c. 2005 Religion News Service
Religious Leaders Urge Bush to Address Middle East Conflict
(RNS) Representing 28 religious organizations, a diverse group of leaders appealed Thursday (Jan. 13) to President Bush to make every effort to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in his second term.
The National Interreligious Leadership Initiative for Peace in the Middle East _ made up of Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders _ requested that the administration appoint a special presidential envoy to the region and negotiate a timeline for steps to be taken by the Israeli government and Palestinian Authority.
In a news conference at the National Press Club, the leaders also called for increased international economic aid to improve security and promote development for the Palestinian people.
The Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, stated clerk of the Presbyterian Church (USA), said the Bush administration should ramp up its involvement in the Middle East, from making visits to sending a presidential envoy.
“That kind of high level presence is exactly what we need,” he said.
The leaders also want to meet with the president.
“There is a real opportunity for America to make a difference,” said Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Washington-based Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism. “We are here to do everything we can from the broad range of grass-roots support that we have.”
On the day the appeal was announced, supporters gathered in 15 cities across the country.
The appeal includes leaders from a cross-section of religious life, including the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, World Vision, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism and the Islamic Society of North America.
“One of the very significant things about this initiative is that it involves a growing number of Christian evangelical leaders,” said Ron Young, executive director of the Interreligious Committee for Peace. Young said while evangelicals are perceived as pro-Israel and unsympathetic to Palestinians, many leaders are in favor of a peaceful resolution with a two-state solution.
_ Celeste Kennel-Shank
`Jane Roe’ Asks High Court to Overturn Landmark Abortion Decision
WASHINGTON (RNS) Norma McCorvey, the “Jane Roe” of Roe v. Wade, said Tuesday (Jan. 18) that her faith has motivated her to petition the Supreme Court to reverse its 1973 decision legalizing abortion.
The petition, which includes testimonies from 1,000 women who regret their abortions, was delivered to the Supreme Court Tuesday, according to officials from The Justice Foundation, a San Antonio, Texas-based nonprofit law firm that is handling the case.
It’s unclear what impact, if any, the request will have, beyond drawing public attention to the issue of abortion days before the anniversary of the Jan. 22 landmark decision.
The court could take several months to decide whether to re-open the case, decline to hear it or order a lower court to hold a trial, according to Allan Parker, Justice Foundation president.
In a news conference on the steps of the Supreme Court, McCorvey said a religious experience changed her mind about abortion.
“In 1995, my conscience drove me into the arms of Jesus Christ, where I found forgiveness for my sins,” said McCorvey, flanked by 33 women wearing white ribbon armbands, signifying regret of their abortions.
“At times I have felt responsible for the deaths of millions of children,” McCorvey said. “But today I feel forgiven by Jesus. I feel loved.”
Parker said the 5,000-page petition is based on three legal arguments: that the Supreme Court has a duty to monitor whether conditions have changed related to constitutional issues it has ruled on; that the legal conditions underlying Roe v. Wade have changed materially since the 1973 ruling, making further application of it unjust; and that McCorvey was denied due process in the lower courts because she wasn’t given a hearing based on the evidence.
“It absolutely is not (a publicity stunt,)” Parker said in response to a question. “That’s why we filed 5,000 pages of evidence.”
When McCorvey was handed a copy of the petition at the news conference, members of the crowd standing in freezing temperatures clapped and called out “Amen” and “Praise God.”
_ Andrea James
Pope Offers Indulgence to Catholics Joining in Eucharist Year
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope John Paul II has offered a plenary indulgence _ the promise of remission of temporal punishment for sins _ to every Catholic who joins in celebrating the Year of the Eucharist, the Vatican said Friday (Jan. 14).
Cardinal James Francis Stafford, former archbishop of Denver, made the announcement in a decree issued in Latin. He acted as head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, the Vatican tribunal that deals with questions involving confession and other matters of conscience.
Catholics believe that a plenary, or full, indulgence cancels all the time they would otherwise have had to spend in purgatory due to sins they had committed in their lifetime up to that point.
