c. 2006 Religion News Service
Tutu Says He Was `Ashamed’ to Be an Anglican
(RNS) Anglican icon and Nobel laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu says in a new book that his church’s rejection of gay priests in 1998 made him “ashamed to be an Anglican.”
That comment, as well as others critical of the worldwide Anglican Communion’s bickering over the role of gays and lesbians in the church, are related in a new biography of the South African prelate, called “Rabble-Rouser For Peace,” written by his former press secretary, John Allen. The biography is scheduled to be released close to Tutu’s 75th birthday in early October.
In the book, Tutu is candid about his gradual acknowledgment “that sexual orientation, like race or gender, was a given,” Allen writes.
Because he had retired as archbishop of Cape Town in 1996, Tutu held his tongue publicly after Anglican prelates rejected “homosexual practice” as “incompatible with Scripture,” in 1998. However, in a letter to the spiritual head of Anglicanism, former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey, Tutu wrote “I am ashamed to be an Anglican,” according to Allen.
Moreover, the uproar created by the 2003 election of openly gay Bishop V. Gene Robinson in New Hampshire filled Tutu with “sadness,” Allen writes. That controversy now threatens to tear apart the Anglican Communion, which consists of 38 individual geographic provinces.
“He found it little short of outrageous that church leaders should be obsessed with issues of sexuality in the face of the challenges of AIDS and global poverty,” Allen writes.
Tutu, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his campaign to overcome apartheid in his native South Africa, has become one of the world’s most famous Anglicans. Though retired, Tutu continues to lecture and speak throughout the world.
_ Daniel Burke
Sex Abuse Victims Group Urges Southern Baptist Attention
(RNS) A group that has drawn attention to the issue of sexual abuse by Catholic priests has asked leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention to “make Southern Baptist churches safer.”
The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) wrote a Sept. 26 letter to Southern Baptist Convention President Frank Page and other leaders in an effort to “continue a dialogue” about how they can work together to address reports of abuse that may occur in Southern Baptist congregations.
SNAP National Director David Clohessy and three other signatories noted that the denomination’s autonomous churches have worked cooperatively on programs related to international missions and clergy financial investment services.
“Given that congregational autonomy does not preclude a cooperative denomination-wide effort for these other endeavors, why should it preclude a denomination-wide effort at protecting kids against clergy predators?” they asked.
The letter requested that the SBC Executive Committee create an independent review board to investigate reports of clergy abuse and set up a procedure to notify congregants if a minister who worked in their church is accused of abuse.
The letter followed a previous letter, to which Page responded in August.
“We fully agree that there should be a heightened scrutiny of all persons involved in ministry to children and youth, and had come to that conclusion long before having been approached by SNAP,” Kenyn Cureton, a spokesman for the Southern Baptists’ executive committee, said in a statement.
Cureton said the denomination’s leaders will continue to encourage background checks and other safeguards, but cautioned there may be an “apparent misunderstanding” about Southern Baptists’ structure.
“While we are sympathetic with SNAP’s efforts to stop sexual abuse in churches, we need time to vet the specific requests being made of the Convention by their group even as we continue our dialogue with them,” he said.
In June, SNAP also wrote an open letter to the incoming presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, urging improvement of child abuse prevention in that denomination.
_ Adelle M. Banks
Panel Says Episcopal Bishop Did Not Abandon Church
(RNS) Conservative Episcopal Bishop John-David Schofield of the Diocese of San Joaquin in California has not abandoned the national church, an internal review committee has ruled.
Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold notified Schofield on Thursday (Sept. 28) that the committee unanimously decided his actions “do not constitute abandonment,” according to the Episcopal New Service.
“We did have a lengthy discussion but it was unanimous,” said Upper South Carolina Bishop Dorsey Henderson, who headed the committee.
The charges against Schofield were brought by four California bishops, who argued that the conservative prelate was paving the way for his diocese to leave the Episcopal Church.
A year ago, San Joaquin amended its diocesan constitution to say that it takes precedence over national church policies. And in March, the diocese changed its bylaws to prevent the national church from having a say in its choice of bishop.
Those actions could create “chaos” for the Episcopal Church and constituted abandonment, the four California bishops charged.
The Rev. Van McCalister, a spokesman for the Fresno, Calif.-based diocese, said Schofield was pleased by the decision.
“Not only did the committee determine that the charges were unnecessary, they also determined that the wrong canon laws were used,” McCalister said.
Griswold told Schofield the charges against him represented an “inappropriate use of the canons,” or church laws, according to McCalister.
The review committee, whose members are appointed by Griswold, acts as the church equivalent of a grand jury. Had Schofield been found “guilty,” he faced possible removal from office.
San Joaquin is one of 10 Episcopal dioceses in the Anglican Communion Network, a conservative splinter group that seeks to distance itself from the more liberal Episcopal Church. The 2.2 million-member Episcopal Church has 110 dioceses.
_ Daniel Burke
Poll: Most Americans Say Pope’s Apology Is Sufficient
(RNS) Two-thirds of Americans believe Pope Benedict XVI has apologized enough for his remarks about Islam’s Prophet Muhammad that have angered many Muslims, according to a Gallup Poll. Just 22 percent say he should do more to apologize to Muslims.
