c. 2006 Religion News Service
Federal Judge Dismisses Suit by `Connecticut Six’ Against Bishop
(RNS) A federal judge in Connecticut dismissed a lawsuit filed by six conservative Episcopal pastors against their bishop, ruling that the dispute is a matter of church _ not federal _ law.
The six pastors, known as the “Connecticut Six,” have fought with Connecticut Bishop Andrew D. Smith over his acceptance of an openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church.
Their lawsuit alleged that Smith has deprived the six pastors of their First Amendment and other constitutional rights during a protracted dispute that has impacted diocesan finances, property and personnel.
Throughout the 2.1-million member Episcopal Church, conservatives, unhappy with the election of an openly gay Bishop V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire in 2003, have battled Episcopal leaders over church resources.
The Aug. 21 federal ruling in Connecticut could have important repercussions for those disputes.
“A declaration of unconstitutionality by this Court would not redress plaintiffs’ actual grievances: their theological disputes with Bishop Smith over `human sexuality;’ their obligation to remain in communion with (the Episcopal Church)…” wrote U.S. District Judge Janet B. Arterton in her decision.
Smith told Episcopal News Service that he is “gratified by the decision of Judge Arterton that it is inappropriate to seek federal intervention in a matter of church life and governance. Non-interference by civil authorities in religious matters is a constitutional foundation of our nation. …”
A statement from the “Connecticut Six” on Wednesday (Aug. 23) left open the possibility that they might pursue their case in state courts.
_ Daniel Burke
Lawyer Files Complaint for Immigrant Living in Chicago Church
(RNS) A lawyer has filed a complaint with a federal judge arguing that deporting illegal Mexican immigrant Elvira Arellano, who has sought refuge inside a Chicago church, would effectively mean illegally deporting her 7-year-old, U.S.-born son.
“By deporting a 7-year-old boy’s mother when he has no other family here, then you are in effect deporting him,” Matthews said in an interview. Arellano, 31, an immigration activist and custodian at O’Hare International Airport, has garnered attention from the religious and activist communities since she took shelter with her son Saul at her Chicago Methodist church on Aug. 15 _ the day she had been ordered to report to the Department of Homeland Security office for deportation.
Joseph Matthews, a Chicago lawyer who is representing Saul Arellano pro-bono with about 10 other lawyers, said he filed the complaint Tuesday (Aug. 22) with a U.S. District Court in Chicago. Matthews said the judge would have 20 days to respond to his complaint.
The Rev. Walter Coleman, of Alberto United Methodist Church, has stood by Arellano, saying in a recent interview, “I fear God a lot more than I do Homeland Security.”
Tim Counts, a spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE),said he could not give specifics on the agency’s plans.
“We will carry out the deportation as required by law at an appropriate time and place in the future,” Counts said.
The spokesperson said that ICE does not have jurisdiction over U.S. citizen Saul Arellano, but that does not change their plans to deport Elvira Arellano.
“People who knowingly violate U.S. immigration laws place themselves and their family members in difficult situations where they may have to make difficult decisions,” Counts said.
Matthews said if ICE deported Elvira Arellano before the case was heard, he would ask the court to bring her back to the U.S.
(OPTIONAL TRIM FOLLOWS)
Meanwhile, the small Methodist church in the heavily Latino Humboldt Park neighborhood is still seeing a steady flow of supporters.
“It just keeps coming in waves,” said church member Cathy Archibald. “It’s amazing.”
Arellano and her son are staying upstairs in a church-office-turned-bedroom, fed with food from volunteers. The church’s front is plastered with signs, letters and petitions trumpeting Arellano’s cause.
Archibald said volunteers have also brought a bed, vacuum cleaner and refrigerator. “It’s like the fishes and the loaves,” she said.
_ Kat Glass
Judge Says Religious Rights Extend to Prisoners in Private Facilities
(RNS) A federal judge in Mississippi extended the right to free religious worship behind bars to prisoners housed in private facilities last week (August 16).
U.S. District Judge Michael Mills ruled that the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, or RLUIPA, applies to private prisons operating under state contracts, as long as the states receive some of their prison funding from the federal government.
The Corrections Corporation of America, the defendant in the case, is the largest private prison company in the nation, overseeing 63 institutions with about 69,000 beds.
The defendant, a Hawaiian imprisoned in one of CCA’s facilities in Mississippi, argued that his First Amendment rights had been violated because the prison would not serve him food that conformed to his religious beliefs. Mills ruled that the prison is obligated to accommodate his request if Hawaii _ where he was convicted _ receives federal funding for prisons, an issue that has not yet been settled.
In mid-2005, nearly 7 percent of all prisoners in the United States, or more than 101,000 inmates, were in private facilities.
Under RLUIPA, the government may not restrict the religious practices of prisoners unless those practices conflict with a government interest, such as the safety of other inmates. The law was passed by Congress in 2000 and validated by a Supreme Court ruling in 2005.
In his ruling, Mills said because private prisons operate under the purview of states, they are essentially part of the state government. Even if the prisons do not receive direct federal funding, they must comply with the religious practices law as long as the state paying for an inmate’s cell gets money from the government.
_ Peter Sachs
Liberals Criticize `Patriot Pastors’ Movement in Ohio
(RNS) A “new generation of Religious Right” pastors is turning churches into Republican political machines, three left-leaning interest groups charged on Tuesday (Aug. 22).
The report, titled “The Patriot Pastors’ Electoral War Against the `Hordes of Hell,”’ was issued by the NAACP, the People for the American Way Foundation and a subsidiary group, the African American Ministers Leadership Council.
The rise of these “Religious Right” leaders, “is bad news for America,” said PFAW Foundation President Ralph Neas.“Their harmful political agenda, their misuse of faith as a political weapon and their absolute intolerance of disagreement are a poisonous combination.”
In particular, Ohio pastors Russell Johnson and Rod Parsley have been active in Buckeye state politics, the report says, building “a powerful political machine with growing influence … and the potential to reconfigure both the political and spiritual map, as godliness becomes more clearly defined on a partisan ideological spectrum.”
“They are mobilizing congregants who have been told over and over by their religious and political leaders that evangelical Christians are a persecuted minority in America … (and) urging their followers to take a stand against evil _ and which justifies in their mind their take-no-prisoners militancy,” the report says.
Johnson, pastor of the 2,500-member Fairfield Christian Church in Lancaster, Ohio, leads the Ohio Restoration Project, a network of about 1,000 “Patriot Pastors” from conservative churches. Parsley, who heads the Center for Moral Clarity and the 12,000-member World Harvest Church, leads a group called Ohio Reformation.
Both Parsley and Johnson have repeatedly and publicly extolled the virtues of Ken Blackwell, the Republican candidate for governor of Ohio, though both insist they lead non-partisan efforts.
In a statement, Parsley said that Reformation Ohio is a “four-year initiative designed to bring spiritual transformation to the Buckeye state through compassion ministry, evangelism, and non-partisan voter registration.”
Johnson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
_ Daniel Burke
Quote of the Day: Reform Rabbi Susan Silverman
(RNS) “When my 7-year-old said to me, `Mommy, I want an iPod,’ then I knew we had to leave.”’
_ Reform Jewish Rabbi Susan Silverman, who is moving with her family from Massachusetts to Israel. She was quoted by The Boston Globe.
KRE/JL END RNS
