c. 2007 Religion News Service
Pope Changes Rules on Election of Next Pope
VATICAN CITY (RNS) In a move that could lengthen the process of choosing the next leader of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI has ruled that popes must always be elected by a two-thirds majority of eligible Roman Catholic cardinals.
The change undoes a reform by Benedict’s predecessor, Pope John Paul II, which permitted election by a simple majority under certain circumstances.
After the death of a pope, all cardinals under the age of 80 who are healthy enough to attend must assemble in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel to elect a new pontiff. A majority of at least two-thirds has traditionally been required for election.
But under rules established by John Paul in 1996, if no candidate in a papal election _ called a conclave _ attains a two-thirds majority after about 12 days and about 30 ballots, the vote can be decided by an absolute majority.
Benedict’s decision, published Tuesday (June 26), holds that a two-thirds majority is always necessary “so that a pope may be considered validly elected,” according to a statement from the Vatican Press Office.
However, after 13 days, the cardinals will be forced to choose between the two top candidates and will not be allowed to seek a third compromise candidate. The Rev. Thomas Reese, a senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University, and author of the 1996 book, “Inside the Vatican,” called that move “a mistake.”
“Benedict should have simply returned to the ancient tradition and left the cardinals free to pass over the top two candidates and vote for a third if they wanted to,” Reese said.
Benedict, formerly Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, was elected in April 2005, on the fourth ballot and second day of voting.
_ Francis X. Rocca
Religious Leaders Call for End to Torture
WASHINGTON (RNS) More than 100 religious and secular leaders on Tuesday (June 26) demanded an end to what they called a “continuing authorized pattern” of U.S.-sponsored torture.
Members of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture rallied in the nation’s capital to support congressional efforts to restore the legal right of habeas corpus to prisoners suspected of terrorist activities.
The Rev. Richard Kilmer, the group’s executive director, accused the United States of abandoning its historic opposition to “the use of torture and cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment of detainees.”
He said U.S. mistreatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay in Cuba is “not just isolated instances,” but “a pattern.”
Joining Kilmer were Ingrid Mattson, president of the Islamic Society of North America; Charles Gutenson, an evangelical leader and professor at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Ky.; Rabbi Gerry Serotta, head of Rabbis for Human Rights-North America; and retired Roman Catholic Walter Sullivan of Richmond, Va.
“Torture is always immoral,” said Gutenson. “We’ve got to recognize the extent to which engaging in torture makes us like our enemies. We actually think we’re winning _ but we’re losing.”
Since its inception in January 2006, the organization has been working with the American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International and the Leadership Council on Civil Rights to call for an end to torture and secret prisons, and to restore due process legal rights to U.S. prisoners.
_ Alexandra Steigrad
Report Urges Greater Muslim Integration
WASHINGTON (RNS) Encouraging more Muslim American involvement in civil and political life is vital for U.S. interests at home and abroad, according to an independent task force report released Tuesday (June 26).
“The continued isolation and mistrust of Muslim Americans since (Sept. 11, 2001) is a recipe for a national crisis,” said Lynn Martin, a task force co-chair and former secretary of labor. “It is in the interest of all Americans to build trust and rapidly bring Muslim Americans into the social and political mainstream to strengthen our democratic institutions and to improve homeland security.”
The report, sponsored by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, offers a series of recommendations for further integrating Muslim Americans into society.
They include strengthening relations between Muslim Americans and government agencies; increasing Muslim American civic and political participation; educating the American public about Islam and the American Muslim community; and developing new institutions to accomplish those goals.
Unanimity in crafting these recommendations didn’t come easily, according to Farooq Kathwari, CEO of Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. and fellow co-chair of the 32-member nationwide task force of 16 Muslims and 16 non-Muslims.
“There were many points of contention and everyone had to make compromises, but the important thing is that we all wanted this project to be successful,” Kathwari said. “We didn’t want a minority report.”
Even so, the final recommendations drew some criticism. At a panel discussion Tuesday at the Woodrow Wilson Center, Peter Skerry, professor of political science at Boston College, warned that two of the proposals could create potential conflicts.
“There is a preoccupation with urging greater Muslim integration and there are many barriers to that,” Skerry said. “Calling for integration and at the same time calling for the creation of new institutions within the Muslim American community creates problems because these actions will be perceived as a challenge to already established institutions.”
