c. 2005 Religion News Service

Vatican Conference to Encourage Bible Reading Beyond the Clergy

VATICAN CITY (RNS) Hundreds of biblical experts from a variety of faith backgrounds are expected to gather in Rome on Wednesday to examine new ways to encourage Roman Catholics to read the Holy Scripture.

According to the Vatican-linked Catholic Biblical Federation, only 3 percent of practicing Catholics read the Bible on a daily basis, with many Catholics lacking basic knowledge of the Scriptures.

The Vatican has officially organized the Sept. 14-18 conference to commemorate Dei Verbum, the Second Vatican Council document that first invited Catholics to read the Bible outside Mass.

“Yes, we want to celebrate and commemorate Dei Verbum 40 years after its production. But above all we believe this is an favorable occasion to take account,” Cardinal Walter Kasper, a top Vatican official who is organizing the event, told reporters Thursday (Sept. 8).

Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity, described the meeting of more than 400 experts from 98 countries as “a moment of exchange and critical reflection” on the centrality of Bible study in Catholic life.

Bishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Catholic Biblical Federation, reported that 40 percent of Catholics erroneously believe that St. Paul wrote a Gospel. He also cited concern over persistent belief among Catholics in Southern European countries that Bible study is “reserved to the clergy.”

“Unfortunately, it has to be said that there are still few Bibles in the lives of the faithful,” Paglia said.

Prior to the publication of Dei Verbum in November 1965, few Catholics has access to vernacular Catholic translations of the Bible, which were printed in limited numbers and suffered from inaccuracy. Priests read passages from the Holy Scripture aloud at Mass, but only in Latin.

“The word of God doesn’t teach supernatural realities or arcane doctrine, inaccessible to human reason. Rather, it communicates from person to person,” Kasper said.

The conference is titled “The Holy Scripture in the Life of the Church.” Representatives from the Eastern Orthodox Church are expected to attend as well as experts representing Anglican, Lutheran and Pentecostal churches.

_ Stacy Meichtry

President Calls for Day of Prayer, Remembrance for Hurricane Victims

(RNS) A National Day of Prayer has been proclaimed for next Friday (Sept. 16) in remembrance of the victims of the hurricane that has ravaged the Gulf Coast.

“As we observe a National Day of Prayer and Remembrance for the Victims of Hurricane Katrina, we pledge our support for those who have been injured and for the communities that are struggling to rebuild,” President Bush said in a proclamation released Thursday (Sept. 8).

“We offer thanks to God for the goodness and generosity of so many Americans who have come together to provide relief and bring hope to fellow citizens in need. … We will strive together in this effort, and we will prevail through perseverance and prayer.”

The president cited a passage from the Gospel of Matthew about helping those in need as he encouraged Americans and places of worship to mark the special day with observances.

“Across our nation, so many selfless deeds reflect the promise of the Scripture: `For I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you took me in,”’ he said.

“By contributing time, money, or needed goods to a relief organization and by praying for the survivors and those in recovery efforts, we can make a tremendous difference in the lives of those in need.”

The president’s announcement was supported by the Presidential Prayer Team, a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based organization that plans to host a “Virtual Prayer Rally” next Friday in response to his proclamation.

“People will come to our Web site beginning Monday, Sept. 12, to enroll in the prayer rally and they will be signing up to pray during a specific time,” said Karen Randau, communications director of the prayer team, which manages a Web site at http://www.presidentialprayerteam.org.

Atheists, on the other hand, opposed Bush’s declaration.

“The message here is pretty clear,” said Ellen Johnson, president of American Atheists, a New Jersey-based group. “When faced with a crisis of epic proportions and charges of possible incompetence at the highest levels of government, play the `religion card’ to distract embarrassing public attention and outrage.”

_ Adelle M. Banks

Federal Judge Rules in Favor of Abortion Law Requiring Parental Consent

COLUMBUS, Ohio (RNS) A federal judge has determined that a 7-year-old Ohio law imposing new restrictions on minors and adults seeking abortions is constitutional and takes effect immediately.

Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro, who defended the law, praised the Wednesday (Sept. 7) ruling as a “victory for the unborn.”

Cincinnati attorney Al Gerhardstein, who argued against the law, deemed it the latest assault on the rights of Ohio women.

He asked the state to agree to a “reasonable” transition time for doctors, clinics and patients, but he said he has not decided whether to file an appeal.

Since 1985, Ohio has required that unmarried minors notify at least one parent before having an abortion.

But the court ruling requires minors to also get parental consent for the procedure.

Since 1991, Ohio has required that women of all ages wait 24 hours and obtain information about abortion’s risks and alternatives before the procedure can occur. Until Thursday, however, women could receive the information via telephone or videotape. Now, they must confer face-to-face with a physician, then make a second trip to the doctor to have the abortion.

U.S. District Judge Sandra Beckwith rejected arguments that the restrictions impose an “undue burden” on women _ a test that must be met for the statute to be ruled unconstitutional.

Still, she said that past court rulings have not provided any clear definition of undue burden.

