c. 2007 Religion News Service

Survey Finds Conservative Jews Support Gay Rabbis and Cantors

NEW YORK (RNS) Most Conservative Jews would support gay and lesbian rabbis, according to an e-mail- and Web-based survey commissioned by the Jewish Theological Seminary.

About two-thirds of the 5,583 rabbis, cantors and JTS students responding to the e-mail and online survey supported openly gay rabbis and cantors. Among Conservative educators and other professionals, the approval rating was 76 percent.

Support varied by gender: Eighty-six percent of female respondents approved of gay rabbis and cantors, compared to 60 percent of male respondents. Approval ratings were higher in the U.S. than in Canada or Israel, and among respondents under 25.

The results may help JTS, the academic center of Conservative Judaism, decide whether to begin admitting openly gay students.

“The survey gives us data on this score as one factor among many to bear in mind as we consider a complex and controversial decision that will undoubtedly have a major impact on the future direction of JTS and the Conservative movement,” said Arnold Eisen, the seminary’s chancellor-elect. “A final decision on this matter is expected this spring.”

The Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, which interprets religious law for the Conservative Jewish movement, voted last month to accept a legal opinion that allows for the ordination of gay rabbis and the blessing of same-sex unions, while retaining the ban on male homosexual sex. However, the committee also said that local congregations and seminaries could make their own decisions on these matters.

One of the authors of the permissive opinion, Rabbi Daniel Nevins of Michigan, was appointed dean of the JTS Rabbinical School on Monday (Jan. 29).

Aaron Weininger, 21, an openly gay man currently applying to JTS, said he is optimistic about the findings.

“I think it’s great that there is such an open process,” he said. “It’s really great that the chancellor is hearing from different people and taking different factors into consideration.”

An estimated 1.5 million Americans consider themselves members of the Conservative movement, which ideologically falls between the Reform branch _ which allows gay ordination and the blessing of same-sex unions _ and the more traditional Orthodox branch, which does not.

_ Nicole Neroulias

`The Benedict Code’? Pope to Share U.S. Publisher With Brown’s Book

VATICAN CITY (RNS) Slammed by the Vatican for profiting from Dan Brown’s runaway best-seller “The Da Vinci Code,” U.S. publisher Doubleday is turning to new talent for its upcoming tome on Christianity: Pope Benedict XVI.

Libreria Editrice Vaticana, the Holy See’s official publishing house, said Wednesday (Jan. 31) that Doubleday will publish “Jesus of Nazareth,” the pontiff’s forthcoming reflection on the life of Jesus Christ.

Libreria owns all the rights to papal writings and defended its long-standing relationship with Doubleday, while distancing the Vatican from the book deal. The Vatican said it sold the rights for the book’s international distribution to Italian publisher Rizzoli, which then cut a deal with Doubleday to publish the book in the U.S.

At the same time, the Vatican emphasized Doubleday’s record as a publisher of Vatican books, such as “Catechism of the Catholic Church,” and works by popes John XXIII and John Paul II.

The deal marks a bizarre twist in the Vatican’s relations with the publishing industry.

The Vatican has forcefully criticized “The Da Vinci Code” and the industry that capitalized on its success. Before his appointment as secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican’s number two official, called on Catholics to boycott the work, which postulates that Jesus sired a child with Mary Magdalene.

Nearly a year ago, during a Good Friday Mass attended by Benedict, “papal preacher” the Rev. Raniero Cantalamessa blasted the publishing industry for promoting “The Da Vinci Code” and the so-called “Gospel of Judas.”

“Christ is still getting sold _ no longer to the (high priests) for 30 coins, but to the editors and publishers for millions,” he said.

_ Stacy Meichtry

Mobile, Ala., Catholic Archbishop Gets Stolen Cross Back

MOBILE, Ala. (RNS) A pectoral cross stolen from the car of Catholic Archbishop Oscar Lipscomb on Christmas Eve was returned to him after someone bought it at a thrift store for $6, the archbishop said Tuesday (Jan. 30).

“They got a bargain,” Lipscomb joked. “The person who bought it was showing it to a friend whose mother recognized it and told them what they had. They called us, and we retrieved it. I was happy to get it back.”

Catholic abbots, bishops, archbishops, cardinals and the pope often wear pectoral crosses suspended on a chain across the chest as a symbol of their office.

No arrests had been made in connection with the theft as of Jan. 30, said a police spokesman.

In addition to the pectoral cross, the thief or thieves stole other symbols of the bishop’s office _ including Lipscomb’s gold shepherd’s crook, mitres and pallium.

The items were in a black case, which was taken after the archbishop apparently forgot to lock his car door, according to Monsignor Michael L. Farmer, chancellor of the Archdiocese of Mobile.

Lipscomb had backups for most of the items taken, but the pallium _ a white, woolen circular band decorated with crosses and worn over the shoulders _ is garment of honor that can be given only by the Vatican.

Lipscomb said he has not officially petitioned the Vatican to replace the pallium but plans to do so while he is there for work in March.

“It still might show up,” Lipscomb said. “That’d be the best of both worlds. I do hope there might be a chance to retrieve the other articles which, despite some value, are really of no use to anyone.”

Lipscomb said he would make a donation to any charity or organization that may find any of the items in their public drop sites and return them to the church.

_ Nadia M. Taylor

Quote of the Day: The late Pope John Paul II

(RNS) “We did it!”

_ The late Pope John Paul II, exclaiming when he successfully slipped away from his Swiss Guards to go skiing, something he did more than 100 times during the early years of his papacy. He was quoted by the Associated Press in a story about “The Testimony,” a new book that mentions his “escapes.”

DSB/PH END RNS