c. 2007 Religion News Service

European Court Clears Hurdles for Scientologists

BERLIN (RNS) A European Court of Human Rights ruling against Russia this week could strengthen the ability of the Church of Scientology to claim official legal status throughout Europe.

According to the court, the church had filed its complaint against the Russian government after officials refused several times to process a registration application. The church has been registered in Russia since 1994, but needed to re-register under a 1997 law.

According to court documents, the church applied for the re-registration 11 times between August 1998 and May 2005. Several applications were ignored, others were rejected for being incomplete and, at least once, according to the court, officials demanded forms that could not legally be requested under Russian law.

In its Thursday (April 5) unanimous ruling, the court found that Russia, by withholding official registration, was keeping the church from “exercising the full range of its religious activities.” That constitutes violations of freedom of assembly and association and freedom of thought, conscience and religion.

The court went on to award 10,000 euros ($13,418) in damages to the church and ordered Russia to pay 15,000 euros ($20,127) in court costs.

Scientology members greeted the verdict not only as a victory in Russia, but also as a sign that other European countries will be forced to give the church greater legitimacy.

“This decision not only confirms the rights of churches of Scientology, but also sets another important precedent to protect the rights of all other religious communities in Europe,” said Elena Saycheva, spokeswoman for the Church of Scientology of Moscow.

Although most European countries do not ban Scientology, they do not accord it the same legal privileges as other more established churches. It is not clear whether Thursday’s ruling will force these countries to change their policies.

_ Niels Sorrells

Poll: Giuliani Leads Among Evangelicals, Clinton Leads Among Catholics

WASHINGTON (RNS) Presidential hopefuls Rudolph Giuliani and Sen. Hillary Clinton hold early leads among key religious voting blocs in the race to win their party nominations, according to a national survey released this week.

The survey by the Pew Research Center shows religious voters leaning towards more recognizable candidates in the early stages of the race, according to John Green, a senior fellow at the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.

Giuliani, a Republican, leads Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., among white evangelical Republican-leaning voters, 27 percent to 23 percent. Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich was third (7 percent) even though he hasn’t announced his candidacy. The GOP’s fundraising leader, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, was fourth (6 percent) among this key group of Republican voters.

White evangelicals gave 78 percent of their votes to President Bush in 2004 and 72 percent to Republican congressional candidates in 2006.

White (non-Hispanic) Catholics, a crucial swing group, according to Green, are also showing early support for Giuliani among those who lean among Republican, at 37 percent. McCain is second (23 percent) among these voters, who went 56 percent in favor of Bush in the 2004 election. Gingrich and Romney are tied at 9 percent each.

Clinton leads among white Catholics who lean Democratic, with 33 percent of their support. According to exit polls, 50 percent of white Catholics voted for Democrats in the 2006 mid-term elections _ a slight shift away from the GOP in the 2004 presidential results.

Former Vice President Al Gore, who has said he isn’t running for president, is second (22 percent), followed closely by 2004 Democratic vice presidential nominee John Edwards (21 percent). Illinois Sen. Barack Obama is fourth (12 percent).

“We’re still early in the process, and it’s a time when name recognition plays a special role,” said Green. “We think these numbers are very interesting in that they provide a baseline by which candidates must react.”

The impact of campaign funds is about to be felt, likely shifting future poll numbers, Green said, adding that the $25 million raised by Obama and the $23 million by Romney so far this year will give them boosts.

“The major candidates are raising incredible amounts of money, and they’re going to spend that money trying to get their message out to these voters,” he said. “There’s a great capacity for people’s opinions to change as this money is spent.”

_ Philip Turner

N.Y. Cardinal Awaits Word From Rome on Pending Retirement

NEW YORK (RNS) Cardinal Edward Egan quietly celebrated his 75th birthday on Monday (April 2) _ putting in more than 14 hours of meetings, sermon writing and prayers _ as a letter submitting his resignation was winging its way to the Vatican.

By canon law, Egan is required, upon turning 75, to offer to step down. But it is widely expected that Pope Benedict will ask him to stay on.

New York Catholics have mixed reactions to the fiscally prudent but emotionally reticent Cardinal Egan, who has overseen the vast archdiocese during a difficult period for the Catholic Church, including the national sex-abuse crisis and the ensuing financial difficulties.

Egan, for his part, seems to have little desire to leave the post that his predecessor, Cardinal John O’Connor, held until his death at age 80 in 2000.

“He leaves it completely up to Pope Benedict, although as he has joked with the priests he wants to be here for another 150 years,” said Joseph Zwilling, a spokesman for the archdiocese, who declined to elaborate on the letter the cardinal mailed last week, calling it basically a “form letter.”

Widely hailed for saving the cash-strapped church from more formidable financial trouble, Egan eliminated $20 million from the archdiocese’s annual operating budget, Zwilling said. The New York Archdiocese includes 3 million Catholics across 10 counties.

The cardinal has also been criticized for his businesslike approach to the 405-parish archdiocese, and for an aloof demeanor that is the opposite of the charming and approachable Cardinal O’Connor.

Complaints about Egan’s lack of pastoral effervescence were lodged in an anonymous letter sent by archdiocese priests to the Vatican last fall, urging the pope to accept Egan’s resignation.

_ Deborah Young

Quote of the Day: Spelling Bee Champion Elliot Huck

(RNS) “If I make exceptions to following God’s rule, even if it is only once, there will be more exceptions that will follow.”

_ Elliot Huck, 14, who made it to Scripps National Spelling Bee in 2005 and 2006, but refused to compete in the Bloomington, Ind., regional bee this year because it was scheduled on a Sunday. He was quoted by World magazine about his belief that God commands Christians to keep the Sabbath holy.

KRE/LF END RNS