“The need for more clarity is acute … (because) legislatures will continue to legislate in this area, pro-choice advocates will continue to challenge such legislation, and the federal courts will continue to be caught in the middle,” she wrote.

_ Sandy Theis

Jewish Groups Oppose Rabbi’s Claim That Hurricane Was God’s Punishment

JERUSALEM (RNS) Jewish groups have strongly condemned remarks by a leading Israeli rabbi who said that Hurricane Katrina was God’s way of punishing the United States.

Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, a former Sephardi chief rabbi and the influential spiritual leader of the Shas political party, made the claim during his weekly sermon on Tuesday (Sept. 6). He said that the devastation wrought by Katrina “was God’s retribution” for pressuring Israel to relinquish Gaza and the northern West Bank to the Palestinians.

Yosef, a Torah scholar who often mixes religion and politics, said that President Bush perpetrated the removal of Jewish settlers and Israeli troops from the territories, which are scheduled to be handed over to the Palestinians within weeks.

“Now everyone is angry at him. This is his punishment for what he did to Gush Katif,” Yosef said, referring to the evacuated enclave of Jewish settlements in Gaza, “and everyone else who did as he told them, their time will come too.”

The Israel Office of the Anti-Defamation League called Yosef’s remarks “outrageous in the extreme.”

In a statement Thursday (Sept. 8), the ADL said that Yosef’s remarks showed “a profound lack of empathy for the suffering of others, not to mention an extremely warped worldview. It is disturbing that a man of faith would use human suffering and loss to advance a political agenda.”

The ADL said that Yosef “owes an apology to the United States and to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. We hope that religious leaders in Israel will condemn his words as insensitive and beyond the acceptable limit for a national dialogue.”

The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism said Thursday that Yosef’s assertions were “despicable” and “substantively absurd.”

“It was not President Bush but Prime Minister (Ariel) Sharon who launched and implemented” the Gaza disengagement, the organization said.

While the Internet has been full of messages linking Katrina to divine retribution, Yosef’s reputation as one of Judaism greatest scholars makes his comments particularly disturbing, according to Rabbi Arik Ascherman, director of the Israel-based organization Rabbis for Human Rights.

“People listen” to what Yosef says, Ascherman said, “and I think his statements are only going to degrade Judaism in the eyes of many.”

Noting that Jewish communities around the world have rallied to help Katrina victims, and that the Israeli government has sent planeloads of humanitarian aid and medical personnel to the stricken areas, Ascherman said that “clearly the hearts of the State of Israel and the Jewish people are with the people suffering in New Orleans.”

_ Michele Chabin

Protesters Say Shariah Law in Canada Would Violate Human Rights

(RNS) Protesters are citing human rights as the basis of their opposition to a Canadian proposal that would allow the application of Islamic law within Ontario’s system of faith-based courts.

Speakers at a Thursday (Sept. 8) demonstration in Toronto claimed that women’s and children’s rights would be trampled, and at least one likened Canadian Premier Dalton McGuinty to extremist Taliban leaders, according to the Toronto Globe and Mail.

The Toronto demonstration was one of 12 around Canada and parts of Europe organized by women’s and human rights groups.

A report issued by the province’s former attorney general has recommended that Ontario allow Muslims to settle cases related to inheritance, marriage and divorce in arbitration presided over by qualified Muslim leaders.

While Islamic principles would guide the settlements, judgments would have to adhere to Canadian law and its Charter of Rights and Freedoms, a document comparable to the U.S. Bill of Rights. Muslims could choose to submit their cases either to such arbitration or to the secular court system.

Catholics, Anglicans, Jews and Ismailis (a Shiite sect) all operate some form of ecclesiastical courts or faith-based arbitration in Ontario, as allowed by a 1991 provincial act.

Sixty percent of Canada’s 600,000-strong Muslim population live in Ontario, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations Canada.

While the provincial attorney general has not yet made a final decision on whether to allow Islamically based arbitration, the proposal has raised intense opposition, much of it within the Muslim community itself.

The coalition of groups organizing the protest included the Canadian Council of Muslim Women and other women’s rights and refugee advocate organizations.

Hoja Arjomand, a lead protest organizer, contended that Islamists were using Canada’s policy of multiculturalism to infiltrate the country.

“We are not talking about white Canadian women who have equality. We are talking about minorities living in ghettos. There is intense social pressure,” said Arjomand.

But Mohamed Elmasry, president of the Canadian Islamic Congress, said that protesters were using “fear-mongering tactics” to garner support.

Elmasry said the government report endorsing the courts “did an excellent job in including many check and balances so that no one can abuse the process.”

_ Andrea Useem

Quote of the Day: Mahdi Bray of Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation

(RNS) “I think there’s not a better way to honor the memory of those who lost their lives through the dastardly terrorist attack that took place on Sept. 11 than to take care of those who are here, suffering now as a result of Hurricane Katrina.”

_ Mahdi Bray, executive director of the Washington-based Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation, commenting on Muslim groups being assigned Sept. 11, by Houston relief coordinators, to provide hot meals to Hurricane Katrina survivors. He was quoted by The Washington Post.

MO/PH END RNS