The pope’s controversial speech at Regensburg University in Germany included a reference to the term “jihad” and quoted the 14th-century Byzantine Emperor Manuel Paleologos II, who said Muhammad’s teachings were “only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.”
The pope later said he was “deeply sorry” that his use of the quote had provoked outrage and violence in the Muslim world, but never apologized for using the words themselves.
About six in 10 Catholics and Protestants supported the pope’s position. Non-Christians, including non-religious Americans, were more likely to believe he should do more to apologize.
The telephone poll was conducted Sept. 21-24 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
_ Chansin Bird
Teacher Quits After Being Accused of Being Too Catholic
LONDON (RNS) The head of a Catholic secondary school in Britain has resigned after dissident students accused her of being too religious because she forced them to attend Mass.
According to London’s Daily Mail newspaper, the rebel students at St. Luke’s Sixth Form College in Sidcup, southeast England, were also angered that Maria Williams ordered them to march around a playing field singing hymns and carrying religious icons such as a statue of the Virgin Mary.
Another item on the list of complaints from the high-school-age pupils was an address by an American evangelist, Barbara McGuigan, who told them that no unmarried couples could have a successful relationship and called homosexuality a “disorder.”
McGuigan, founder of the Catholic charity Voice of Virtue International, was a visiting lecturer at St. Luke’s at the time.
The Daily Mail quoted one student, Michael Aldis, 18, as saying that under Williams’ regime, “they used to herd us into Mass and then post teachers at the doors to stop us leaving.”
He said he and fellow students were sharply critical of McGuigan, saying she “told us that if we had an abortion we’d go to hell forever, and she showed us pictures of fetuses aborted after 12 and 20 weeks. Some of the girls were in tears, but no one was allowed to leave.”
Williams resigned in mid-September after a no-confidence vote from her staff. The Rev. Tim Finigan, chairman of the school’s governors, quickly followed with his own resignation, angrily insisting that “it is ridiculous to call a Catholic institution too Catholic.”
“It’s a Catholic college,” Finigan fumed. “That’s what it’s advertised as, and that’s what students sign up to. There will be some religious worship _ that will be part of the life of the college.”
Williams was unavailable immediately for comment on her resignation.
_ Al Webb
Suit Filed Over `Shabbos House’ for Orthodox Jews
NEW YORK (RNS) The federal government has filed a lawsuit alleging religious discrimination against a small town that denied a zoning variance to a residence where Orthodox Jews stay on the Sabbath while visiting patients in the hospital.
The facility, Bikur Cholim, is located across the street from Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern, N.Y., north of New York City. The facility offers food and lodging to Orthodox Jews, who are not permitted to drive, carry objects or cook on the Sabbath or religious holidays.
The government alleges that when the village denied a zoning variance to the facility, known as a “shabbos house,” it violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000.
“This lawsuit enforces Congress’ determination that local zoning regulations must give way when they unlawfully burden religious exercise,” U.S. Attorney Michael Garcia said in a statement.
Bikur Cholim has 14 beds and does not charge for its services, said director Rabbi Aron Reiner. But Terry Rice, an attorney for the village, said it is located in an area zoned for single-family homes.
“The village of Suffern is a very diverse community with houses of worships of all types,” Rice said. “Our first point is that there are no religious issues involved here; this is a straight land-use issue.”
But an attorney for Bikur Cholim, which filed a separate lawsuit against the village earlier this year, said this case does involve religious issues.
“The only reason this house exists is because Orthodox Jews can’t drive on the Sabbath,” Attorney Paul Savad said. “By protecting the freedom to practice one religion, we’re protecting the freedom of all religions.”
The government suit asks for an order to prevent Suffern from applying its zoning regulations in a way that violates the federal law.
_ Ansley Roan
Update: Obama Bill Would Allow Bankrupt Worshippers to Tithe
WASHINGTON (RNS) America’s charitable but bankrupt worshippers will once again be able to tithe if Sen. Barack Obama has his way. The Illinois Democrat announced Monday (Oct. 2) that legislation to protect debtors had passed the Senate over the weekend.
“For millions of Americans, charitable giving and tithing is an essential part of their lives,” Obama said in a statement. “And in a country where 37 million citizens live in poverty, we should be encouraging charitable giving, not limiting it.”
Last month, a federal judge in New York said bankruptcy reforms passed by Congress last year bar individuals from making charitable contributions if they are also seeking bankruptcy protection.
Obama said his bill will clarify that last year’s bankruptcy bill did not change the law “to prioritize creditors over religious institutions and charities.”
Obama said he expects the legislation, which he introduced with Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, on Friday (Sept. 29), to make its way through the House when Congress reconvenes in November.
In 1998, Congress passed the Religious Liberty and Charitable Donation Protection Act, which allowed individuals in bankruptcy to exempt up to 15 percent of their annual income from creditors for tithing purposes.
That rule was largely undone when Congress passed the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005.
More than 2 million Americans filed for bankruptcy protection in 2005, and hundreds of thousands are expected to do the same by the end of 2006, according to the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys.
