c. 2006 Religion News Service

Anglicans’ Mother Church Being Held Together With Duct Tape

LONDON (RNS) Britain’s Canterbury Cathedral, the ancient mother church of worldwide Anglicanism, is falling apart at the seams and being held together by duct tape _ and it’s going to cost at least $95 million to fix.

That’s the sum that Allan Willett, chairman of the cathedral’s trustees, says will be needed to keep Canterbury from literally crumbling to bits. This, he adds, is a “critical point in history” for the cathedral, and that if the funds are not forthcoming, then “deterioration will turn into dereliction.”

The extent of the medieval cathedral’s disrepair was disclosed Tuesday (Oct. 3) at the church’s launch of a global campaign to raise the money over the next five years. An immediate aim is an appeal to Anglicans and wealthy benefactors around the world.

The picture-postcard images of the cathedral belie the reality _ chunks of masonry falling from the walls, the duct tape that is holding together a fifth of its 12th century marble pillars, rotting support beams that are letting the rain in, 500-year-old carvings relentlessly eroding in the Bell Harry Tower.

Canterbury, in southeast England, survived the scandal of the “murder in the cathedral” of Archbishop Thomas Becket (the “turbulent priest” who rankled King Henry II) and the Nazis’ extensive bombing of Britain in World War II.

But the serious corrosion and pollution that is deteriorating the medieval stonework is threatening the very core of its existence. “Despite its 900 turbulent years,” said Willett, “it is the next few years that represent this cathedral’s time of greatest danger.”

Canterbury Cathedral receives no aid from the British government or from the Church Commissioners, the investment arm of the Church of England. Instead, it relies heavily on its million-plus visitors a year to help foot costs of upkeep and maintenance.

_ Al Webb

Portions of `Saint John’s Bible’ on Display at Library of Congress

WASHINGTON (RNS) Some might call it a labor of love or an act of faith, and there is good reason why no one has attempted to do it in 500 years.

“It was a dream,” said Donald Jackson, artistic director of the Saint John’s Bible, the first handwritten, illuminated Bible since the advent of the printing press. “And as we know, dreams are close relatives of nightmares.”

Beginning Friday (Oct. 6), selections from this meticulous effort will be on display in the Library of Congress. The exhibit, “Illuminating the Word: The Saint John’s Bible,” will continue until Dec. 23.

The collection, from the first three completed volumes of The Saint John’s Bible, are on display with artist tools, sketches and other materials from Jackson’s scriptorium.

Monks from Wales and from Saint John’s Abbey and University in Collegeville, Minn., are working on the $4 million project.

Despite the exhibit’s relatively small size, the immeasurable struggle of Jackson and his team of scribes is evident in the spiritual interpretations of the art, as well as in the intricacy of the passages, which, being in English, lack the artistic freedom and flexibility of Latin.

But the most grueling struggle “is the expectation you place on yourself,” Jackson said.

The 1,100-page Bible _ seven volumes of pages nearly 16 inches wide and 25 inches tall _ is slated to be completed in 2008.

_ Keith Roshangar

Panel Suggests Required Religion Course at Harvard

BOSTON (RNS) In a nod to the growing significance of religion in world affairs, a Harvard University faculty committee is recommending that all undergraduates be required to take a course in “reason and faith.”

The recommendation was part of a report issued Tuesday (Oct. 3) by Harvard’s Task Force on General Education. In the report, the nine-member faculty panel also recommended a required course in ethics and two under the rubric of “The United States and the World.”

In recent decades, Harvard students haven’t had to take a religion class in order to graduate. But that should change, according to the faculty panel, because religion affects so many areas of life.

“Harvard is no longer a religious institution,” the report says, “but religion is a fact that Harvard’s graduates will confront both in their lives in and after college.” Courses fulfilling the requirement will not consist of “religious apologetics,” the report explains, but will instead “examine the interplay between religion and various aspects of national and/or international society and culture.”

