c. 2007 Religion News Service

Mass. Lawmakers Defeat Gay Marriage Bill

BOSTON (RNS) Massachusetts lawmakers on Thursday (June 14) voted to kill a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, leaving gay marriage opponents shocked and discouraged.

The state Legislature, meeting in a joint session, voted 151-45 to block the proposed amendment from going to the 2008 ballot. The citizens-backed measure needed 50 votes to make the ballot.

The vote came quickly and with no debate, after Gov. Deval L. Patrick, Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi and Senate President Therese Murray felt there were enough votes to assure defeat of the proposal. Nine legislators changed their votes to oppose the proposed referendum.

Patrick, a Democrat who took office in January, said the vote was a victory for equal rights. “In Massachusetts today, the freedom to marry is secure,” Patrick told a cheering crowd of supporters at the Statehouse after the vote.

Kristian M. Mineau, president of Massachusetts Family Institute, said he was stunned and disappointed by the vote.

“The politicians have spoken, but the people have been denied the opportunity to speak,” Mineau said.

Thursday’s vote killed the amendment proposal. Mineau said opponents of gay marriage may try again to amend the state constitution.

Mineau’s group collected the signatures of 170,000 voters to place the proposal on the ballot. The proposal sought to define future marriages as the union of one man and one woman.

In order to qualify for the ballot, the proposal needed to be approved by at least 50 legislators in two successive sessions; 62 legislators had voted to place the proposal on the ballot during the last day of the prior session.

More than 9,000 gay and lesbian couples have married since the state Supreme Judicial Court in 2003 legalized gay marriage.

Roman Catholic Bishop Timothy A. McDonnell of Springfield said “the real outcome of the vote was to silence the voice of the people _ to show a political distrust of the people.”

_ Dan Ring

Watchdog Group Files IRS Complaint After Bishop Blasts Giuliani

WASHINGTON (RNS) Two weeks after the Catholic bishop of Providence, R.I., wrote a stinging editorial against Rudy Giuliani’s abortion stance, a watchdog group has asked the IRS to investigate the diocese for improper politicking.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State filed a complaint Wednesday (June 13), claiming the diocesen newspaper, the Rhode Island Catholic, violated IRS regulations barring tax-exempt organizations from making partisan comments in official publications.

IRS tax law prohibits non-profit organizations from “directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective office.“

The diocese said the claim has no merit. According to church spokesman Michael Guilfoyle, the newspaper is a separate, for-profit entity owned by the Visitor Printing Company.

Joe Conn, a spokesman for Americans United, countered that even if the paper itself is independently owned, it is the official paper of the diocese and thus the bishop’s comments can be attributed to his tax-exempt organization.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, on its Web site, seems to back up that point. “Organizations act through individuals. Thus, when officials of a Catholic organization engage in political campaign activity … through the organization’s official publications, e.g., parish bulletin or (arch)diocesan newspaper, the political campaign activity will be attributed to the Catholic organization.”

The question is whether the newspaper can be called an “official publication.”

The controversy began when Giuliani invited Bishop Thomas Tobin to a campaign fundraising dinner. Tobin responded by criticizing Giuliani, a Catholic, for holding a “weak-kneed” position on abortion.

In a speech at Houston Baptist College in May, the former New York mayor said: “I believe abortion is wrong. I think it is morally wrong.” But he added that “where people of good faith … when they come to different conclusions about this, about something so very, very personal, I believe you have to respect their viewpoint. You have to give them a level of choice here.”

Writing in the diocesan newspaper, Tobin called Giuliani’s position on abortion “pathetic,” “confusing” and “hypocritical,” comparing him to Pontius Pilate who washed his hands of guilt at Jesus’ trial.

