c. 2007 Religion News Service
Texas Court Dismisses Confidentiality Case Against Pastor
(RNS) The Texas Supreme Court unanimously dismissed a suit brought by a former member of a Fort Worth church who accused her pastor of violating her confidentiality.
The case, dismissed Friday (June 29), centered on questions of what roles civil courts should have when asked to resolve matters related to church discipline.
C.L. “Buddy” Westbook, pastor of CrossLand Community Bible Church and a licensed professional counselor, had ordered his congregation to shun Peggy Lee Penley, a former parishioner, because she had engaged in a “biblically inappropriate” relationship with a man who was not her husband. Penley sued Westbrook, claiming he learned the information he disclosed in a “secular” counseling session.
“A church’s decision to discipline members for conduct considered outside of the church’s moral code is an inherently religious function with which civil courts should not generally interfere,” wrote Justice Harriet O’Neill in the court ruling.
O’Neill said Penley’s two roles had to be considered.
“In his dual capacity, Westbrook owed Penley conflicting duties,” the judge wrote. “As Penley’s counselor he owed her a duty of confidentiality, and as her pastor he owed Penley and the church an obligation to disclose her conduct.”
The judge determined that “parsing those roles” for a civil case _ when safety or health was not an issue _ would be an unconstitutional entanglement of the court in the governance of a church.
Penley initially had alleged that the church and its elders had defamed her and caused her emotional distress. The pastor filed counter claims saying the matter was outside the court’s jurisdiction because it dealt with a church dispute.
_ Adelle M. Banks
Update: Nepalese Goddess Loses Title After U.S. Tour
(RNS) A 10-year-old Nepalese girl lost her title as a Hindu living goddess because she left the country to promote a film.
Sajani Shakya was the first living goddess _ or “kumari” _ ever to leave the country. Her June visit to Washington served as a publicity tour for a British documentary that explores the centuries-old kumari tradition.
Officials from Sajani’s temple in the town of Bhaktapur announced Tuesday (July 3) that they would revoke her title and replace her upon her return to Nepal, according to the state-run National News Agency.
The tradition of kumaris dates back more than 300 years. Around the age of 2 or 3, a young girl is selected to the position of goddess based upon a list of 32 “perfect characteristics,” which include perfect skin, hair, eyes and teeth. A young toddler also must prove herself fearless by withstanding time in a dark room without crying.
Hindus believe these girls are possessed by the goddess Taleju, and they revere kumaris by bowing to them and bringing requests to their feet. Once the girl-goddess reaches puberty, Hindus believe Taleju leaves her body and temple officials search again for another girl to worship.
_ Michelle C. Rindels
Catholic Lawmakers Seek Bishops’ Help in Ending Iraq War
WASHINGTON (RNS) In a rare reversal of roles, 14 Catholic members of Congress are lobbying U.S. Catholic bishops to step up efforts to end the war in Iraq.
The lawmakers, all Democrats, wrote to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops asking for a meeting to discuss how Congress “and the clergy can work together to mobilize public action to end the war,” according to a statement released Tuesday (July 3).
“As Catholic members of Congress we stand in unison with the Catholic Church in opposition to the war in Iraq,” Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., said in a statement. “Yet to attain the ideal of peace, we must not only speak the words, we must take action.”
Other Catholic politicians lobbying the bishops include Reps. Dennis Kucinich, Tim Ryan, Charlie Wilson and Marcy Kaptur, all of Ohio.
“Throughout our nation’s history Catholics have been at the forefront of the fight for social justice,” the lawmakers’ statement said. “Now, at another critical moment, we respectfully urge the (bishops) to join with us in mobilizing support for Congress’ efforts to end the Iraq war.”
Sister Mary Ann Walsh, a spokeswoman for the USCCB, said the bishops were considering the letter and that they have already made repeated statements about the war. “Certainly the bishops have made no secret about their concerns over the war in Iraq,” Walsh said.
