c. 2007 Religion News Service
Church Leaders to Visit Tehran in Hopes of Defusing Nuclear Tensions
WASHINGTON (RNS) A delegation of 13 U.S. Christian leaders will travel to Iran to meet with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Feb. 17-25 to foster dialogue between Iran and the U.S. and promote a diplomatic solution to tensions between the two countries.
The group has arranged meetings with Christian and Muslim religious leaders, women serving in the Iranian parliament and former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami. Several delegation members met with Ahmadinejad during his trip to New York City last fall, when the idea for the visit to Iran was born.
The trip was organized by the Mennonite Central Committee and the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker group. Others participating include Sojourners/Call to Renewal; the Episcopal, Catholic and United Methodist churches; the National Council of Churches and Pax Christi USA.
The leaders also hope to use person-to-person exchanges between Iranians and Americans to help each group overcome cultural and religious stereotypes.
“People in our country and people in their country have many misunderstandings,” said Mary Ellen McNish, general secretary of the American Friends Service Committee. “We want to try to forgive each other and come to an understanding about how we can go forward in a peaceful way.”
David Robinson, the executive director of the Catholic organization Pax Christi USA, said he believes the trip will help change persistent stereotypes about Iranians.
“We have a real opportunity to have dialogue, to get past the enemy images that have been in the U.S. culture for over 30 years now, since the hostage crisis,” Robinson said. “Overcoming (these stereotypes) … could very well help to overcome the growing tension between our nations.”
The delegation also hopes to address Ahmadinejad’s comments denying historical evidence for the Holocaust and a recent conference he held in Iran on the subject.
“We are very concerned about his remarks,” McNish said. “We were concerned about the conference. We believe the Holocaust is a historical fact, and one of history’s greatest human tragedies, and we believe we need to continue to engage him on this.”
McNish said the group was “not enthralled” with some of Ahmadinejad’s answers to their questions about his position on the Holocaust and Iran’s nuclear ambitions during their meeting in New York. However, she added that “the key to the whole trip is that dialogue and diplomacy are the key to the future” for Iran and the U.S., not “threatening rhetoric” by either side.
_ Katherine Boyle
Parish Blasts Bishop for Firing Gay Employee, Pastor
TORONTO (RNS) The uproar continues between members of a Roman Catholic church in Victoria, British Columbia, and their bishop over the firings of the congregation’s openly gay parish administrator and its popular priest.
Parishioners at Holy Cross Church have written letters of protest to the local diocese and have threatened to withhold donations over the firing of Rev. Mike Favero, who was forced to resign as parish priest on Jan. 18 after he protested the dismissal of a gay church administrator.
The 650-member church, which also serves the University of Victoria, has been in Canadian headlines over the resignation Dec. 29 of the parish’s administrative assistant, John Oetter, and the loss of the well-liked Favero three weeks later.
Favero told the Victoria Times-Colonist that the problem began in May when a handful of “influential” people complained to Bishop Richard Gagnon that Oetter was gay.
“They didn’t like John,” Favero said. “They were discriminatory, prejudiced. They wanted to get him out of the parish and out of his job. The way they did it was sexual orientation, but ultimately, they did not like him and wanted him out of there.”
Favero said the bishop asked him to reorganize the church office and dismiss Oetter, without mentioning that the reason was Oetter’s sexual orientation. Last June, Favero said, he drafted a letter to the bishop warning of the legal consequences of dismissing an employee on such grounds.
In December, Oetter accepted a financial compensation package from the diocese, which included an agreement not to discuss the settlement. Favero said the bishop then “gave me a lecture on obedience and confidentiality” and asked for his resignation.
“Hundreds” of parishioners have attended meetings and sent letters to the bishop asking for an apology and the reinstatement of Favero and Oetter, the Victoria newspaper reported.
A document prepared by a group of parishioners last week stated: “Father Mike refused to participate in the unjust termination of an employee of our parish who was the victim of unsubstantiated allegations made by individuals who refuse to be identified.”
A spokesperson for the diocese said Gagnon was out of town and unavailable for comment. A meeting is set for Friday (Feb. 16) for representatives from across the diocese to discuss the situation.
_ Ron Csillag
Mormons Host Viewing of Dead Sea Scrolls in Ohio
KIRTLAND, Ohio (RNS) These snowy hills already steeped in the life and lore of the Mormons will be home to another ancient religious treasure.
Authentic artifacts from 2,000 years ago and replicas of the Dead Sea Scrolls will be displayed at the Historic Kirtland Visitors’ Center. Kirtland is one of only eight cities where the comprehensive exhibit can be viewed.
It took two weeks to set up the display, which arrived from New Zealand and is commissioned by the Israeli government. The original Dead Sea Scrolls, kept in Jerusalem, no longer are displayed.
On rare occasions, small fragments of some scrolls are displayed in select cities. Last year, the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage in Beachwood, Ohio, displayed a fragment of the Temple Scroll for the first time ever in the United States.
The exhibit is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Foundation for Ancient Research at Brigham Young University.
The Kirtland display is nestled in the restored 19th century settlement where Joseph Smith founded his Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints before his journey west.
Latter-day Saints Elder Patrick Brian said it is fitting that the ancient scrolls would be in the same place where Smith once led his faithful in another ancient text, the Book of Mormon. But the exhibit is as rich in history as it is in religion.
“There is a sense of utter amazement when you view them,” Brian said.
That awe and reverence are evident in the hush that surrounds visitors when they first view the treasured text etched in leather parchment and papyrus.
A copy of the Isaiah Scroll, one of the seven original scrolls and the largest at 24 feet long, is shown in protected glass.
It took 17 pieces of sheepskin stitched together to create the biblical fables that were etched around 125 B.C. The interactive display allows visitors to listen to tapes and view a short film explaining the religious and historic significance of the scrolls found by a shepherd boy in 1947.
Scattered amid the display are large red clay pots where the scrolls were hidden inside the caves near Qumran in the West Bank.
“These have great significance. They are such an important part of religious history,” Brian said. “The people who wrote and preserved these scrolls did it with great fervor. You can appreciate that whether you are a history buff or a religious person.”
_ Maggi Martin
Quote of the Day: David Prater of Ripon, Calif.
(RNS) “We didn’t know anything until we got a call from the bank that he had bought a BMW. He drove that car right down Main Street.”
_ David Prater, a lay leader at First Congregational Church in Ripon, Calif., after the church’s former pastor, Randall Radic, allegedly sold the church building and bought the BMW without the church’s approval. He was quoted by the Associated Press.
KRE/LF END RNS