The recommended religion requirement comes as Harvard undergoes a curriculum review that has been years in the making. In addressing religion, the committee notes that Harvard students already engage the subject widely outside the classroom. Surveys of incoming students say 94 percent discuss religion either “frequently” or “occasionally,” and 71 percent say they attend religious services.

Harvard College, the nation’s oldest, formed in 1636 as a training ground for Congregational ministers. By 1708, however, the college had appointed its first president who was not a clergyman, and scientific areas of study soon replaced theological pursuits. Now, the report suggests, the scientific study of religion is too important to leave as a mere elective for motivated students.

_ G. Jeffrey MacDonald

Christian Coalition Hires Florida Pastor as New Director

WASHINGTON (RNS) The Christian Coalition of America has named a pastor from Orlando, Fla., as its new president as the once-mighty organization struggles to keep its state chapters onboard.

Joel Hunter will balance his duties as the group’s president and also remain as senior pastor of Northland Church in Orlando, Fla.

Hunter succeeds Roberta Combs as leader of the conservative Christian organization, which was founded by religious broadcaster Pat Robertson after his failed 1988 White House run.

“I look forward to building upon the successes under Roberta’s leadership and expanding our mission to concern itself with the care of creation, helping society’s marginalized, human rights/religious issues and compassion issues,” Hunter said in a statement.

Combs recruited Hunter and he was elected by the group’s board of directors in July. Combs will stay on as chairman of the board and assist Hunter in setting the course for the organization.

The organization, which rose to prominence in the 1990s as it marshaled support among conservative religious voters, is now a shell of its former self. In recent months, state chapters in Alabama, Georgia, Iowa and Ohio have severed ties with national headquarters in Washington.

_ Chansin Bird

American Baptists Mull Sale of Headquarters Building

(RNS) Officials of the American Baptist Churches USA are considering selling their Valley Forge, Pa., headquarters building, which currently houses Baptist offices in less than half of its space.

“We want to be good stewards of our resources and to `right-size’ to fit our current space requirements,” said the Rev. A. Roy Medley, the American Baptists’ general secretary, in a statement. “We should not be in the real estate business. We need to remain focused on our primary work of proclaiming the gospel of Christ as radical disciples.”

The denomination’s General Board Executive Committee unanimously voted in September to recommend the sale; the full board is expected to act on the suggestion when it meets in mid-November.

“At one point, we had this building full of American Baptists,” recalled the Rev. Bob Roberts, a spokesman for the denomination.

He said the recommendation comes as the American Baptists and other churches face changing giving patterns among members, who often wish to fund specific causes rather than a unified budget of a central office. Roberts said it did not relate to the struggles the denomination has had over homosexuality, which led in part to a decision last May by the American Baptist Churches of the Pacific Southwest to split from the denomination.

“When we built this, it was the era of … very, very strong denominational loyalty and people willing to give the millions of dollars that it cost to put a building like this up,” Roberts said.

_ Adelle M. Banks

Lost Tribe of Jews Migrates from India to Israel

CHENNAI, India (RNS) A group of 218 people belonging to an Indian tribe recently recognized as “lost descendants of ancient Israelites” will soon be welcomed to their new homes in Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

The emigrants are members of the Bnei Menashe tribe living and practicing Judaism in northeast India. The Bnei Menashe believe they are descended from one of the 10 lost tribes of Israel who were exiled when Assyrians invaded the northern kingdom of Israel in the 8th century B.C.

Many of the exiled Israelites made their way across the “silk route”, ending up in China. The Shinlung tribe, as they were also called in China, eventually migrated to Myanmar and northeast India, losing many of their Jewish customs along the way.

There are more than 300,000 Bnei Menashes in the state of Manipur, but most of them follow Christianity. Only around 6,000 have converted to Judaism _ many in the 1970s. The rabbis sent to Manipur and Mizoram states by the chief rabbi of the Sephardic Jews, Shlomo Amar, declared the converts “descendants of the Jewish people.”

_ Achal Narayanan

Mormon Studies Expanding at Secular Universities

(RNS) Two American universities with no ties to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have plans to endow professorships in Mormon studies, making them the first secular schools to establish chairs in the academic study of Mormonism.

