regularly on close to 8,000 junior high, high school and college campuses for prayer, Bible study and other activities.

_ Adelle M. Banks

Archbishop of Canterbury Questions God’s Role in Tsunami

LONDON (RNS) The tsunami that has devastated countries bordering the Indian Ocean ought to upset a faith bound up with comfort and ready answers, says the spiritual leader of worldwide Anglicans.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, made that provocative assertion in a 1,100-word article he wrote for the Jan. 2 Sunday Telegraph of London.

“’Making sense’ of a great disaster will always be a challenge simply because those who are closest to the cost are the ones least likely to accept some sort of intellectual explanation, however polished,” the archbishop said. “Why should they?

“Every single random, accidental death is something that should upset a faith bound up with comfort and ready answers. Faced with the paralyzing magnitude of a disaster like this, we naturally feel more deeply outraged _ and also more deeply helpless …

“The question: `How can you believe in a God who permits suffering on this scale?’ is therefore very much around at the moment, and it would be surprising if it weren’t _ indeed, it would be wrong if it weren’t. The traditional answers will get us only so far.”

“If some religious genius did come up with an explanation of exactly why all these deaths made sense, would we feel happier or safer or more confident in God?” asked Dr Williams. “Wouldn’t we feel something of a chill at the prospect of a God who deliberately plans a program that involves a certain level of casualties?”

Williams’ willingness to openly examine God’s role in the disaster has created a minor buzz in England, especially after The Sunday Telegraph ran a page-one headline of “Archbishop of Canterbury: This Has Made Me Question God’s Existence.”

Lambeth Palace characterized that headline as a misrepresentation of the archbishop’s essay.

“As any reading of the text makes instantly clear, the archbishop nowhere says that the tsunami causes him to question or doubt the existence of God; rather that the Christian faith does not invite simplistic answers to the problem of human suffering,” said Jonathan Jennings, Williams’ press secretary.

_ Robert Nowell

Quote of the Day: Robert E. Williams, Florida NAACP Official

(RNS) “She was our Moses that opened the Red Sea for us.”

_ Robert E. Williams, president of the Flagler County, Fla., branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, speaking of Shirley Chisholm, who was known as an advocate for minority rights. Chisholm, the first black woman elected to Congress, died Saturday (Jan. 1) at the age of 80. Williams was quoted by the Associated Press.

MO/RB RNS END