c. 2005 Religion News Service

Few Priests Sign Petition Against Massachusetts’ Gay Marriage Law

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (RNS) Despite the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church urging support for a petition against same-sex marriage, only 20 percent of priests who work in one Bay State diocese signed the petition, according to a Web site tracking the issue.

Of the 154 active priests in the Diocese of Springfield, only 31, or 20 percent, signed the petition that seeks to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

A Web site organized by pro-gay marriage organizations, http://www.knowthyneighbor.org, obtained the certified signatures from the secretary of state and published them on the Web.

The petition seeks to amend the state constitution to prevent gay marriages that became legal in 2004. The initiative must be approved by lawmakers during two successive legislative sessions before going on the 2008 ballot.

Springfield Bishop Timothy A. McDonnell had urged priests and parishioners to support the petition. In a letter to priests prior to the statewide petition drive several months ago, McDonnell wrote, “Help at the parish level is vital. I encourage the cooperation of your parish in this important campaign.”

McDonnell signed the petition, according to the Web site, and various reasons were offered to explain why most priests didn’t sign the petition.

The Rev. James J. Scahill, a priest in East Longmeadow, Mass., who has been outspoken critic of the church’s leadership, said the clergy’s lack of support for the petition reflects the refusal of priests to back an anti-gay measure. He said some of the priests are gay.

Scahill said he didn’t sign the petition because the state wasn’t asking the church to “sacramentalize” same-sex unions.

Larry Cirignano of Catholic Citizenship, which helped organize the petition drive, was at a loss to explain the low percentage of signatures, calling it a “legitimate question.”

He said some of the priests may have signed a petition paper that was disqualified. “Whole sheets were thrown out (at city clerks’ offices and the Massachusetts secretary of state’s office) because of tears, stains and other reasons,” Cirignano said.

Aaron D. Toleos, director of knowthyneighbor.org, said he believes many priests didn’t sign the petition as a form of silent protest against the proposed amendment. He said several priests were disciplined by church leaders for not circulating the petition.

In an internal Nov. 23 memo to priests, diocesan spokesman Mark Dupont told priests that the media might examine the petitions to discover which priests didn’t sign them.

_ Bill Zajac

Taliban Finds Resurgence in Afghan Power Vacuum

(RNS) The year 2005 is ending with the Taliban experiencing something of a resurgence because of a power and security vacuum within Afghanistan, says a human rights researcher who recently traveled to Afghanistan.

That trend comes amid concerns that one-time Taliban officials, as well as other alleged human rights abusers, are now seated in Afghanistan’s first democratically elected parliament, which convened Dec. 19.

“A lot of people will use their new positions to reconstitute their networks of power,” Sam Zarifi, a researcher with Human Rights Watch, a New York-based human rights organization, said in an interview following a three-week visit to Afghanistan that ended just prior to Christmas.

Until they lost control of Afghanistan in late 2001, the Taliban ruled Afghanistan under the mantle of a strict interpretation of Islam and placed severe restrictions on basic freedoms, particularly for women.

Of the overall situation in Afghanistan, Zarifi said the Taliban and other opponents of the government of President Hamid Karzai “are making something of a comeback,” given what some see as an inability or unwillingness by the United States and allies to project security in many parts of Afghanistan.

One reason the Taliban is showing increased strength, particularly in parts of rural and southern Afghanistan, is because the current Afghan government has a growing reputation for both corruption and ineffectiveness in providing basic services, Zarifi said.

There is a growing feeling among many Afghanis, he said, “that at least the Taliban brought peace and security” to Afghanistan.

As for the new parliament, a majority of the deputies serving in parliament’s lower house may directly or indirectly have connections to past or current human rights abuses within Afghanistan, as do a number of prominent persons in the upper house of the new parliament, Zarifi said.

One of them, Arsala Rahmani, held one of the top positions in the Taliban’s religious affairs ministry and was, Zarifi said, one of those “who created the intellectual context for the Taliban regime.”

Rahmani was appointed to the post by President Hamid Karzai. Karzai has strong backing from the United States and other western nations, which is why human rights advocates both within and outside of Afghanistan are both puzzled and disappointed by Rahmani’s appointment.

“I don’t want to convict him (Rahmani) but he has a lot of answering to do for what he did during the Taliban era,” Zarifi said.

_ Chris Herlinger

NCC to Focus Efforts on Protecting Wilderness

(RNS) Noting that wilderness journeys were central to the spiritual lives of Moses, Jesus and the prophet Muhammad, the National Council of Churches said it will dedicate 2006 to protecting wilderness areas.

The NCC’s Public Lands Stewardship Initiative will develop a theological reflection on the importance of undeveloped lands and urge congregations to lobby to protect wilderness areas.

“Wild lands are the connective tissue that holds together the glorious web of life by providing space for wildlife and undisturbed natural cycles,” said Christine Hoekenga, a land specialist for the New York-based NCC.

“But God’s gift of wilderness is increasingly threatened by our swelling cities, growing highways and increasing demand for resources like oil, gas, timber and minerals.”

According to the Bible, God appeared to Moses in the burning bush in the countryside, and Moses led the Israelites through the wilderness for 40 years during their exodus from Egypt. Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness prior to beginning his public ministry.

Muslims believe Muhammad was annointed as God’s prophet to mankind during his solo retreats in a cave in the wilderness, where he would immerse himself in spiritual meditation.

The NCC is an umbrella group representing 35 mainline Protestant, Orthodox and historically black church bodies.

_ Kevin Eckstrom

Quotes of the Day: `Penn & Teller’ Comedian Penn Jillette

(RNS) “Believing there is no God gives me more room for belief in family, people, love, truth, beauty, sex, Jell-O and all the other things I can prove and that make this life the best life I will ever have.”

_ Penn Jillette, the vocal half of comedy-magic duo Penn & Teller, speaking on National Public Radio’s weekly series “This I Believe.”

KRE/JL END RNS