The programs, scholars say, could help push the public perception of Mormonism and its academic study further into the mainstream.

Utah State University at Logan plans to launch the Leonard J. Arrington Chair in Mormon History and Culture in fall 2007, and the School of Religion at Claremont Graduate University in Southern California plans a fall 2008 start for its Howard W. Hunter Chair for Mormon Studies.

Mormon studies, a field focused on comparative and analytical study rather than encouraging belief, has been limited. Secular universities in the U.S and England have offered classes in Mormonism as part of a religious studies degree, but no such school has offered a more comprehensive program, scholars say.

“There is a lot of ignorance and superstition and fear of the Mormon religion, and so what is needed, really, is a serious understanding,” said Karen Torjesen, dean of Claremont’s School of Religion.

At Utah State, Mormon studies will be part of a new undergraduate religious studies program that began this year.

The future Mormon studies program at Claremont is part of a new global religion outlook, with the school planning endowed chairs in diverse faiths. It would allow for specializing in Mormonism as part of a broader master’s degree or doctorate.

At the University of Wyoming, a proposal for an endowed chair in Mormon studies is in the “initial stages,” spokesman Jay Fromkin said.

_ Joanna Corman

Pope Adds Apologetic Footnote to Official Text of Islam Speech

VATICAN CITY (RNS) In his latest bid to clarify remarks that enraged the Muslim world, Pope Benedict XVI has added a cautiously worded footnote to the official text of the address he delivered at the University of Regensburg in Germany.

The footnote aimed to further assuage anger over Benedict’s use of a quote by a medieval Christian ruler, referring to the teachings of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad as “evil and inhuman” and “spread by the sword.”

That comment has sent Christian-Muslim relations into a tailspin. Numerous effigies of the pope have been burnt in public, a nun was shot dead in Somalia, and an Istanbul-bound plane was temporarily hijacked by a Turkish Christian who feared persecution.

On Monday (Oct. 9), a footnote appeared next to the offending quote on the official English version of Benedict’s address posted on the Vatican’s Web site.

“In the Muslim world, this quotation has unfortunately been taken as an expression of my personal position, thus arousing understandable indignation. I hope that the reader of my text can see immediately that this sentence does not express my personal view of the Quran, for which I have the respect due to the holy book of a great religion,” Benedict said in the footnote.

In his address at the University of Regensburg on Sept. 12, Benedict had quoted the 14th century Byzantine Emperor Manuel Paleologos II as saying: “Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.”

At the time, Benedict said the emperor had expressed his views on Islam “somewhat brusquely.” On Monday, the official text was altered to say that Manuel II had spoken with “a brusqueness that we find unacceptable.”

_ Stacy Meichtry

Cardinal Keeler Injured, Priest Killed in Car Accident in Italy

(RNS) Cardinal William Keeler of Baltimore was injured and a retired Pennsylvania priest was killed Saturday (Oct. 7) in a car accident near Terni, Italy. A third priest who was a passenger in the car was also injured.

The Rev. Bernard Quinn, who was 78 and retired, was riding in the back seat of the car when the clerics’ car was hit by another vehicle. Keeler, riding in the front passenger’s seat, suffered a broken ankle. Monsignor Thomas Smith, 75, pastor of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Lancaster, Pa., who was driving, suffered cracked ribs.

Keeler, 75, is the former bishop of Harrisburg, Pa., and knew both priests from his time there. The three men were vacationing in Italy when the accident occurred.

“Father Quinn was a very humble, pious priest; a brilliant man and a well-learned scholar,” said Marge Graney, who was parish council president during Quinn’s ministry at Holy Infant Parish in York Haven, Pa. “He had the ability to bring people together and was a great organizer. Nobody could say no to him.”

Harrisburg Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades said: “Cardinal Keeler said to me that, as they were driving on Saturday, Father Quinn started talking about how happy he was and how much he was at peace in his life. And he even said, you know, `I’ll be ready to meet the Lord whenever he calls me,”’ Rhoades said.

