c. 2006 Religion News Service
At Annual March, Abortion Foes Find Hope in Revamped Supreme Court
WASHINGTON (RNS) Abortion opponents who gathered in Washington Monday (Jan. 23) for their annual march expressed hope that President Bush’s newest nominee for the Supreme Court will help overturn the Roe vs. Wade decision.
The crowdÃÂ?MDULÃÂ?, which included priests, parishioners, parents and children outside the Capitol, ÃÂ?MDULÃÂ?did their best not to let cold, drizzly weather dampen their mood as they recited chants in small groups representing religious and public advocacy groups.
“Justice Roberts and Justice Alito, that’s what’s new,” said Emilio DiCola, from nearby Fairfax Station, Va., referring to President Bush’s recent nominees to the Supreme Court, Chief Justice John Roberts and Judge Samuel Alito.
At his recent Senate confirmation hearing, Alito discussed his controversial 1985 memos in which he said that the Constitution does not guarantee the right to an abortion
It has been widely assumed that Alito, if confirmed by the Senate as Roberts was, will be a foe of Roe vs. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that struck down state bans on abortion. The march is held annually on the anniversary of that decision.
Abortion rights advocates rallied outside the Supreme Court on Sunday evening, holding a candlelight vigil and holding signs urging the Senate to reject the Alito nomination.
President Bush spoke to the demonstrators by telephone from Manhattan, Kan., where he had given a speech earlier.
“This is a cause that appeals to the conscience of our citizens and is rooted in America’s deepest principles,” he said. “And history tells us that with such a cause we will prevail.”
But some abortion opponents at the rally expressed skepticism that their voices were being heard.
“I think some people are listening, but I don’t think the government is listening,” said Ransford Clark, a New York seminary student attending the march for the first time. “That goes for Republicans as well as Democrats. Republicans present themselves as Bible-toting do-gooders, but they haven’t been living up to that image.”
_ David Barnes
Vatican Charges Publisher $18,000 for Quoting Pope
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Are words of a man of God priceless? Not if they come from the pope.
The Vatican has come under heavy criticism for its decision to charge publishers to reprint excerpts from Pope Benedict XVI’s public statements and written works dating back to his professorial days as the Rev. Joseph Ratzinger.
According to La Stampa, a Turin newspaper, the Vatican publishing division Libreria Editrice Vaticana recently billed a Milan-based publisher 15,000 euros (about $18,000) for printing a total of 30 lines from speeches Benedict delivered as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. The lines were spoken to fellow cardinals immediately before the conclave to choose a new pope and during his subsequent inauguration ceremony.
A statement released by Libreria on Monday (Jan. 23) said the decision was based on a Vatican decree, in which the Holy See assumed full copyrights to all of Benedict’s past, present and future writings and pronouncements.
The decree, issued by Secretary of State Angelo Sodano on May 31, was reportedly enacted in December and could also apply to news organizations that regularly quote the German pontiff. It was unclear, however, if the Vatican intended to enforce the new policy on journalists.
It was also unclear if the Vatican reserved the right to take legal action against news organizations that publish leaked material, such as lengthy encyclicals and instructions.
Both Benedict’s long awaited encyclical and the highly controversial Vatican document on homosexuals in the priesthood were widely leaked to the Italian press prior to their official release.
The move has drawn pointed criticism from prominent journalists covering the Vatican, including papal biographer Vittorio Messori, who co-authored books with John Paul II and the then Cardinal Ratzinger.
Messori said he was “perplexed and alarmed” by the new policy, which he characterized as a form of “economic ransom” that undercut the pope’s ability to communicate freely _ and for free.
“Once again the odor of money surrounds the clergy,” Messori said.
Under the new policy, the Vatican can charge a publisher from three to five percent of a book’s cover price to quote the pontiff at length.
According to La Stampa, the $18,000 bill that the Milan publisher received accounted for 15 percent of the book’s cover price plus $4,200 of “legal expenses.”
_ Stacy Meichtry
Billy Graham Might Preach Again, in New Orleans
(RNS) Evangelist Billy Graham, at 87 still a dominant figure on the American religious landscape, has decided to join his son, Franklin, and perhaps even preach in New Orleans at an event in March.
The elder Graham has told members of his organization he was moved by the suffering of New Orleans and the surrounding region after Hurricane Katrina and wants to come “to encourage pastors, churches and the people” of the area, said A. Larry Ross, a Graham spokesman.
The event, called Celebration of Hope, is scheduled for the New Orleans Arena on March 11 and 12. Billy Graham may preach March 12.
The event is a product of Katrina. After the storm, New Orleans pastors and the Graham organization revived dormant plans to stage a gathering, said Jeff Anderson, coordinator of the event.
Ross cautioned that whether Graham preaches or delivers a short “greeting” _ or whether he can come at all _ will be dictated by his health.
Debilitated by an array of ailments, most visibly Parkinson’s disease, Graham is no longer the robust figure who has held an open Bible aloft in pulpits in 185 countries. He has prostate cancer and hydrocephaly, or water on the brain, and must use a walker because of the effects of a broken pelvis and hip.
In recent years he has scaled back his preaching, turning over to his son, Franklin, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
Graham’s last major public engagement was a three-day crusade in New York City in June before 230,000 people. Given his condition, the common wisdom was that last summer’s public appearance might well be his last. But Graham himself left the door open, even as he acknowledged his infirmity.