The Catholic Church has granted plenary or partial indulgences for many centuries, often linking them to celebrations such as a Holy Year. Scandal over the sale of indulgences by priests figured along with theological differences in the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century led by Martin Luther.
John Paul has called on Catholics to mark the 12 months starting last October as the Year of the Eucharist.
The decree said that on Dec. 17 he approved the granting of plenary indulgences to all those who participate “with attention and piety” in a “sacred function or a pious exercise carried out in honor of the Most Holy Sacraments” in any church in the world.
Those seeking an indulgence must also make their confession, take Holy Communion and pray unless they are physically prevented from doing so by illness or a disability.
_ Peggy Polk
Presbyterian Church in America Drops Health Plan for Employees
(RNS) Citing rising costs for premiums, the Presbyterian Church in America _ the second-largest Presbyterian denomination with about 400,000 members in the United States and Canada _ will discontinue its health plan, which provides benefits for 858 of its employees.
The board of directors of the PCA Retirement & Benefits Inc. announced in a Dec. 30 letter that its health plan will end Feb. 28, and employees will need to find new health insurance.
Unlike many other denominations, the PCA did not require its ministers and church employees to be enrolled in its program, said Dominic Aquila, PCA news officer. The number of participants dropped as premiums increased, he said.
“This is symptomatic of the crisis of health insurance costs in the entire country,” Aquila said.
William Kuh, president of PCA Retirement & Benefits Inc., said that the plan was no longer financially viable.
“It was simply a case of healthy participants being able to find better rates elsewhere,” Kuh said. “After prayerful consideration, the board elected to discontinue the plan.
“There was disappointment and sadness,” Kuh said. “The plan has been with the denomination since our founding in 1973.”
Aquila said the employees who will be most affected by the termination of the health care plan are those with pre-existing conditions and immediate health concerns such as heart problems or cancer.
_ Celeste Kennel-Shank
Greek Orthodox Consider Candidates to Replace `Building Bishop’
(RNS) The unexpected Dec. 25 death of Metropolitan Anthony Gergiannakis, head of the Greek Orthodox community in seven Western states, has church members wondering who will fill the dynamic leader’s vestments.
Metropolitan Anthony, nicknamed “the building bishop” in honor of the growth of West Coast parishes under his 25-year tenure, passed away less than six weeks after being diagnosed with a rare lymph node cancer. He was 69.
His successor will preside over the Metropolis of San Francisco, overseeing 150,000 members in Alaska, California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and Hawaii. He will be the first appointed under the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America’s new charter, approved in 2003, which recognized metropolitans as heads of the country’s eight regions, above bishops.
Archbishop Demetrios, leader of America’s Greek Orthodox Christians, and the seven remaining metropolitans have 40 days from Metropolitan Anthony’s death to send three names to the Patriarchate of Constantinople. There, the head of the world’s Greek Orthodox faithful will appoint a successor.
With plans to retire at the end of 2005, Metropolitan Anthony often spoke of the kind of man he hoped would take his place, said the Rev. Stephen Kyriacou of the Annunciation Cathedral in San Francisco.
“He wanted somebody that could continue his kind of progressive vision,” Kyriacou said, noting the metropolitan’s tenure saw the development of 20 new parishes, three monasteries and the world’s largest annual exhibition of Greek folk dance. “He was hoping his successor would espouse his building projects and the various ministries to the young people.”
_ Nicole Neroulias
Survey: Majority of Doctors Call Some Medical Results Miracles
(RNS) A national survey of U.S. doctors finds that a slim majority say they have seen treatment results in patients that they would consider to be miracles.
Fifty-five percent of doctors said they would describe some results that way, compared to 45 percent who did not, according to a survey released in December by the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York.
HCD Research, a Flemington, N.J.-based market research firm, conducted the survey of 1,100 physicians using a random sampling of office-based doctors that they have used in previous research for pharmaceutical companies.
