c. 2006 Religion News Service
Giuliani Praises Evangelical Pastors for `Saving People’
(RNS) In the category of politics creating strange bedfellows, former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani told evangelical pastors that he appreciates their efforts at “saving people … and bringing them to Jesus.”
Giuliani, a Roman Catholic who supports gay rights and abortion rights, was a surprise keynote speaker Wednesday (Jan. 25) at a gathering of nearly 2,000 evangelical pastors and ministry leaders in Orlando, Fla.
The “Billion Soul” Pastors’ Conference was sponsored by the Global Pastors’ Network, which has a campaign under way “to win 1 billion people to Christ worldwide over the next 10 years.”
Giuliani spoke about the lessons of leadership he learned as New York’s mayor during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
According to a report by the PBS program “Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly,” Giuliani told the pastors: “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate what you are doing, and if any of these lessons help at all in saving people and helping people and bringing them to Jesus and bringing them to God, you’ve done me a great favor.”
Giuliani is considered a strong possible contender for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, but many religious conservatives are concerned about his moderate political views, particularly on issues such as abortion.
Giuliani used several religious references throughout his address. He said his belief in God and in freedom helped get him through the Sept. 11 crisis. “That is the story of the Old Testament,” he said. “Strong beliefs guide countries _ and churches.”
“As a Christian, you have more from which to draw,” he said, adding, that he knew many of the people who died on Sept. 11 “came from religious homes where they were taught there is no greater principle than to lay down your life for another.”
The evangelicals gave Giuliani a standing ovation and promised to pray for him. When asked whether he intends to run for president, Giuliani replied, “Only God knows.”
The “Billion Soul” conference brought together pastors and ministry executives from across the U.S. and 20 countries around the world. Other speakers included S. Truett Cathy, founder of Chick-fil-A, and international evangelist Reinhard Bonnke, who generated controversy in 2002 for claiming that a man in Nigeria was miraculously raised from the dead during one of his crusades.
_ Kim Lawton, Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly
Pope Retires Liberal Detroit Bishop Who Disclosed Abuse
(RNS) Pope Benedict XVI has accepted the resignation of Detroit Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, just two weeks after the long-serving and outspoken bishop disclosed that he had been molested by a priest 60 years ago.
Gumbleton, 76, was required under church law to submit his resignation when he turned 75 last year. At that time, he petitioned to remain in office.
In his statement Thursday (Jan. 26) to parishioners at St. Leo’s Church, where he has served as pastor since 1993, Gumbleton said that when his request was refused he “decided to end the discussion.”
Gumbleton was the youngest American priest to become a bishop when he was appointed by Pope Paul VI in 1968. He is one of the longest-serving _ and most liberal _ Catholic bishops in the United States.
On Jan. 11, Gumbleton revealed that he had been abused by a priest as a teenager _ the first U.S. bishop to ever admit to abuse by a cleric. Church officials in Detroit said Gumbleton had never told them about the abuse.
Gumbleton has long been active in pacifist causes and has challenged the church’s treatment of gays and lesbians.
Detroit Archdiocese spokesman Ned McGrath said Gumbleton had given up most of administrative aspects of his position in 1993. McGrath said Gumbleton will meet with Detroit Cardinal Adam Maida to discuss his future duties.
While the archdiocese has not confirmed whether Gumbleton will stay at St. Leo’s, he will continue to be active in the priesthood.
In a statement, Gumbleton said: “I will continue to exercise my ordained ministry as bishop as long as I am physically capable of doing so. This means that I will continue to teach, preach, celebrate sacraments and carry on my work for justice and peace wherever I am called to do so.”
_ Anne Pessala
Muslim Leaders Say West Suffers From Misperceptions of Islam
PARIS (RNS) The West suffers from a misperception of Islam and Islamic cultures, coloring its views on terrorism and leading to sometimes disastrous missteps in Muslim societies it deals with, several Muslim leaders said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
During a special session on Islamic societies Thursday (Jan. 26), leaders ranging from Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai to Queen Rania of Jordan also acknowledged that many Muslim countries are challenged by a legacy of dictatorship and lack of equal rights for women.
