c. 2006 Religion News Service

Pope John Paul II’s Gunman Released From Turkish Prison

VATICAN CITY (RNS) Mehmet Ali Agca, the gunman who shot John Paul II in St. Peter’s square in 1981, was freed from a Turkish prison Thursday (Jan. 12), completing decades of jail time for the assassination attempt and the 1979 murder of a Turkish journalist that continues to stir controversy.

Agca, a Turk, did not make a statement as he left the prison under heavy police escort. He was immediately taken to a military base to enlist for military service, which he dodged as a young man.

Agca’s release has stirred fresh controversy among Turkish officials and observers critical of the reduced prison sentence he received for committing the 1979 murder of Abdi Ipekci, the liberal editor-in-chief of Turkey’s Milliyet daily newspaper.

Turkey’s Justice Minister Cemil Cicek called for further judicial review of the court ruling that drastically reduced Agca’s prison sentence to under six years and led to his early release.

“As the justice minister, I will ask the appeals court to examine the release of Agca,” Cicek told a news conference in Istanbul.

Agca was extradited to Turkey in 2000 after serving nearly 20 years in jail for repeatedly shooting John Paul as he rode through St. Peter’s Square in an open-air jeep.

Upon his arrival in Turkey, Agca was initially sentenced to serve 10 years in prison for the Ipekci slaying.

In November 2004, a Turkish court re-sentenced Agca to life in prison, a 36-year term. But the ruling also applied changes in Turkey’s penal code, which qualified Agca to reduce his sentence by 19 years for the time he served in Italian custody. An additional 10 years were cut from his sentence as part of a national amnesty passed in 2000.

Agca has been linked to the Gray Wolves, an ultra-nationalist group that clashed with leftist groups during the 1970s violence that roiled Turkey. He allegedly killed Ipekci for writing editorials that criticized rightist groups.

Agca’s release has also renewed questions regarding his motives for attempting to assassinate John Paul.

Agca has given contradictory testimony, telling La Repubblica in March 2005 that “nobody in the world” knew of the assassination attempt while also claiming that the attack was part of a Vatican conspiracy.

The Vatican declined to comment on Thursday. On Sunday, it released a statement saying the Holy See “submits to the decisions of the tribunals involved in this matter.”

_ Stacy Meichtry

Baptist Board Seeks Ouster of Pastor Critical of Policy on Tongues

(RNS) A pastor critical of a new Southern Baptist policy banning missionaries who speak in tongues says the denomination’s mission board is trying to oust him over unfair accusations of “slander” and “gossip.”

Wade Burleson, senior pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Enid, Okla., made the announcement Wednesday (Jan. 11) on his blog, kerussocharis.blogspot.com. He said that in a meeting, the International Mission Board had decided to seek his removal, pending a vote by the Southern Baptist Convention.

“I am very uncomfortable with the knowledge that for the next few months of my life, my wife and children will probably have to endure an attempt by a few to discredit my character or to disparage my integrity,” Burleson said. “I place my concern in God’s hands, knowing my own heart in this matter.”

After Burleson’s blog posting, Baptist Press published a Wednesday statement from the board’s chairman, Tom Hatley.

“This difficult measure was not taken without due deliberation and exploration of other ways to handle an impasse between Wade Burleson and the board,” Hatley said in the statement. “In taking this action, trustees addressed issues involving broken trust and resistance to accountability, not Burleson’s opposition to policies recently enacted by the board.”

Hatley’s statement did not mention “slander” and “gossip” but Burleson wrote that Hatley used those words at Wednesday’s meeting.

Burleson has been posting open letters to the SBC on his blog since early December critical of two policy changes made last year by the mission board. The first change mandated that a candidate be baptized in a church that met certain board guidelines, most of which, according to Burleson, were not consistent with the Baptist Faith and Message (the SBC’s statement of faith) or Scripture.

The second change stated that any candidate practicing a private prayer language (tongues) “has eliminated himself or herself from being a representative of the IMB of the SBC.”

The policy change regarding tongues was not retroactive, so it will not apply to Jerry Rankin, mission board president, who told “Christianity Today” on Jan. 3, 2006: “I acknowledged even in the discussions that (tongues) has been a continuing practice (of mine) for 30 years.”

The practice of speaking in tongues, described in the book of Acts and elsewhere, has spread in recent years through many Christian denominations, even though some argue it was only intended to be used during an era immediately following Christ’s death.

Burleson will be required to remain on the board until the next annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention, at which time the convention will vote on the request of the mission board. The vote to remove Burleson is expected to be June 13 or 14 in Greensboro, N.C.

_ Greg Horton

Robertson Apologizes for Comments About Divine Judgment of Israeli Leader

JERUSALEM (RNS) Religious Broadcaster Pat Robertson apologized Thursday (Jan. 12) to the family of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon for suggesting on television that Sharon’s recent stroke could be God’s judgment for ceding the Gaza Strip and Northern West Bank to the Palestinians.

“I ask your forgiveness and the forgiveness of the people of Israel for remarks I made at the time concerning the writing of the holy prophet Joel and his view of the inviolate nature of the land of Israel,” Robertson wrote in a letter to Omri Sharon, the prime minister’s son.

Robertson and some other “Christian Zionists” contend that the Bible warns God will punish those who oppose Israel or seek its ancient borders to be changed. That view and Robertson’s recent remarks have been roundly criticized by Christian leaders, including evangelicals.