Last fall, Bishop William Skylstad, president of the bishops’ conference, said: “In statements, letters and meetings, we have expressed grave moral concern regarding `preventive war’ and noted the moral responsibilities that our nation has in Iraq.”
In May, 18 Catholic U.S. representatives, including some who are now lobbying the bishops, criticized Pope Benedict XVI for suggesting that pro-abortion rights politicians can be considered excommunicated from the church.
_ Daniel Burke
Update: ACLU Files Suit Over Jesus Icon in Courthouse
SLIDELL, La. (RNS) A portrait of Jesus Christ that hangs in the lobby of Slidell City Court violates the separation of church and state, according to a a federal lawsuit that was filed Tuesday (July 3) by the Louisiana American Civil Liberties Union.
The organization filed the suit in U.S. District Court in New Orleans after court officials decided to reject the ACLU’s deadline and leave the portrait in place.
Vincent Booth, acting executive director and board president for the ACLU chapter, said after filing the suit that he thinks the portrait, along with lettering beneath that says, “To know peace, obey these laws,” violates laws upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.
City Court Judge Jim Lamz, who is named as a defendant in the lawsuit, said Saturday he consulted with a constitutional scholar at the University of Michigan before concluding that the display’s constitutionality remains an open legal question.
Lamz declined to comment further Tuesday, saying through a spokeswoman that he is forbidden to speak about pending litigation. He referred questions to Mike Johnson, an attorney for the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian organization that has agreed to represent the city court for free.
Johnson, who is based in Shreveport, did not return a call for comment, but he did release a statement.
“The ideas expressed in this painting aren’t specific to any one faith, and they certainly don’t establish a single state religion,” he said in the statement. “The reason Americans enjoy equal justice is because we are all created equal, endowed by (our) creator with certain unalienable rights. This painting is a clear reflection of the ideas in the Declaration of Independence.”
The ACLU is representing an anonymous complainant who said he has come into “direct and unwelcome contact” with the display, and he expects to do so again to fulfill legal obligations at the court. The display hangs in the court’s lobby, which has only one main entrance for visitors, according to the lawsuit.
The display has been in place since the courthouse opened in 1997 and has been maintained with taxpayer money, the lawsuit says. The display endorses the Christian faith, or specifically the Eastern Orthodox sect of Christianity, to the detriment of all other Christian denominations and all non-Christian religions, according to the suit.
_ Christine Harvey
Bishop Suspends Episcopal Priest Who Says She Is Also a Muslim
(RNS) A Seattle Episcopal priest who claims to be both a Christian and a Muslim has been temporarily removed from ministry by the bishop of Rhode Island, who remains her supervisor under church rules.
The Rev. Ann Holmes Redding, who was ordained in 1984 in Rhode Island and directed faith formation at St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle, told reporters that she became a Muslim about 15 months ago.
But Bishop Geralyn Wolfe of Rhode Island, who remains Redding’s supervisor,issued a “pastoral direction” Tuesday (July 3) removing the Seattle woman from the priesthood for one year, according to the Episcopal Church’s communications department.
“During the next year she is not to exercise any of the responsibilities and privileges of an Episcopal priest or deacon. Other aspects of the pastoral direction will remain private,” Wolfe wrote in an e-mail to Episcopal clergy and leaders. The e-mail was posted on the Episcopal Church’s Web site.
Redding, 55, has not lived in Rhode Island for more than 20 years, Wolfe said. She was removed from St. Mark’s in March because of budget cutbacks, not her practice of Islam, according to the cathedral’s dean.
Last month, Redding told reporters: “I am both Muslim and Christian, just like I’m both an American of African descent and a woman. I’m 100 percent both.” Redding made the shahada _ the Muslim profession of faith _ and prays in Arabic five times a day, she said.
“At the most basic level, I understand the two religions to be compatible. That’s all I need,” Redding told The Seattle Times. Bishop Vincent Warner of Olympia, Wash., told the newspaper he accepts Redding as an Episcopal priest and a Muslim.