But Salam Al-Marayati, a member of the task force and executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Los Angeles, sought to focus on the positive.
Pointing to Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., the first Muslim American elected to Congress, Al-Marayati said that a majority of Muslim Americans simply want to participate in the political process.
“There are countless other Muslim Americans who want to do exactly the same as the congressman,” Al-Marayati said. “Mainstream Muslim Americans are asking for the doors to be opened for their voices to be heard.”
(OPTIONAL TRIM FOLLOWS)
The task force co-chairs will appear on Capitol Hill Wednesday to testify before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, which is looking into extremism in Europe.
“This is in our national interest,” said Martin, a former Republican congresswoman from Illinois. “This is not just a problem for Muslim Americans. It is important for all Americans.”
_ Jennifer Koons
UCC Laments `Silent Witness to Evil Deeds’ in Iraq
(RNS) The United Church of Christ has issued an unambiguous call to end the war in Iraq, saying rather than ending oppression, the war “has imposed the new oppression of terror on the people of Iraq.”
The letter was read Friday (June 22) at the UCC’s General Synod in Hartford, Conn. Among those endorsing the statement were chief executives of the denomination and seminary presidents.
When a standing ovation greeted the letter, a UCC spokesman said, delegates “affirmed overwhelmingly” to add the General Synod to the list of supporters.
“Too often,” the letter said, “the church has been little more than a silent witness to evil deeds. We have prayed without protest.”
But the protests have already begun. On Monday night, about 500 people from the Massachusetts delegation staged an impromptu protest walk along Hartford sidewalks. A spokesman said protesters donned yellow armbands and carried yellow signs saying “End the War.”
The UCC plans to send the Iraq war letter to members of Congress as well as circulate it online to gather signatures in support. Calling for an end to “the arrogant unilateralism of preemptive war,” the letter urges “courage to acknowledge failure and error” and describes “the futility of our current path.”
In an address Saturday, Sen. Barack Obama, an Illinois Democrat and a member of the UCC, affirmed the group’s anti-war position.
“The Iraq war is not just a security problem, it’s a moral problem,” he told General Synod attendees, plugging his plan to withdraw all combat brigades by March 31, 2008.
In other business, delegates on Tuesday rebuffed attempts to revisit the denomination’s 2005 endorsement of same-sex marriage.
_ Michelle C. Rindels
Mormons Mark 1 Millionth Missionary
(RNS) The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced a significant milestone on Sunday (June 24): 1 million missionaries have served the church in its 177 years of history.
Church President Gordon B. Hinckley made the announcement at the Mormons’ Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah. Though the church is not sure exactly who the millionth missionary is, Hinckley said the milestone statistic is a reliable estimate.
Currently, some 53,000 missionaries are serving around the world. Known for wearing suits and traveling door-to-door by bike or on foot, these missionaries have reached 145 different countries with the Mormon message.
The two-year mission trips are not mandatory but are highly encouraged for men between the ages of 19 and 21. Women are also accepted for missionary service starting at age 21.
Among those at a Monday press conference were Samuel Pelaquim and Brandon Soelberg, who just entered a Missionary Training Center in preparation for a two-year assignment in Japan.
Soelberg, 20, said people ask him why he is voluntarily postponing college, giving up television and paying his way for the trip.
“The reality is I feel I have a lot to give,” he said. “I have always known I wanted to serve a mission, so it doesn’t really feel like a sacrifice to me. I need to do this, I want to do this.”
Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles testified to the dedication of the missionaries, who do everything from proselytizing to humanitarian aid work during their missions.
“From personal experience I can tell you that they study, they pray, they worry intensely about each child of God,” Ballard said at the press conference. “They face rejection and sometimes verbal abuse. But they soldier on. They serve, they help others and they go the extra mile to lift and bless people in all walks of life and in all human conditions.”
Along with the millionth-missionary announcement, Hinckley said the church’s membership has now reached 13 million people worldwide.
_ Michelle C. Rindels
Quote of the Day: Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn.
(RNS) “It was quiet as a church. I realized at that moment, wow, there is something about me that is a little different.”
_ Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., the first Muslim elected to Congress, recalling the moments after he replied to King Abdullah II of Jordan with the traditional Arabic salutation “wa `aleikum as-salaam” (and peace upon you) in a room full of U.S. lawmakers. Ellison was quoted by Politico (June 20).
KRE/RB END RNS