_ Michelle C. Rindels

Muslims Say Assaults, Civil Rights Attacks Up in 2006

(RNS) Physical assaults, sniper attacks, vandalized mosques and unusually long delays in immigration and citizenship applications are among the rising number of cases of discrimination and harassment reported by U.S. Muslims, according to a report released Thursday (June 14) by the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

According to the report, which covers 2006, complaints by Muslims in America increased by more than 25 percent, from 1,972 in 2005 to 2,467 last year.

Nearly 30 percent of the complaints had to do with delays in immigration and citizenship applications, while another 15 percent were classified as “due process” cases, such as unreasonable arrest, detention, surveillance and interrogation.

Hate mail and Internet incitement comprised nearly 13 percent of complaints, followed by denial of religious accommodation in work or other environments, and employment discrimination, both accounting for about 9 percent of complaints. More than 5 percent of cases involved physical attacks and 4 percent involved verbal harassment.

A CAIR spokeswoman said the rise in complaints was likely because of a combination of more incidents but also because more Muslims are stepping forward to complain.

Given the increase of discrimination against Muslims, CAIR said it wants Congress to hold hearings on the rising level of Islamophobia in America, and also urged elected officials and other public figures to condemn acts of discrimination against Muslims.

Nine states and the District of Columbia accounted for almost 81 percent of all civil rights complaints. California alone accounted for 29 percent of all civil rights complaints; the second-highest was Illinois, which had 13 percent of all complaints. The other seven states are Florida, Texas, New York, Virginia, Michigan, New Jersey, and Ohio.

_ Omar Sacirbey

Portland Archbishop Apologizes to Abuse Victims

PORTLAND, Ore. (RNS) Archbishop John G. Vlazny issued a formal apology to the victims of sexual abuse by priests, both for the abuse itself and for the “inadequacy in which the church responded to the crimes.”

About 200 people attended the Wednesday (June 13) evening service at St. Mary’s Cathedral. They sang hymns, said prayers and lit candles for victims. They asked God for forgiveness and emboldened one another to seek healing for both the church and for victims and their families.

“The victims of sexual abuse have carried many burdens,” Vlazny said. “I take this opportunity to express my sincerest apology.”

It was a frank and open service. During one hymn, a cantor sang: “We have chosen to save face rather than to save children,” and “We have kept silent in the face of injustice.”

In his homily, Vlazny echoed those sentiments.

“By our reluctance to bring light to this great darkness, we as a people, have sinned,” he said. “Now that we have embraced it, we are committed to success because we know it’s the right thing to do.”

The hour-long service came a week after the archdiocese released hundreds of secret documents showing how church officials repeatedly covered up abuse and failed to remove clergy who faced credible accusations.

Vlazny decided to hold the prayer service because he has long been concerned with assisting sex abuse victims with healing, said Bud Bunce, spokesman for the archdiocese.

Bill Crane, a member of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, said Vlazny’s message fell short. He called the service was more public relations than true reconciliation.

“You still have members of the clergy in Portland that live as retired priests with no defrocking taking place,” he said. “They collect their retirements and are still very much a part of the church.”

Still, some members of the congregation felt that the service was a grand step in the right direction.

“I felt it really covered the areas that brought the most pain to people,” said Sister Lucy St. Hilaire. “My hope is that the people who were hurt begin to experience healing. That’s my deepest prayer.”

Facing mounting financial pressure from lawsuits filed by victims of sexually abusive priests, the archdiocese became the first U.S. diocese to seek bankruptcy protection in 2004. The settlement paid more than $50 million to 175 people who said they were sexually abused by clergy going back more than 50 years.

_ Mark Larabee and Ashbel S. Green

Quote of the Day: Evangelist Billy Graham

(RNS) “In her last days she talked repeatedly of Heaven, and although I will miss her more than I can possibly say, I rejoice that some day soon we will be reunited in the presence of the Lord she loved and served so faithfully.”

_ Evangelist Billy Graham, in a statement released Friday (June 15), mourning the death of his wife, Ruth Bell Graham, at age 87.

KRE/RB END RNS