Wolfe disagreed. She said the sabbatical will give Redding “the opportunity to reflect on the doctrines of the Christian faith, her vocation as a priest, and what I see as the conflicts inherent in professing both Christianity and Islam.”
Unlike Christians, Muslims do not believe that Jesus was the son of God, or that salvation can be attained through him.
_ Daniel Burke
British Prime Minister Says Church Should Choose Own Bishops
LONDON (RNS) New British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has relinquished his right to choose diocesan bishops in the Church of England, from the archbishop of Canterbury on down, and turned the whole business over to the church itself.
Until now, when such openings for diocesan posts come up, church leaders nominated two names and presented them to the prime minister in order of preference. But the premier had the power to select the second name, or even to ask for more nominees.
But one of Brown’s first moves since taking over as prime minister from Tony Blair was to remove himself and his office from the business of choosing diocesan bishops and archbishops.
In a constitutional “Green Paper” presented to Parliament on Tuesday (July 3), Brown’s government said the prime minister is giving up any such “active role” in the selection of candidates and making the church itself the “decisive voice” in the process.
Instead, the church’s Crown Nominations Commission will submit a single name for each post to the prime minister, who will then simply pass along the recommendation to Queen Elizabeth II, titular head of the Church of England, for her approval.
The current archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, was the first choice of the church but had to get Blair’s approval before his name could be submitted to the monarch. He was elected to the post of Canterbury on July 23, 2002.
The change, one of a series of initiatives taken by Brown to devolve power in some areas away from the prime minister, is expected to get a routine OK from Parliament soon.
Meanwhile, it was greeted enthusiastically by leaders of the Church of England, who have worked for more than three decades to streamline the process.
Archbishop of York John Sentamu, the church’s No. 2 official, said, “I welcome the prospect of the church being the `decisive voice’ in the appointment of bishops, which the General Synod called for 33 years ago,” in 1974.
_ Al Webb
Surgeon General Pick Under Scrutiny for Gay Views
WASHINGTON (RNS) President Bush’s nominee for surgeon general faces an uncertain confirmation in light of a 16-year-old paper he wrote as part of the United Methodist Church’s Committee to Study Homosexuality.
In an eight-page paper titled “Pathophysiology of Male Homosexuality,” Dr. James Holsinger described physical injury and even death that can result from what he called “anal eroticism.”
After submitting the report to the church committee in 1991, Holsinger resigned, convinced the group’s ultimate verdict “would follow liberal lines,” according to a Time magazine article that year.
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will begin confirmation hearings for Holsinger on Thursday (July 12).
Gay rights organizations, including the Christian group Soulforce, are angry over what they see as Holsinger’s hostility toward homosexuals.
“As the leading spokesperson for matters of public health, the surgeon general should be guided by medical science, not religion-based bigotry,” said Soulforce Executive Director Jeff Lutes.
The Department of Health and Human Services dismissed claims that Holsinger holds any anti-gay prejudice.
“He basically remains focused on helping all those in need,” said HHS spokesman Brynn Barnett. “He’s been consistent with sound science and the best medical practices.”
The White House repeatedly affirmed the nomination and Holsinger’s credentials. In addition to his work as a cardiologist, he has served in the Army Reserve, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Kentucky state cabinet.
He currently serves as president of the United Methodist Judicial Council, which acts as the denomination’s highest court. During his tenure, the council has handed down several rulings that raised concerns with gay rights groups such as the Human Rights Campaign. In a 2005 decision, the council upheld the defrocking of the Rev. Beth Stroud, a lesbian, and also sided with a pastor who denied church membership to an openly gay man.
_ Michelle C. Rindels
Court Says Gay Lutheran Pastor Must Be Defrocked
(RNS) An openly gay Lutheran pastor from Atlanta has been defrocked after a church appeals court ruled that he should be removed from ministry before next month’s Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
The Committee on Appeals’ decision to immediately remove the Rev. Bradley Schmeling of St. John’s Lutheran Church overturns a previous ruling that would have allowed him to remain in ministry until Aug. 15. The committee’s vote was 10-2 to immediately remove Schmeling .
