c. 2007 Religion News Service

Unbaptized Infants No Longer in Limbo, Vatican Says

VATICAN CITY (RNS) Clarifying Catholic thinking on one of the most perplexing theological enigmas, Pope Benedict XVI has endorsed a Vatican report offering hope that unbaptised infants can reach heaven.

In a report published Friday (April 20), the International Theological Commission concluded that the medieval concept of limbo _ an intermediate zone between heaven and hell whose denizens enjoy natural happiness but not the “beatific vision” of the creator _ represents an “unduly restrictive view of salvation.”

Limbo, which has fallen out of favor since the 1950s and is not mentioned in the current edition of the Roman Catholic catechism, was originally posited by theologians as a way to reconcile belief in divine mercy with the doctrine that there is “no salvation outside the church.”

Catholic theologians long taught that babies who died without the benefit of baptism would reside in limbo permanently on account of original sin. The name “limbo” also referred to a place where virtuous Jews and pagans who had lived before the time of Christ would reside temporarily until Christ’s Second Coming.

The 41-page report reaffirmed that “there is no salvation which is not from Christ and ecclesial by its very nature,” but explained that God can “give the grace of baptism without the sacrament being conferred,” particularly in cases when conferring it is impossible.

Rising numbers of infants born to non-Catholic families and the widespread practice of abortion made it urgent to address the question, the report said.

The commission, which advises the Vatican’s highest doctrinal body, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, does not have the same teaching authority as the pope or bishops. But it published this report with the explicit approval of Pope Benedict XVI.

Benedict himself has expressed views similar to the report’s conclusion. “Limbo was never a defined truth of faith,” then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger told Italian journalist Vittorio Messori in 1985. “Personally … I would abandon it, since it was only a theological hypothesis.”

_ Francis X. Rocca

American Muslims Challenge Media to Paint More Accurate Picture

WASHINGTON (RNS) U.S. media paint Muslims with a broad brush and eliminate or ignore key differential details, American Muslim leaders said at a panel discussion at Georgetown University on April 19.

The Muslim leaders were brought together as part of a panel to promote dialogue and understanding about what it means to be Muslim in America. The event was sponsored by Washington Post-Newsweek Interactive.

“Portrayal is an issue we face constantly,” said Ingrid Mattson, president of the Islamic Society of North America. As a Muslim woman, Mattson said the media and the public tend to conflate her life experiences with those of Muslim women all over the world.

“You can’t group us together,” Mattson said. “You can’t compare me to a woman in Pakistan because our experiences have no relevance and all you get is a superficial definition.”

The panel included scholars of Islam, a Pakistani-born rock star, the chief imam from Georgetown University and members of the Washington Post and Newsweek staffs. They agreed that news coverage of events in Muslim countries affects the public’s perception and understanding of Muslims living in the U.S.

Lisa Miller of Newsweek said the media have come a long way in their understanding of Islam since the attacks of Sept. 11, but could still do a better job of portraying Muslims born, bred and living in the U.S.

“We knew almost nothing about Islam and had to learn very quickly how to interpret it for a lay audience,” she said.

Salman Ahmad, a popular guitarist for the South Asian band Junoon, said Muslims in America have a duty to inform people here and abroad about their faith and way of life.

“True Muslim identity is under-reported in the American media,” said Ahmad. Since the mainstream media tend to cover terrorist attacks and Islamic extremism, Ahmad said Muslims in the United States should post positive portrayals of the faith on Web sites like MySpace and YouTube.

_ Philip Turner

The Postmistress Will Ring (The Church Bell) Twice

LONDON (RNS) A medieval Anglican church on Britain’s Isle of Wight has turned its bell tower into a post office _ at least for the next year.

When London threatened to close down scores of post offices across England,including its own, the village of Whitwell asked its tiny parish Church of St. Mary & St. Rhadegund for a helping hand.

The church’s vicar, the Rev. Sandra Lloyd, swiftly came to the rescue. She has allowed the village to set up a “visiting post office” in a snug space among the ropes in the church tower.

Postmistress Mavis Barclay; her husband, Roger; and the post office clerk, Heather Knowles, will operate Whitwell’s postal services from the church, off Britain’s south coast, on a trial basis for the next year.

“We are not the first church to offer premises for post offices,” said the vicar, “but I don’t think there has been one inside the actual church itself.”

The little post office amid the bell ropes is now operating largely on Mondays and Fridays, and perhaps during the rest of the week if an urgent situation develops.

“On our first day,” said Lloyd, who has been Whitwell’s vicar for 11 years, “there was a real buzz of the church being alive, and folks are just delighted that these facilities are back in the village.”

Like many other villages across Britain, Whitwell in recent years has seen many of its facilities disappear, but it was particularly hard hit when its post office had to vacate its premises amid government proposals to close some 70 post offices.

Thanks to the church and its vicar, Whitwell’s is saved, for another year, at any rate. There is one proviso _ postmistress Barclay and her team of two will have to pack up all things postal each Sunday, to make room for the bell ringers to call parishioners to worship.

_ Al Webb

Quote of the Day: The Rev. Jim Shirlena, pastor of Global Mission Church

(RNS) “You have nothing to apologize for. A deranged individual acted on his own, not on behalf of any group. … We are all victims. We all suffer together. This is a time of grief and mourning, not a time of shame and apology.”

_ The Rev. Jim Shirlena, pastor of Global Mission Church, a predominantly Korean Baptist Church in Silver Spring, Md. He was quoted by The Washington Post (April 23).

DSB/PH END