c. 2006 Religion News Service
Religious Leaders Sign Declaration Condemning Violence Against Women
WASHINGTON (RNS) Dozens of religious leaders from a broad array of faiths have signed a declaration calling violence against women “morally, spiritually and universally intolerable” and have called for proper use of sacred texts to condemn abuse.
“While as people of faith we hold divergent opinions on a wide range of issues, today we proclaim with one voice that violence against women exists in all of our communities and is intolerable,” said the Rev. Marie Fortune, founder of FaithTrust Institute, a Seattle-based organization that offers resources to religious organizations to address abuse.
The letter was released Wednesday (April 4) at a news conference. Signatories include representatives of Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Jainism and Buddhist organizations.
“People don’t like to think about their religious communities as … including these kinds of problems,” said Rabbi Elliott Dorff, a Conservative rabbi and president of Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles, which offers programs for abuse victims and for abusers. “This declaration … takes it out into the open and it says that we do in fact realize that this is happening in our communities.”
Imam Mohamed Magid of Sterling, Va., a member of the executive council of the Islamic Society of North America, said he has preached about domestic violence and urges other imams to do the same so mosques can be a place where women can seek assistance.
“I tell them … in my Friday sermons, if you beat your wife at home, it’s not your own business, it’s my business as well,” he said.
Retired Major Marilyn White of the Salvation Army said her evangelical denomination joined with the other faith groups in addressing the issue because “our religious and spiritual traditions compel us to work for justice, and that means the eradication of violence against women.”
Declaration supporters are hoping others will sign onto the document at http://www.faithtrustinstitute.org and that it will be posted at women’s shelters and on bulletin boards of houses of worship across the country.
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Fortune said the declaration shows widening interest among faith leaders in addressing abuse. Her organization, which previously was known as the Center for the Prevention of Sexual and Domestic Violence, has worked on the issue for decades. More recently, groups such as Peace and Safety in the Christian Home have begun holding conferences to draw more attention to domestic violence.
_ Adelle M. Banks
Evangelical Groups Endorse Bill on Immigration Reform
WASHINGTON (RNS) Fifty-six evangelical leaders, along with a dozen organizations, have written President Bush and members of Congress in favor of an immigration bill that supports guest worker programs and citizenship for aliens already in the country.
Stressing Christian values and a commitment to civil rights, while quoting from the biblical books of Deuteronomy and Leviticus, the evangelicals urged easing restrictions for those seeking to enter the country legally while ensuring that border protection policies are respectful and humane as well as secure.
The letter was released Wednesday (April 5) at a meeting attended by Democratic Sens. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, Dianne Feinstein of California and Ken Salazar of Colorado, who read Bible verses in support of an immigration reform bill being debated in the Senate.
“I am deeply honored to stand with religious leaders who are acting out of fairness and concern for others to make their voices heard,” said Kennedy, who co-sponsored the Senate bill with Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. “This immigration debate is about security, but it is also about our humanity and these religious leaders make that clear today.”
Rev. Samuel Rodriguez Jr., president of the 15 million-member National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, also spoke.
“In the midst of a heated and spirited debate on immigration, what has been lacking is the clear and unified voice for one of the country’s most influential groups … the evangelical church,” he said. “There are approximately 12 million human beings within the borders of our nation waiting for the results from this Congress. We have an obligation to respond to them.”
The Kennedy-McCain bill, which requires aliens to pay back taxes and fines, is more lenient than a bill passed earlier by the House and supported by the evangelical Christian Coalition and Eagle Forum.
_ Piet Levy
Cleveland Catholics to Get New Bishop, From Boston
CLEVELAND (RNS) A Boston bishop who helped guide the troubled archdiocese through a sex abuse scandal and massive church closings will be the next spiritual leader of the Cleveland Catholic Diocese.
Pope Benedict XVI on Tuesday (April 4) announced the appointment of Auxiliary Bishop Richard Lennon to replace Cleveland Bishop Anthony Pilla, who earlier this year offered his resignation before he reached the mandatory retirement age of 75.
Lennon, 59, will be installed as the 10th bishop of Cleveland on May 15.
“I am humbled by his choice,” Lennon said at a news conference announcing his selection. “I hope to be able to be a worthy person to carry on the wonderful work of my nine predecessors.”
