c. 2006 Religion News Service
`Love’ Will Be Topic of Pope’s First Encyclical
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI is expected to delve into the nature of unconditional and erotic love with his first encyclical, the most authoritative form of papal writing.
It is expected to be released in the coming days.
The 50-page document entitled “Deus Caritas Est,” Latin for “God Is Love,” could set the tone of Benedict’s young papacy. Italian media reports say it will warn Catholics not to disassociate their feelings of erotic love from their understanding of unconditional love.
“I know that it’s going to be on love, on the different types of love,” Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick of Washington said, speaking on the sidelines of an academic conference held in Rome on Tuesday (Jan. 17).
According to the Italian news agency ANSA the encyclical draws upon the ancient Greek concept of love known as “agape,” or spiritual love, and `eros,” erotic love.
Benedict notes that marriages that base themselves solely on “eros” risk being “degraded to pure sex,” turning love into a form of “merchandise … that can be bought and sold.”
“A marriage based on an exclusive love becomes a representation of God with his people and vice versa,” Benedict reportedly writes.
“Deus Caritas Est,” which takes its name from the first letter of St. John the evangelist, is also expected to address the need for Catholic charity in the world.
ANSA reported that American Archbishop William Levada, Benedict’s successor at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, will present the encyclical at the end of the week.
McCarrick said he expects the encyclical to demonstrate that Benedict is both “a true successor of John Paul II and his own man.”
John Paul wrote 14 encyclicals on themes ranging from church doctrine to workers’ rights and geopolitics. Benedict has said he intends to focus his efforts on buttressing John Paul’s legacy.
_ Stacy Meichtry
`Book of Daniel’ Creator Rallies to Save TV Show from Cancellation
(RNS) The creator of NBC’s “The Book of Daniel” is warning viewers that “bullies” at the American Family Association may succeed in their fight to kill the show unless viewers speak up.
Jack Kenny, the creative force behind the prime-time drama about an Episcopal priest and his dysfunctional family, posted his appeal on a blog, http://www.blogofdaniel.com, that is hosted by the Episcopal Diocese of Washington.
Kenny asked fans to contact stations in support of the show, and thank a dwindling number of sponsors for advertising during the Friday show, which airs at 10 p.m. Eastern time.
“Ordinarily, I would never ask anyone to do this, but the AFA and bullies like them are hard at work to try and prevent you from seeing these beautiful shows, and that is censorship _ pure and simple,” Kenny wrote. “And that is both un-Christian and un-American.”
The Tupelo, Miss.-based AFA has rallied opposition to the show’s lurid content _ especially the Jesus character, which they say is disrespectful. The show features a pill-popping priest, his alcoholic wife, a daughter who sells drugs and a gay son.
So far, AFA officials say 11 NBC affiliates in Tennessee, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas and Indiana have refused to air the show. In addition, AFA officials said four companies have pulled their ads during the show, and only one company _ Burlington Coat Factory _ continues to advertise during “The Book of Daniel.”
“NBC is losing between two and three million dollars each time they air `The Book of Daniel,”’ AFA chairman Donald Wildmon said. “With those kinds of losses, NBC may decide to cancel the show.”
NBC has only committed to eight episodes. Kenny, a self-described “unaffiliated Christian,” said the next three episodes (scheduled to air Jan. 20, Jan. 27 and Feb. 3) are important to the characters’ development.
“Please believe me when I tell you that the stories that we are about to tell you … are the most heartbreakingly beautiful stories I’ve ever had the pleasure of being associated with,” Kenny said.
_ Kevin Eckstrom
Head of Muslim Lawyers’ Group Fears Alito No Friend of Civil Rights
(RNS) The head of an American Muslim lawyers’ group is worried that Judge Samuel Alito, President Bush’s nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, will interpret the Constitution in a way that allows for broader presidential powers at the expense of civil rights.
Farhana Khera, director of the Washington, D.C.-based National Muslim Lawyers Association, said Alito, in four days of judiciary committee questioning that finished Thursday (Jan. 12), had done little to allay the group’s concerns regarding his commitment to the protection of civil rights and immigration rights.
“So far, the responses he’s given are perplexing,” Khera, 36, said. She said she will urge judiciary committee members to further press Alito on these issues in writing.
American Muslims were distressed by reports last month that the administration has engaged in domestic spying and allegedly conducted surreptitious radiation monitoring at Muslim homes, businesses and other sites without warrants.
Khera said she believed Alito “hinted” during the hearings that he believed it is not the Supreme Court’s role to address whether such surveillance is within or outside the scope of executive powers, and that he would not challenge such surveillance.