“My zeal, my love of Israel, and my concern for the future safety of your nation led me to make remarks which I can now view in retrospect as inappropriate and insensitive in light of a national grief experienced because of your father’s illness,” the letter said.

Robertson’s apology came after the Israeli government decided to exclude Robertson from the team of evangelical Christian leaders working with the government to build a $50 million Christian Heritage Center in the Galilee.

Rami Levi, senior deputy director general of Israel’s Tourism Ministry, said in a Thursday interview that his government will not work with Robertson due to his Jan. 5 assertion on his television show, “The 700 Club.”

“Tourism Minister Avraham Hirschson thought the remarks were outrageous,” Levi said.

Sharon, whose government withdrew from these territories in August, remains in critical condition following a Jan. 4 stroke.

Robertson, whom Israeli officials had long considered a staunch supporter of Israel, told viewers of his show “The 700 Club” that Sharon had received divine retribution for “dividing God’s land.”

“I would say, `Woe unto any prime minister of Israel who takes a similar course to appease the (European Union), the United Nations or the United States of America,”’ Robertson told viewers. “God says, ‘This land belongs to me, and you’d better leave it alone.”’

_ Michele Chabin

Catholic Officials Offer Counseling to Bishop Who Claimed Abuse

(RNS) Catholic leaders in Detroit have offered counseling to a 75-year-old bishop who recently disclosed that he had been abused by a priest 60 years ago at a high school seminary.

Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, an auxiliary bishop of Detroit and one of the nation’s longest-serving bishops, revealed the abuse Wednesday (Jan. 11) when he testified before Ohio lawmakers in favor of a bill that would allow alleged victims to sue the church during a one-year window.

“I am persuaded that this is the most effective way to make all those responsible _ bishops who protected priest-perpetrators as well as priests themselves _ truly accountable for this tragedy,” Gumbleton said in prepared remarks.

Gumbleton has long been a fixture on the church’s left wing and has not shied away from controversial positions. But his disclosure _ the first by a U.S. bishop _ caught many off-guard.

“The Detroit Archdiocese was never made aware of this,” Gumbleton’s superior, Cardinal Adam Maida, said in a statement. Gumbleton said the priest involved died more than a decade ago, and declined to release his name.

U.S. church leaders have fought efforts to lift the statute of limitations on old abuse cases. Monsignor Ricardo Bass, who handles abuse cases for the Detroit Archdiocese, said time limits on lawsuits have “served our society well in protecting the rights of everyone.”

But Gumbleton said “abusers need to be exposed,” even if it causes “pain, embarrassment and sacrifice” for the church. Lay reformers cheered Gumbleton’s candor.

“Led now by one of their own, there is a sliver of hope that bishops will drop their opposition … and allow wrongs to be righted, children to be protected, and justice to live again in the Roman Catholic Church,” said Kristine Ward, vice president of Boston-based Voice of the Faithful.

_ Kevin Eckstrom

Prominent Southern Baptist Leader Charged With Offering `Lewd Act’

TULSA, Okla. (RNS) A prominent Oklahoma minister and former member of the Southern Baptist Convention executive committee was charged Wednesday (Jan. 11) with offering to engage in a lewd act.

The Rev. Lonnie Latham, 60, who resigned as pastor of South Tulsa Baptist Church, was arrested and jailed Jan. 3 after allegedly inviting a male undercover Oklahoma City police officer to his hotel room for sex.

Latham has defended the SBC’s opposition to homosexuality.

Latham’s attorney, Mack Martin, Oklahoma City, said, “We will carefully review the charges filed, to see if there’s any validity to them. Even if everything the DA says is true, I don’t know if that’s a crime.”

Latham said he has been advised not to discuss the case.

If convicted, he will face 30 days to one year in jail, and/or up to a $2,500 fine and 40 to 80 hours of community service.

Oklahoma County District Attorney Wes Lane said he understood the American Civil Liberties Union “is complaining loudly about the Oklahoma City Police Department making this arrest.”

“As the chief law enforcement officer of this county, I would like to express my appreciation to the police for enforcing the laws of this state,” he said.

He said Oklahoma law prohibits a person from “soliciting another person to engage in what is considered a lewd act regardless of whether money is sought or exchanged.”

The ACLU Oklahoma Foundation’s executive director, Joann Bell, said Latham should never have been arrested because the U.S. Supreme Court has established that same-sex sexual relations are legal if they are adult, consensual, private and non-commercial.

“If you follow the logic of the Oklahoma City police, everyone who tries to pick up someone at a bar is a criminal,” she said.

Latham’s arrest drew expressions of shock and grief from state and national Baptist leaders and from his church members.

It also drew responses from gay rights activists.

The gay rights organization Soulforce posted a statement on its Web site calling it “tragic that so many, like Rev. Latham, have never been told the truth that they can live with dignity and express their God-given sexuality in ways that are open, honest, loving and life-affirming.”

Latham resigned Jan. 5 from the executive committee of the 42,000-church SBC, and from the board of directors of the 1,700-church Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma.

_ Bill Sherman

Quote of the Day: Focus on the Family Chairman James Dobson

(RNS) “If the nation’s politicians don’t fix this national disaster, then the oceans of gambling money with which Jack Abramoff tried to buy influence on Capitol Hill will only be the beginning of the corruption we’ll see.”

_ Focus on the Family Chairman James Dobson, commenting on the need for Congress to address gambling. Dobson was a member of the National Gambling Impact Study Commission and has criticized politicians who accept campaign contributions from gambling interests.

MO/JL END RNS