Glenn Kessler, co-founder of the research firm, said he was surprised at how high the percentage was of doctors who believe some treatment results were miraculous.
“Physicians, who are scientists, seem to have very traditional views on religion and the Bible,” he said of the overall findings.
Doctors, in answering a multiple-choice question about their faith, said they represented a range of religions including various segments of Christianity and Judaism as well as Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist and a category titled “other.”
Seventy-two percent of the physicians surveyed said they believe religion provides a necessary and reliable guide to life. Asked about prayer for patients, 59 percent said they pray for individual patients and 51 percent said they pray for their patients as a group.
More than half _ 58 percent _ said they attend worship services at least once a month and 46 percent said they believe prayer is very important in their own lives.
“The picture that emerges is one where doctors, although presumably more highly educated than their average patient, are not necessarily more secular or radically different in religious outlook than the public,” said Alan Mittleman, director of the seminary’s Louis Finklestein Institute for Religious and Social Studies, in a statement.
The survey, conducted Dec. 9-10, had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percentage points.
_ Adelle M. Banks
Fox Network Meets With Muslim Leaders Over Fictional Show’s Stereotypes
(RNS) The FOX television network has agreed to distribute public service announcements against stereotyping American Muslims following a meeting in which Muslim groups objected to the depiction of an American Muslim family on the fictional program “24.”
The one-hour show, about a counterterrorism unit, is in its fourth season. Each 24-show season chronicles the event of one day, with each show depicting a single hour in that day.
This season, which began on Jan. 9, features an upper-middle class Muslim family, made up of parents and a teenage son. But the family, hiding behind the facade of an upscale home and the son’s attendance at a public school, is a terrorist sleeper cell.
After the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) urged its members to write letters to the program objecting to the depiction, representatives of the group and the Washington-based Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) met with producers of the show, members of the show’s production company and representatives from the Fox Broadcasting Company to discuss their concerns.
Calling the hourlong meeting, which took place Wednesday (Jan. 12), “constructive” and very encouraging,” CAIR reported afterward that FOX had agreed to distribute public service announcements, produced by CAIR, that discourage common stereotypes about American Muslims, to FOX affiliate stations.
FOX also agreed to consider CAIR’s recommendations for ways to “balance the portrayal of American Muslims and to mitigate the damage of stereotypical depictions,” said Rabiah Ahmed, a national spokeswoman for CAIR.
Salam Al-Marayati, the executive director of MPAC, called FOX officials “receptive” to suggestions.
FOX spokesman Scott Grogin confirmed that the meeting was “very productive and educational.”
“I think both sides feel like we’ve opened a dialogue,” Grogin said, adding that the network plans to maintain contact with the Muslim groups.
_ Holly Lebowitz Rossi
After Threats, Police in India Promise Protection for TV Evangelist
BANGALORE, India (RNS) Shiv Sena, a hard-line Hindu group, is threatening to disrupt a massive healing crusade planned by television evangelist Benny Hinn, but police promise they will provide adequate security.
Shiv Sena spokesman Subramanya Raju announced on Jan. 8 that his group had formed squads to disrupt the Jan. 21-23 Christian meetings to be held in government-owned airfields near Bangalore, a southern Indian city. In a statement, Raju demanded that the “(federal) government deny permission to Mr. Hinn as he is going to preach Christianity.”
But Bangalore police chief S. Mariswamy told Religion News Service that “total security will be provided for the religious gathering and any anti-social activity will be dealt with severely.” He said police are even conducting aerial inspections of the venue.
Benny Hinn Ministries’ Bangalore organizers say they have hired nearly 3,000 security guards and are intensifying work for their meetings, which they call “Festival of Blessings: Pray for India.”
The flamboyant Hinn, 52, based in Orlando, Fla., produces the “This Is Your Day” television program shown in more than 100 countries. With promises of healing and other miracles, his rallies attract large crowds around the world.