The 4.9 million-member ELCA holds its biennial meeting in Chicago, Aug. 6-11. The lower court had urged the ELCA to overturn the ban on sexually active gay clergy at that meeting.
Effective immediately, the appeals committee’s decision to remove Schmeling from the ELCA’s clergy roster is final and ends the judicial process.
“I am disheartened that the Committee on Appeals would remove me from the roster without ever meeting me; without meeting the people of St. John’s Lutheran Church; or without even coming to Atlanta to experience our congregation at work,” Schmeling said in a statement.
“I want my denomination to witness to the Jesus that I know and love _ a savior who is more interested in relationships than in rules,” he added.
Schmeling, 44, had led St. John’s Lutheran Church, which claims a membership of 350, since 2000.
But last year, after Schmeling told Bishop Ronald Warren of the ELCA’s Southeastern Synod that he had found a partner, the bishop asked him to resign.
John Ballew, St. John’s congregation president, said, “We are going to go to the Churchwide Assembly in August to witness to our ELCA the costs of this decision, based on an absurd policy.”
In 2005, the ELCA declined to allow local synods to decide whether to accept pastors in same-sex relationships.
_ Daniel Burke
Colosseum, `Christ the Redeemer’ Named New Wonders of the World
(RNS) Move over, Hanging Gardens of Babylon and Colossus of Rhodes: An international poll named a new set of Seven Wonders of the World on Saturday (July 7). Among the new members on the list are a church, two temples and a giant statue of Christ the Redeemer.
The updated seven wonders represent a marked religious shift from the seven ancient marvels, which included such sites as the Statue of Zeus and the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus. All have disappeared except for the Pyramids at Giza, Egypt, which will maintain their status as one of the seven ancient wonders, according to the Associated Press.
UNESCO, the United Nations agency that works to “assist countries in identifying, protecting and preserving World Heritage,” confirmed that it is not involved in the new seven wonders project. While UNESCO keeps track of world heritage sites, the vote was an effort by a private foundation created by Swiss adventurer Bernard Weber.
About 100 million votes were cast worldwide, and the winners were:
1. Colosseum of Rome, Italy: Inaugurated in A.D. 80, this structure was the site of sporting events, gladiator matches and martyrdom, in which Christians were fed to lions.
2. Great Wall of China: Built to protect China from Hun, Mongol and Turk invasions, this 4,160-mile wall was constructed between the seventh and fourth centuries B.C. and is the only manmade structure visible from space to the naked eye.
3. Taj Mahal of Agra, India: Mogul Emperor Shah Jahan built this elaborate mausoleum beginning in 1632. Considered the crown jewel of Islamic architecture, it acts as a tomb for the emperor’s favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal.
4. Petra, Jordan: An ancient city carved into rock, Petra flourished between the second and sixth century A.D. The site is famous for an unfinished tomb facade that functioned as a Byzantine church.
5. Christ the Redeemer Statue of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Completed in 1931, this 125-foot-tall statue with outstretched arms is perched atop Mount Corcovado.
6. Machu Picchu, Peru: This remote sanctuary in the Andes mountains includes palaces, walls and temples constructed of giant stones. It was built in the 15th century by the Incan Empire.
7. Pyramid at Chichen Itza, Mexico: Another sacred site, this Mayan step-pyramid is topped by a temple that bears carvings for a rain and serpent god. A Mayan community thrived in the area between about A.D. 700 and 900, although the date of the pyramid’s construction is still unknown.
_ Michelle C. Rindels
Quote of the Week: Blair Scott, Alabama director of American Atheists
(RNS) “We need to consult a meteorologist and climatologist, not invisible rain-makers in the sky. Obviously, if there was a god, it knows of the drought and has chosen to ignore it.”
_ Blair Scott, the Alabama director of American Atheists, criticizing Alabama Gov. Bob Riley for issuing an official proclamation urging Alabamians to pray for rain.
END RNS1,000 words
