c. 2007 Religion News Service

Vatican Says Catholics Should Abstain From Amnesty International

VATICAN CITY (RNS) A senior Vatican official has said Catholic organizations and individuals should withhold donations from Amnesty International because of the human rights group’s recent decision to support abortion rights in certain cases.

“I believe that, if in fact Amnesty International persists in this course of action, individuals and Catholic organizations must withdraw their support because, in deciding to promote abortion rights, AI has betrayed its mission,” Cardinal Renato Martino told the National Catholic Register.

Martino is president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, a Vatican office whose mission is to “foster progress in needy regions and social justice on the international scene.”

Amnesty International, which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1977 for its work defending human rights around the world, maintained a neutral stance on abortion until April of this year. The organization now backs access to abortion in cases of rape, incest or grave threat to the health of the mother.

“We are saying broadly that to criminalize women’s management of their sexual reproductive rights is the wrong answer,” said Kate Gilmore, deputy secretary of Amnesty International, in an interview with the Reuters news agency.

“This is not about abortion as a right but about women’s right to be free of fear, threat and coercion as they manage the consequences of rape and human rights violations,” she said.

Amnesty’s Italian office issued a statement noting that the London-based organization has never received funding from agencies of the Catholic Church, and that it is “independent of all governments, political parties, churches, religious organizations and groups.”

Amnesty’s Italian chairman, Paolo Pobbiati, told Britain’s Guardian newspaper that Martino’s statement could harm the group’s fundraising and undermine its collaboration with Catholic lay organizations.

“We mount joint campaigns with organizations like Caritas and the Community of Sant’Egidio against the death penalty and child soldiers and in favor of arms control,” he said. “We sincerely hope Catholics will not share Martino’s views on funding.”

_ Francis X. Rocca

Baptists Pass Skeptical Resolution on Global Warming

SAN ANTONIO (RNS) Southern Baptists overwhelmingly passed a statement Wednesday (June 13) on global warming which questions findings that climate change is primarily human-induced.

The resolution, which is a non-binding declaration of the sentiments of Baptists at the annual meeting, urges “Southern Baptists to proceed cautiously in the human-induced global warming debate in light of conflicting scientific research.”

Evangelical Christians, including some Southern Baptists, have been involved in an ongoing debate about appropriate responses to environmental concerns, with some believing climate change is mostly human-induced and others saying the science is inconclusive.

“We consider proposals to regulate (carbon dioxide) and other greenhouse gas emissions based on a maximum acceptable global temperature goal to be very dangerous, since attempts to meet the goal could lead to a succession of mandates of deeper cuts in emissions, which may have no appreciable effect if humans are not the principal cause of global warming,” the statement reads.

The resolution was adopted at the last session of the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention, after a vote was taken to delete two sections that encouraged governmental funding to “find definitive answers on the issue of human-induced global warming” and to determine energy alternatives to oil.

_ Adelle M. Banks

Diocese Appeals for Bishop’s Stolen Items

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (RNS) The Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield issued an appeal Wednesday (June 13) to the thief or thieves who stole Bishop Timothy A. McDonnell’s large gold cross and other personal items during a break-in this week.

McDonnell wants the items returned because they have sentimental value, according to diocesan spokesman Mark E. Dupont.

“Obviously, there’s an expense involved, but it’s a sentimental loss more than anything,” he said. “It would bring the bishop such joy if these items could find their way back to him.”

The theft occurred at the bishop’s residence sometime during the night on Monday or early Tuesday morning.

Police believe the break-in may have occurred at 3 a.m. on Tuesday, when the burglar alarm sounded. Police went to the house at that time and searched. However, they turned up nothing missing, and the bishop went back to sleep.

When he awoke Tuesday, he noticed the items were missing.

Taken were two watches, a ring and a pectoral cross, a type of crucifix suspended on a long chain the bishop wears during formal ceremonies. It signifies his rank in the church, and McDonnell has had it since he was ordained on June 1, 1963.

Dupont said the back of the cross is inscribed with the prelate’s initials and the date. He had it hung on a chain when he was ordained a bishop in 2001.

“It’s not just a symbol of his office, but a reminder of his ordination,” Dupont said.

One of the watches was a gift from his parents, both deceased.

“These are items that could be replaced, but you could never replace the sentimental value,” Dupont said.

Last December, Archbishop Oscar Lipscomb of Mobile, Ala., had his pectoral cross stolen from his car, along with other liturgical items. The cross later turned up at a thrift store, where it was bought for $6.

_ Mary Ellen Lowney

Indians Ban Non-Hindu Proselytizing Near Sacred Shrine

NEW DELHI, India (RNS) Government officials in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh have banned proselytizing by non-Hindu faiths near Tirumala, one of the most sacred Hindu sites that is home to the hilltop Hindu temple of Lord Venkateswara.

Areas near 20 Hindu temples across the state were notified of the new policy June 8. An official statement said government officials saw proselytizing as “unwarranted intrusion into one religious group’s domain which could potentially disturb public order.”

The ordinance was aimed at ensuring that “religious sentiments were not hurt and public order was not disturbed.”

The government move followed a row over alleged Christian missionary activities around a shrine in the town of Tirumala. The decision to accord special status to Tirumala and its seven surrounding hills is seen by many observers as an effort to meet demands that the area become a “Vatican for Hindus.”

The southern state’s chief minister, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, who is a Christian, said the government order would cover worship sites of all religions. Anyone violating the law would be punished with imprisonment of up to three years, or a maximum fine of about $125, or both.

Reddy told reporters the order was intended to prohibit political activity around or near the temple. He added that a visit to the shrine should be “a rare, unalloyed devotional experience, and the entire seven hills area should exude a unique spiritual, religious and ethical fervor.”

The hilltop shrine of Lord Venkateswara _ a deity also known as Srinivasa or Balaji _ is one of Hinduism’s holiest sites. The temple is visited by 50,000 devotees on a normal day, and the attendance crosses 100,000 each day during annual rituals and important festival days.

_ Achal Narayanan

Quote of the Day: Washington-area Imam Faizul Khan

(RNS) “For many years, our community did not face these issues. Women suffered in silence and fear. Even today, many imams think it could never happen in their mosque. Islam gives equal rights to men and women, but there are myths in Muslim society that men are superior and violence is permitted. This is wrong, and it needs to be said.”

_ Imam Faizul Khan of the Islamic Society of the Washington Area, discussing the need to address domestic abuse within the Muslim community. Khan, who conducts weekly counseling sessions for troubled couples, was quoted by The Washington Post.

KRE/PH END RNS