In February 2004, Hinn held three healing services in Mumbai, India, that attracted a total of 4.8 million people, according to Hinn organizers. Hinn’s Web site is predicting the Bangalore event will be even larger, making it perhaps the “largest Christian gathering” in history.
_ S. David
Meeting With 160 Rabbis, Pope Urges Increased Understanding
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope John Paul II, meeting with 160 rabbis and cantors on Tuesday (Jan. 18), urged Catholics and Jews to work together to build a world “based on respect for the divine image in every human being.”
The unusual audience was arranged by Gary Krupp, president and founder of the Foundation Pave the Way, which promotes better interfaith relations, to thank the Polish-born pope for his efforts to break down barriers of prejudice among religions.
John Paul greeted the rabbis “with affection” and noted that this year marks the 40th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council’s Declaration Nostra Aetate, “which significantly contributed to the strengthening of Jewish-Catholic dialogue.”
The declaration asserts the “spiritual patrimony common to Christians and Jews,” condemns anti-Semitism and says that Christ’s crucifixion “cannot be charged against all Jews without distinction then alive, nor against the Jews of today.”
“May this be an occasion for renewed commitment to increased understanding and cooperation in the service of building a world ever more firmly based on respect for the divine image in every human being,” the pope told the rabbis.
John Paul ended his brief address by blessing the group and calling in Hebrew for peace. “Upon all of you, I invoke the abundant blessings of the Almighty and, in particular, the gift of peace,” he said. “Shalom aleichem.”
“Thank you, thank you, thank you. Shalom, shalom, shalom,” Krupp said, and three rabbis recited a prayer in the pope’s honor.
_ Peggy Polk
Rabbinic Leaders Prohibit Jews From Setting Foot on Holy Site
JERUSALEM (RNS) A group of prominent rabbinic leaders, including Israel’s Chief Sephardic and Ashkenazi rabbis, announced Monday (Jan. 17) that Jews may not set foot on the Temple Mount, Judaism’s holiest site.
The formal rabbinic decree, spearheaded by Rabbi of the Western Wall Shmuel Rabinowitz and signed by the current and former chief rabbis of Israel and other world-renowned rabbinic figures, reinstates a longstanding ban. It had been in effect for centuries but in recent years it has been reinterpreted by some rabbinic authorities.
Rabbis have deemed the mount, where the first and second biblical temples once stood, off limits out of fear that Jews might inadvertently tread on the Holy of Holies, considered too sacred for ordinary people. In biblical times, only priests or Jewish worshippers who had undergone a special purification ritual were permitted to set foot on special, sacred areas.
The Wakf, the Islamic trust that maintains the mount, has long tried to prevent non-Muslims from visiting the mount, which Muslims call Haram al Sharif. It fears that non-Muslim extremists will try to destroy the Al Aksa mosque, Islam’s third-holiest shrine, located atop the mount.
In recent years, many Jews called for the rabbis to permit Jewish visits, fearing that the dearth of Jewish visitors would strengthen Muslim claims to the disputed site. Palestinians, who want East Jerusalem, where the mount is located, to be the capital of their future state, have sometimes denied that the first and second temples existed.
In response to this effort to delegitimize Jewish claims to the mount, several rabbis decided to allow Jewish pilgrimages. During the past two years, tens of thousands of religious Jews from around the world have gone to the site, often accompanied by their rabbis.
The new ruling calls for an end to these pilgrimages. It states that “over the years we have lost the exact location of the Temple, and anyone entering the Mount could unwittingly enter the area of the Temple and the Holy of Holies. With this in mind, we reiterate our warning … that no man nor woman should set foot in the entire area of the Temple Mount, irrespective of which gate is used for this purpose.”
_ Michele Chabin
Quote of the Week: President Bush
(RNS) “I don’t see … at least from my perspective, how you can be president without a relationship with the Lord.”
_ President Bush in an Oval Office interview with editors and reporters of The Washington Times on Tuesday (Jan. 11).
Bush also told the newspaper that he believes it is the duty of the president to protect the rights of those who choose to worship and those who do not.
MO RNS END