On religious liberty, Alito ruled in a 1999 federal case in favor of a Muslim police officer who contended that a City of Newark, N.J., policy prohibiting beards violated his right to religious expression. Khera said that was one of Alito’s “positive” decisions having to do with American Muslims.
Before being named NAML’s director in July, Khera served six years as counsel to Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., a key figure on the Senate Committee on the Judiciary. As Feingold’s lead lawyer, Khera focused on The Patriot Act and civil rights issues such as racial and religious profiling.
Feingold has raised the possibility of a filibuster to block Alito’s nomination and expressed concerns during the hearings that Alito is too deferential to the Executive branch.
Senate leaders say they expect the judiciary committee to vote Jan. 24 on Alito’s nomination, with the full Senate to take up debate the following day.
NAML is the current incarnation of an e-mail network, MuslimJD, started in 1996. The email group incorporated as the National Association of Muslim Lawyers in 2000, and now claims about 500 members, Khera said.
_ Omar Sacirbey
Catholics to Appeal Ruling on Providing Insurance for Birth Control
(UNDATED) Catholic leaders say they plan to appeal a New York state appellate court ruling that says the Catholic Church must continue to provide insurance that pays for prescription contraceptives.
Plaintiffs will appeal the case to the state Court of Appeals, said Dennis Poust, director of communications for the New York State Catholic Conference, an Albany-based lobbying group that represents the state’s eight Roman Catholic Dioceses.
“If this law is allowed to stand, there is nothing to stop the Legislature from forcing abortion services on us,” Poust said.
In the 3-2 ruling Thursday (Jan. 12) by the Appellate Division of state Supreme Court, judges rejected religious groups’ arguments that the 2002 Women’s Health and Wellness Act, which requires health insurers to provide contraceptive coverage, violates religious freedom.
“It’s disappointing to me it ever got this far. Any religious group should have the right to withdraw based on the tenets of their faith,” said Cynthia D. Falise, director of the Respect Life Office for the Syracuse Diocese.
Lynda Fuchs, director of the Syracuse area’s Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, called the ruling a victory for women and families.
She said the Catholic Church’s view advocates just one religious perspective.
“There are any number of faith groups and institutions in the mainstream who certainly support the use of contraceptives and who would also argue it’s a religious matter,” she said.
_ Renee K. Gadoua
County Approves New Swimwear Policy to Accommodate Muslims
ANN ARBOR, Mich. _ On one of the last days of school last June, Jumanah Saadeh, then 13, changed into long gym pants, a head covering and a long-sleeved collared shirt and joined her classmates from Ann Arbor Open School at the Rolling Hills Water Park in Ypsilanti.
The outfit was in accordance with Islam’s modesty requirements, but violated health and safety regulations at the pool and lifeguards ordered her out of the water.
“This was a terribly humiliating incident for her and she felt like she was forced to choose between her religious beliefs and her classmates,” said Michael Steinberg, legal director with the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan.
After six months of planning, the county’s Parks and Recreation Commission on Tuesday (Jan. 10) unanimously passed what could be the first swimwear policy in the country accommodating individuals who cannot wear traditional swimsuits for religious reasons.
Not even Dearborn, noted for having one of the largest Muslim populations in the country, has a written policy to address the matter at its nine pool facilities.
“We treat everyone the same way and there’s no exception,” said Eric Peterson, deputy director of recreation for the city of Dearborn. Peterson said the city falls back on the DEQ regulations and strictly prohibits head garments and any clothing other than lined swimsuits in the water due to public health concerns.”
Executive director of the Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Dawud Walid said his organization has received only a few similar complaints over the years but noted that may be because many Muslims avoid public pools strictly because of the clothing issue.
In Islam, females approaching puberty must have their head covered, and body covered from their neck to their ankles at all times in public, said Walid. The clothing should not be form fitting.
Males may be shirtless but must be covered from above the belly button to the knee cap in non-form fitting attire, he said.
The new policy will accommodate those who cannot wear traditional bathing suits for religious reasons by permitting appropriate clothing with the following conditions:
_ Clothing must allow free movement of arms and legs and be free from hardware such as belts, buckles and rivets.
_ The clothing material must be lightweight as to not inhibit a patron’s movement or weigh them down in the pool. Fabric such as nylon, polyester, Lycra or thin cotton are acceptable.
_ Clothing also must not be so loose that it could cause entanglement, entrapment or strangulation in pool equipment.
_ Art Aisner
Quote of the Day: Author and Pastor John Piper of Minneapolis
(RNS) “The most dangerous thing in the world is the sin of self-reliance and the stupor of worldliness. The news of cancer has a wonderfully blasting effect on both. I thank God for that.”
_ Author John Piper, pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, writing in a letter to church members and supporters about learning that he has prostate cancer.
MO/JL END RNS