But all of them rejected the idea that Islamist extremism had anything to do with the preachings of the Quran.
Rather, said Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf, Western nations have misunderstood the religion. “They take the views of the obscurantists to be Islamic views,” he said. “This is not the truth, that is not what Islam is about.”
Musharraf called for creating an Islamic department of scholars that would offer a true projection of Islam both within and outside Muslim societies.
Lack of knowledge of Islamist societies and cultures can lead to major blunders on the part of Western governments, the leaders said.
In Iraq, for example, Washington’s record is a mixed one, said Hajim Alhasani, president of the Iraqi National Assembly.
“What the United States must do is really understand Iraq in a different way,” he said. “Without that understanding you … will implement policies with the wrong information. And that’s why the United States suffered so much in Iraq _ in implementing policies that didn’t work.”
Sometimes small but crucial differences set Muslim societies apart, Queen Rania said. “Very often the most important aspects are in the details, in the nuances,” she said, “and it’s so dangerous when you get the nuances wrong.”
While Muslim societies want to modernize _ but not necessarily Westernize _ the leaders acknowledged that significant hurdles remain.
World Bank surveys show, for example, that Middle East and North African countries invest heavily in education _ and that the majority of university graduates from the region are women, Rania said.
“The problem is, what happens after they graduate?” she asked. “Their participation in the work force is among the lowest in the world. So on the one hand, we’re making huge investments _ but we’re depriving ourselves of the returns.”
_ Elizabeth Bryant
Poll: Americans Worried About Threat of Poverty
NEW ORLEANS (RNS) Nearly two-thirds of Americans fear that poverty will increase, while almost the same proportion worry they will find themselves among the lowest economic class, according to a new poll by Catholic bishops.
Almost five months after the abject poverty of New Orleans was televised across the world in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the Washington-based Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) released a poll tracking people’s perception of the poor.
“The numbers are staggering,” said Bishop Howard Hubbard of Albany, N.Y., the bishops’ CCHD chairman. “Right now, 37 million men, women and children are living below the poverty line. That’s one out of every eight Americans.”
Before Katrina, New Orleans had a child poverty rate at more than 38 percent, one of the highest in the country.
Hubbard released the survey in New Orleans on Jan. 19 as part of announcing an additional $500,000 in grants awarded to groups helping poor victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita rebuild their lives.
Before Katrina hit, the committee had given $9 million to 315 projects across the nation working to help the poor. After Katrina, the committee gave out $150,000 to groups in the hardest-hit areas.
The 20 post-hurricane grants range from $10,000 to $30,000 each, and collectively cover three states and 11 Catholic dioceses. The Archdiocese of New Orleans will receive $30,000 for its community centers in the most devastated parishes.
The same survey found that 75 percent of Americans think the disaster should become a tool for educating the public about poverty, while 23 percent said too much attention already has been paid to the situation.
The poll was conducted among 1,131 members of the general adult population in December and is the sixth “Poverty Pulse” survey taken since 2000.
While Hubbard said his group was not surprised at the vast poverty encapsulated in New Orleans, the poll showed that 41 percent of Americans were taken aback at the stories depicting poverty here. Fifty-nine percent said they were not surprised.
The lack of jobs that pay “a living wage” and a lack of education were the top reasons for poverty, the poll found. Twelve percent attributed poverty to “laziness.”
_ Gwen Filosa
Quote of the Day: University of Alabama Law Professor Susan Pace Hamill
(RNS) “Faith in Christ isn’t just about waiting for him to take you to the promised land at the end of time. It’s also about being his steward on Earth during your life until such time.”
_ Susan Pace Hamill, tax expert at the University of Alabama School of Law, who wrote a biblical interpretation of Alabama’s tax code during her studies at Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham. She was quoted by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
KRE/PH END RNS
Editors: To obtain a photo to accompany the last item about poverty and New Orleans, go to the RNS Web site at https://religionnews.com. On the lower right, click on “photos,” then search by subject or slug. If searching by subject, designate “exact phrase” for best results.
