c. 2007 Religion News Service

Graham Undergoes Colonoscopy to Treat Bleeding

(RNS) After three episodes of intestinal bleeding, evangelist Billy Graham underwent a colonoscopy Wednesday (Aug. 22) to address his ailment.

His doctor found an area of active bleeding and treated it with cauterization, officials at Mission Health & Hospitals in Asheville, N.C., said in a statement.

“Mr. Graham was alert during the procedure, watching the monitor, talking with the physician and hospital staff, and asking them about their families,” the statement reads.

The 88-year-old evangelist resumed a liquid diet and was continuing to rest.

Graham spokeswoman Melany Ethridge said the evangelist was doing “really well” the morning after the procedure and medical personnel “could really see a difference” in his condition.

Graham was admitted Saturday to the hospital near his home in Montreat. Graham, who suffers from Parkinson’s disease and other ailments, has been mostly homebound in recent years. His wife of more than 63 years, Ruth Graham, died in June.

_ Adelle M. Banks

Trial Opens in Alleged Church Kickback Scheme

CLEVELAND, Ohio (RNS) Ten years ago, the chief financial officer of the Cleveland Catholic Diocese made a proposition to the co-owners of an accounting firm working for the diocese, Zrino Jukic testified Wednesday (Aug. 22) in U.S. District Court.

CFO Joseph Smith asked for a 10 percent cut of all the money the diocese paid the accountants, Jukic said.

In exchange, Smith assured Jukic and his business partner, Anton Zgoznik, that he would give them more diocesan accounting work, Jukic said.

Jukic said he knew Smith’s proposal was illegal, but Zgoznik relented. “I accepted it because (Zgoznik) wanted to do it,” Jukic said. “I didn’t have much of a say in the matter.”

Jukic was the first witness for the prosecution on the opening day of Zgoznik’s kickback trial in federal court. Smith, seated in the back of the courtroom, will stand trial later this year.

Smith was as good as his word, Jukic testified. The firm’s diocesan workload increased, he said, and as the accountants got richer so did their kickback payments to Smith.

Over a seven-year period, Zgoznik’s and Jukic’s company, ZJ and Associates, collected $17.5 million from the diocese. They wrote checks totaling more than $784,000 to Smith.

In addition, Smith received $30,000 from the head of the Catholic Cemeteries Association and from an insurance broker who did business with the diocese, Assistant U.S. Attorney John Siegel told the jury in his opening statement.

At the same time, Smith’s predecessor, the Rev. John Wright, rewarded Smith with a secret bank account containing $270,000 that he could use at his discretion over a five-year period, Siegel said. The money was meant to keep Smith from jumping to the private sector, and was kept secret from then-Bishop Anthony Pilla, he said.

In all, Smith received more than $1 million in “executive compensation” in addition to his $120,000 annual salary, Siegel said. He failed to report most of that money on his tax returns, Siegel said.

The accounting scheme unraveled in 2003 when a whistleblower tipped off the diocese.

Zgoznik’s attorney told the jury the money his client paid to Smith was not for kickbacks, but rather a longstanding practice by diocesan leaders to compensate employees off the books.

“The evidence will show that millions of dollars of receipts were not recorded by the bishops because that is the way they did business,” said defense attorney Robert Rotatori.

_ James F. McCarty

Falwell’s Financial Planning Leaves Liberty University Debt-Free

(RNS) Liberty University is now debt-free, thanks to the financial planning of its late founder, the Rev. Jerry Falwell.

The Lynchburg, Va., school announced it will receive $29 million from Falwell’s life insurance. Falwell died May 15 at the age of 73.

“That was the goal,” said Jerry Falwell Jr., the school’s chancellor and Falwell’s older son, in a university news release. “Dad wanted to leave the university debt-free. Dad used to joke that when he kicked the bucket, Liberty would be in high cotton.”

The school, which was founded in 1971, has had a debt of between $20 million and $25 million for the last decade and will now have an endowment of $7 million or $8 million.

Falwell said his father wanted to be sure the school would not face financial constraints.

“He thought that Liberty would be more likely to fulfill its mission if it didn’t have financial pressures,” he said. “He wanted to put Liberty in a position that it would not have to compromise its core beliefs at any time in the future.”

More than 10,400 on-campus students are expected to attend the university this year.

Thomas Road Baptist Church, which the elder Falwell founded in 1956, will receive $5 million from life insurance. Falwell’s younger son, the Rev. Jonathan Falwell, is now pastor of the church, which also is in Lynchburg.

_ Adelle M. Banks

Quote of the Day: Shaokat Ali of Calcutta, India

(RNS) “It pains me that I cannot tell people that I am a Muslim. I am restlessly waiting for the day when I shall be able to get out of this religious guise.”

_ Shaokat Ali, a Muslim student in Calcutta, India, who tutors Hindu students using the name Saikat Das, adopting a Hindu name after 29 guesthouse owners refused to rent him a room due to his religion. He was quoted by The Washington Times.

KRE/RB END RNS