_ Bruce Nolan
Online Resources Offered for Friday’s Holocaust Remembrance Day
(Editors: http://www.yadvashem.org is cq)
JERUSALEM (RNS) Yad Vashem, Israel’s main Holocaust center, has launched an online resource center to help prepare educators and individuals for the first annual Holocaust Remembrance Day, to be held Friday (Jan. 27).
The resource center’s “mini-site,” which is accessible from Yad Vashem’s home page (http://www.yadvashem.org), includes educational materials, exhibits and video testimonies.
The site provides a list of suggested educational activities to mark the day, which has been endorsed by the United Nations. The site includes 18 video testimonies taken from Yad Vashem’s new Holocaust History Museum, providing a broad interpretation of the events and personal experiences of survivors from all over Europe. It also includes a map with links to information about educational activities and resources for Holocaust commemoration in different European countries and a link to the Central Database of Shoah (Holocaust) Victims’ Names.
The United Nations chose Jan. 27 to commemorate the Holocaust because that was the day in 1945 when allied forces liberated the notorious concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Although several nations annually pay tribute to Holocaust victims, the commemoration proclaimed by the U.N. is the first global initiative of its kind, and by far the most comprehensive, according to Yad Vashem officials.
“Beyond memorializing those who died, the U.N. resolution also serves as a warning against the erosion of values that can lead to war crimes, and highlights the need to nurture universal human values,” Yad Vashem Chairman Avner Shalev writes in the latest edition of the Yad Vashem Quartery journal.
Shalev said that Jan. 27 is a fitting date for the memorial day.
“The fact that over 1 million Jews from all over Europe as well as other victims of the Nazi regime were killed in Auschwitz makes it a point of connection and solidarity with the memory of the victims,” Shalev said.
_ Michele Chabin
Rwanda Seeks Extradition of Priest Accused of Participating in Genocide
PARIS (RNS) The French Justice Ministry is considering a request from Rwanda to extradite a Roman Catholic priest suspected of taking part in the country’s 1994 genocide.
A French Foreign Ministry spokesman has confirmed that Rwandan officials in Kigali have issued an international arrest warrant and requested the extradition of 48-year-old Wenceslas Munyeshyaka, who has been serving in a Normandy parish for almost a decade.
“It’s up to judicial authorities to pursue the path they judge useful,” spokesman Denis Simonneau said. The French Foreign Ministry said the Justice department was still considering the extradition request.
A one-time vicar in his native Rwanda, Munyeshyaka is accused of identifying Tutsis and moderate Hutus who had sought refuge at his Holy Family parish in the Rwandan capital of Kigali. A number of them were subsequently raped and killed, his accusers say.
In 1998, a French court ruled that legal action could be pursued against Munyeshyaka, after a lower court ruling said otherwise. But the case has reportedly inched along.
Roughly 800,000 people, mostly Tutsis, died in the killing spree in the tiny East Africa country which took place between April and June of 1994.
Munyeshyaka has been living in Normandy since 1997, working with another priest in a small parish in the l’Eure region, a spokeswoman for the local bishopric said. For the moment, she said, the two bishops in charge of the region refuse to comment on the extradition request.
Chances of Munyeshyaka’s extradition to Rwanda appear doubtful. For one thing, Rwanda and France have no extradition treaty. For another, France does not extradite people to countries where they could face the death penalty.
_ Elizabeth Bryant
Donald Lawrence Wins Seven Stellar Gospel Awards
(Editors: J Moss Project with no period is cq)
(RNS) Vocalist Donald Lawrence was the biggest winner at the 21st Annual Stellar Gospel Awards, held at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry on Sunday (Jan. 22).
Lawrence won Artist of the Year. His album, “I Speak Life” also received awards for CD of the Year, Producer, Group, Contemporary Group/Duo, Contemporary CD, and Recorded Music Package, which honors graphic artists, illustrators, art directors and photographers. Aretha Franklin presented his award for Song of the Year, “Healed,” written by Jonathan Nelson.
J. Moss and his album “The J Moss Project” won awards for New Artist, Male Vocalist, and Contemporary Male Vocalist.
The event, hosted by Vickie Winans, Israel Houghton and Donnie McClurkin, honors black gospel artists. The Winans family was honored with the James Cleveland Lifetime Achievement Award.
Other honorees include:
Choir of the Year: Dr. Charles G. Hayes & The Warriors; “The Remix”
Female Vocalist: Dianne Williams, “The Remix”
Traditional Group/Duo of the Year: RiZen; “RiZen 2”
Traditional Male Vocalist: Walter Hawkins; “A Song In My Heart”
Traditional CD: Walter Hawkins; “A Song In My Heart”
Music Video: Dr. Charles G. Hayes & The Warriors; “The Remix”
The awards ceremony will air in syndication on cable television channels from Jan. 28 to Mar. 5.
_ Anne Pessala
Quote of the Day: Frank Lindh, Father of Former Taliban Fighter
(RNS) “In simple terms, this is the story of a decent and honorable young man embarked on a spiritual quest. … He certainly didn’t go to Afghanistan to do anything against America. He never fired a gun at an American. He was simply rescued.”
_ Frank Lindh, father of former Taliban fighter John Walker Lindh, an American now serving 20 years in federal prison after being captured in Afghanistan by U.S. troops in late 2001. He was quoted by the New York Times.
MO/JL END RNS