_ Jason Kane
Queen Allows Castle Room for Muslim Prayer
LONDON (RNS) Queen Elizabeth II has given permission for an office at Windsor Castle to be used as a prayer room during Ramadan by a Muslim employee.
Nagina Chaudhry, 19, a university student from nearby Slough who works in the castle’s gift shop on weekends, told the Daily Telegraph newspaper that “it feels amazing to be the first Muslim to read namaz (prayers) at Windsor Castle.”
The superintendent of Windsor Castle found an office that Chaudhry will be able to use as a prayer room on the weekends; it will remain as an office the rest of the week.
At Buckingham Palace, the queen’s official London residence, a prayer room for Muslims has been available for a number of years.
_ Robert Nowell
Immigrant’s Son Asks Bush for Reprieve
WASHINGTON (RNS) The 7-year-old son of an illegal immigrant seeking refuge in a Chicago church delivered a handwritten letter to the White House on Tuesday (Oct. 3), asking that his mother “be allowed to stay with me in my country.”
In a news conference at a downtown hotel, U.S.-born Saul Arellano told reporters he hoped his letter would change the president’s mind about immigration laws, including one that would deport his mother to Mexico.
“I want to tell you why I believe my mom should be allowed to stay with me in my country. I want to tell you that there are more than 3 million children like me,” said his letter, read by a spokeswoman because the boy was too nervous.
“We are U.S. citizens but the government is taking away our mothers and fathers.”
The boy’s mother, Elvira Arellano, has claimed sanctuary in Chicago’s Adalberto United Methodist Church since Aug. 15, the day she had been ordered to report to the Department of Homeland Security for deportation.
Throughout the news conference, the boy nervously fiddled with a disposable camera and occasionally replied in Spanish to questions from the crowd.
Saul represents the 3.1 million U.S.-born children whose parents are undocumented, said Emma Lozano, church council president of Adalberto United Methodist Church.
“It’s a criminal act when you separate a mother from her child,” she said in an interview. “To me it is the worst terrorist act you can commit.”
Lozano said a member of the White House staff spoke to the group at the security gate. She said she hopes the president will accept their offer to meet Arellano and his mother in person.
The White House declined to comment Tuesday until the staff could review the letter.
_ Jason Kane
Catholic Bishops Join Campaign to Lobby McDonald’s
(RNS) The nation’s Roman Catholic bishops have joined a church-based campaign to pressure McDonald’s to help raise the pay and improve working conditions for Florida tomato pickers.
“McDonald’s and other major food companies do not directly set farm workers’ wages and working conditions, but with your substantial purchasing power, you can insist that your produce suppliers meet high ethical standards in how they treat their workers,” Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn, N.Y., wrote in a letter to James Skinner, CEO of McDonald’s.
DiMarzio, chairman of the bishops’ domestic policy committee, urged McDonald’s to reach an agreement similar to the one reached last year with Taco Bell and its parent company, Yum Brands Inc.
That agreement came after a four-year boycott of Taco Bell, led by mainline Protestant and Orthodox denominations. It ended in March 2005 after the company agreed to raise pay for tomato pickers in Florida.
The Coalition of Immokalee Workers, which represents the tomato pickers, is seeking an additional one cent per pound for tomatoes and an enforceable code of conduct for growers and packers.
_ Chansin Bird
Supreme Court Rejects Parents’ Complaints Over Islam in School
WASHINGTON (RNS) The Supreme Court on Monday (Oct. 2) declined to hear a case from California parents who complained after their children were required to simulate Muslim worship and attire as part of a history class.
Jonas and Tiffany Eklund, parents of one of the students at Excelsior Middle School in Byron, Calif., petitioned the Supreme Court to take the case after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s decision in favor of the school.
The appeals court agreed with the federal district court, which said the course was merely educational and lacked “any devotional or religious intent.”
Edward White, an attorney for the parents, argued that teaching by engaging in aspects of Islam violated the establishment clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution, which forbids the government from establishing a state-sponsored religion.
White said the seventh-grade students were essentially indoctrinated into Islam and were not given an opportunity to opt out.
“The kids were given handouts saying that `you and your classmates will become Muslims,”’ White said. “They were divided into groups named after Islamic cities, they picked Islamic names and wore name tags with the star and crescent … they simulated the five pillars of faith and experienced self-denial as a Muslim would for Ramadan.”
He said children were given extra credit for fasting, but were not forced to fast. Some gave up things like soda or watching TV, he said.
The decision by the Supreme Court not to hear the case leaves no definitive ruling on what methods of religious appreciation may or may not occur in the classroom, White said.
“Why the court denied (the case), who knows,” White said. “When they issued their denial, it was just that.”
Linda Lye, an attorney for the school district, did not respond to requests for comment.
_ Keith Roshangar
Quote of the Week: Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston
(RNS) “I also think it’s amusing in a way because I feel like I’m on some reality television show on MTV … lol.”
_ Archdiocese of Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley, talking to readers of his new blog and using the Internet-age abbreviation for “laughing out loud.” He was quoted by The Boston Globe (Sept. 27).
END RNS