_ Judith Patton

Indian Catholics Target `Moral Depravity’ Among Call Center Workers

CHENNAI, India (RNS) Roman Catholic leaders in India have launched a “pastoral care” program to help “cleanse” the minds of young people working in the country’s burgeoning call center and BPO (business process outsourcing) industry.

A prime focus of the church’s program _ which includes a series of retreats and counseling sessions _ is the southern metropolis of Bangalore, popularly known as “the Silicon Valley of India.” The program aims to educate young people about the adverse effects of extramarital affairs, live-in relationships and one-night stands.

Many call centers and outsourcing offices handle customer calls, direct marketing and data processing for American companies. Because of the time difference between the U.S. and India, many call center employees work off-hours.

Mumbai’s Daily News and Analysis newspaper said that, alarmed by reports of “moral depravity” in call centers, the church has begun a move to “cleanse” young minds which give way under the stress of irregular working hours. It said the church is especially worried about the large number of young Christians in the BPO industry who are “straying from God’s path and succumbing to temptations.”

The Bangalore program was launched a few weeks ago by the local unit of Jesus Youth, an international Catholic youth movement, in response to a request from Archbishop Bernard Moras. Mass, confession sessions and spiritual counseling will help call center employees who work odd hours.

Moras said, “We don’t want to do moral policing, but we want to advise young people that being `modern’ doesn’t mean losing their family traditions or moral values.”

In New Delhi, the Rev. Dominic Emmanuel, spokesman for the Delhi Catholic Archdiocese, said youth programs in every archdiocese would be mobilized to help. “We have to show them we care by giving them guidance and showing them the dangers of adultery and casual sex. It is important to tell the youth what to do and not do to be on the right path. This is not being patronizing towards them, but simply letting them know the price they have to pay for leading such lifestyles.”

Industry representatives, however, refuted the church’s claim that their offices are dens of depravity.

“It’s a misconception that call centers harbor extramarital affairs and one-night stands. These can happen in any industry where men and women work together,” said Shanmugam Nagarajan, founder and chief operating officer of the company 24/7 Customer. “Negative statements tarnish the industry’s image.”

_ Achal Narayanan

Houston Preacher Says GOP Delaying Second Coming

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio (RNS) Voters should oust congressional Republican leaders because U.S. foreign policy is delaying the second coming of Jesus Christ, according to a evangelical Houston-based preacher.

K.A. Paul railed against the war in Iraq on Sunday (Oct. 8) before a crowd of 1,000 at the New Spirit Revival Center here, his first stop on what he hopes is a 30-city campaign.

Paul said he believes the Bush administration has delayed the second coming because U.S. foreign policy has blocked Christian missionaries from working in Iraq, Iran and Syria.

“Somebody needs to say enough is enough,” he said as worshippers stood, waved and called out in support.

Paul, who claimed to support conservative political leaders in the past, is launching “a crusade to save America from the wrath of God and Republicans abusing their power,” according to his press materials.

His focus Sunday was on national races. “God is mad at this country,” Paul told the congregation. He described the war in Iraq as “unnecessary genocide.”

But his own tactics have also drawn criticism. Paul runs a group called Global Peace Initiative, based in Houston, and a ministry outgrowth called Gospel to the Unreached Millions.

Critics accuse the group of sinking cash into refurbishing and operating a Boeing 747 he calls Global Peace One.

“Paul flies around the globe using Jesus to pull in worldwide donations _ unfortunately spending more money on jet fuel than orphans,” according to a June article in the weekly Houston Press.

The Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, which monitors charitable, religious and other nonprofit groups, severed its ties with Paul’s group last year when Paul’s office failed to provide information about its board of directors and the use of its resources.

_ Becky Gaylord

Quote of the Week: Jewish Philanthropist Donald Saltz

(RNS) “I figured, you don’t take it with you.”

_ Donald Saltz, who donated $5 million to his synagogue in Washington, D.C. It is one of the largest individual donations to a house of worship in the U.S. in years, according to philanthropy experts. He was quoted by The Washington Post.

KRE/PH END RNS