Pilla, 73, a Cleveland native who was the longest serving leader in the diocese’s 159-year history, said he felt it was time for a change for the diocese he has led for a quarter-century. He offered no further reasons for his decision Tuesday.
In a statement, Pilla said he would take time off.
He said he would have a period of discernment and reflection as he considers “several opportunities” to return to ministry.
From Boston, Cardinal Sean O’Malley thanked Lennon for 33 years of “faithful service” to the archdiocese. “Bishop Lennon’s intellect, commitment and deep faith will be a grace and blessing for the Diocese of Cleveland,” he said in a statement.
_ David Briggs
New Web Site Explains What’s Kosher for Passover
(RNS) The New York-based Orthodox Union (OU) has launched a Web site to answer questions that confront kosher consumers preparing for Passover.
Advertised as a “one-stop-shop for all Passover-related queries,” the site (http://www.oupassover.com) will convey whether a certain food, medicine, cosmetic, pet food or even house-cleaning product is considered kosher for Passover according to the criteria of the Orthodox Union, which provides kashrut (kosher) certification to more than 400,000 products in 80 countries.
Passover, a week-long holiday that this year begins at sundown on April 12, recalls the ancient Israelites’ escape from slavery in Egypt. As the Passover Haggadah recalls, the Jews fled in such haste that the bread they were baking failed to rise.
In addition to not eating bread during Passover, Jews are prohibited from using any product made from wheat, barley, rye, oats and spelt throughout the holiday.
The Web site includes the annual Jewish Action Guide to Kosher for Passover Foods _ products the OU certifies as kosher for Passover. It also contains information on fish, meat and poultry, as well as baby formula.
The Medicine Guidelines section is particularly important in determining which pills, medicinal creams, injections and liquid medications are kosher for Passover, and which are not. If a patient knows that his allergy medication is not kosher for Passover, for example, and learns of another one that is, he will be able to purchase the Passover brand.
However, the Web site strongly recommends that patients “exercise extreme caution” and “consult one’s doctor and rabbi” prior to making a decision to switch or discontinue medications during the holiday.
_ Michele Chabin
British Clerics Decry Bullying by Hostess of TV Game Show
LONDON (RNS) Church of England clerics claim the hostess of an internationally acclaimed television quiz show, “The Weakest Link,” is fueling a culture of bullying in British schools.
The clerics are demanding the hostess, Anne Robinson, call it quits.
The Rev. David Heywood told the English diocese of Lichfield’s annual synod April 1 that Robinson, quizmaster for the British show that began six years ago, is responsible for a “growing problem with bullying in the playground.”
At issue, he said, are her acerbic putdowns, such as, “You are really the weakest link, goodbye!” _ the sort of caustic comments that once prompted one guest, former tennis star Boris Becker, to say, “I thought she was going to eat me alive.”
Heywood, ministry development officer for Stoke Deanery, England, said Robinson’s “glorified bullying” takes “something that exists in embryo in society _ the tendency of people to be bullies _ and makes it more acceptable.”
After its birth on British Broadcasting Corp. television in 2000, versions of “The Weakest Link” spread rapidly around the world, from Australia to Azerbaijan. It popped up on U.S. network television in 2001-2002 and for more than a year thereafter in syndication.
The U.S. program faltered and eventually failed after the public mood in the United States became more somber in the wake of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
But with Robinson at the helm, “The Weakest Link” remains popular in Britain _ much to the dismay of Heywood, who says it is time for her to go. “She has made an awful lot of money out of this persona,” he said, “but it has horrible consequences.”
Bishop of Shrewsbury Alan Smith agreed, telling the Lichfield synod that “we have come to accept the culture of bullying” and that “this is deeply saddening. There is a corrosive cynicism that is eating away at the fragile trust that holds our society together.”
_ Al Webb
Quote of the Day: Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia
(RNS) “You know what I say to those people? … It’s none of their business.”
_ Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who, leaving a special Mass for lawyers in Boston, was asked by a Boston Herald reporter how the justice responds to those who question his impartiality on church-state matters. Scalia replied while flicking his hand under his chin, which some viewed as an obscene gesture. Others, including Scalia, said it was not.
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