c. 2008 Religion News Service
Muslims accept pope’s invitation to dialogue
VATICAN CITY (RNS) A group of prominent Muslim scholars and clerics has accepted the invitation of Pope Benedict XVI for a “working meeting” on inter-religious dialogue at the Vatican.
According to Catholic News Service, Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad bin Talal of Jordan wrote to Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican secretary of state, on Dec. 12 to accept the pope’s invitation.
Representatives of Muslim participants at the meeting will travel to the Vatican in February or March to prepare for the event, Ghazi wrote.
The Vatican’s proposal was itself a response to an open letter published Oct. 13 by 138 Muslim leaders seeking better relations with the Christian world.
That letter invoked the common principles of “love of the One God, and love of the neighbor” as the ultimate basis for peace between Muslims and Christians.
On Nov. 29, Bertone wrote on the pope’s behalf to Ghazi, a signatory of the Oct. 13 letter, inviting the prince and a “restricted group of signatories” of his choosing to visit the Vatican, for both an audience with Benedict and a “working meeting” with Vatican experts on inter-religious dialogue.
While thanking Bertone for the invitation, Ghazi’s reply alluded to tensions besetting Muslim-Catholic dialogue, mentioning “some recent pronouncements emerging from the Vatican and from Vatican advisers … as regards the very principle of theological dialogue with Muslims.”
That reference is apparently linked to comments by Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, who told a French newspaper that Muslim belief in the Quran as the literal word of God makes theological dialogue with Christians “difficult.”
Ghazi said theological differences should not prevent Christians and Muslims from seeking and affirming areas of agreement, “whether we wish to call this kind of dialogue `theological’ or `spiritual’ or something else.”
_ Francis X. Rocca
Former British PM Blair converts to Catholicism
LONDON (RNS) After months of speculation, former British prime minister Tony Blair converted to Roman Catholicism in a low-key ceremony at an archbishop’s chapel in London just before Christmas.
During his 10 years as prime minister, Blair steadfastly sidestepped attempts to pin him down on all questions of his faith. But his resignation from power last summer appeared to open the way to the formal step into the Catholic Church.
On Dec. 21, he rode with his Catholic wife, Cherie Blair, to the chapel of the Archbishop’s House in London, where he was received into the Roman Catholic Church by Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor.
“I am very glad to welcome Tony Blair into the Catholic Church,” the cardinal said in a statement. “For a long time he has been a regular worshipper at Mass with his family, and in recent months he has been following a program of formation to prepare for his reception into full communion.”
Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, spiritual head of the 77 million-member worldwide Anglican Communion, said his own farewell to the former prime minister.
“Tony Blair has my prayers and good wishes as he takes this step in his Christian pilgrimage,” Williams said in a statement. “A great Catholic writer of the last century said that the only reason for moving from one Christian family to another was to deepen one’s relationship with God. I pray that this will be the result of Tony Blair’s decision in his personal life.”
Blair was baptized as an Anglican but has shown keen interest in Catholicism in recent years. He made no move toward joining the Catholic Church during his years in power, possibly because of political sensitivities in a nation that has never had a Catholic prime minister.
His position was made even more awkward because under his administration, the government pursued policies that Catholics opposed, including allowing civil partnerships and adoptions for gay couples, failure to restrict abortions and conducting the war in Iraq.
_ Al Webb
Questions surround firing of Methodist ecumenical officer
NEW YORK (RNS) Leaders of three predominantly black Methodist churches are unhappy with the process that led to the firing of the head of the United Methodist Church’s main ecumenical and interfaith agency.
And the man dismissed, the Rev. Larry Pickens, head of the UMC’s Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns, said the fact that the church leaders are raising concerns “should at least give us pause.”
Pickens, who is black, was dismissed as head of the New York-based agency on Dec. 5. The black church leaders say the commission was never given the chance to vote on re-electing Pickens. Instead, they were asked to approve a motion to elect retired UMC Bishop Fritz Mutti as interim leader of the commission and begin a search to replace Pickens.
Three leaders of historically black Methodist denominations sit on the UMC commission to strengthen relations among denominations. Non-UMC members include Bishop E. Earl McCloud Jr. of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Lula K. Howard of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, and Juanita Bryant of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church.
While the eventual vote, 21-19, to appoint Mutti did not strictly fall along racial lines, McCloud told United Methodist News Service that it also did not “seem very fair” to Pickens. McCloud said it was not “a right signal” as the UMC addresses issues of institutional racism.
Asked in a recent interview if racism was a possible factor in the firing, Pickens said he can’t “judge what the people (who voted against him) were thinking,” but said those raising the concerns “have the most objectivity in the process because they don’t have an axe to grind.”
He added that, “Racism is a reality in the United Methodist Church and we need to address that.”
Pickens had earlier said his dismissal was likely due to disagreements over his advocacy of social justice issues and his leadership style, which he said in retrospect, could have been more “consultative.”
United Methodist Bishop Ann Sherer, the commission’s president, has said she would not comment beyond saying that the commission’s decision was a personnel issue conducted in executive session. She said it was routine for the body to annually re-elect a chief executive or approve new leadership.
_ Chris Herlinger
Analysis says clergy turning dollars toward Democrats
WASHINGTON (RNS) Clergy and staffers of religious organizations are giving more to Democratic campaigns this year, marking a shift from four years ago when Republicans had the advantage.
Contributions to candidates, parties and committees from clergy and other individuals affiliated with religious groups has totaled $655,250, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks campaign donations.
Fifty-six percent of that money went to Democrats, based on the center’s analysis of Federal Election Commission data on giving in the first three quarters of 2007.
By contrast, at the same point in 2003, clergy and religious staffers had given a total of $461,600 in contributions to candidates, parties and committees, with 59 percent going to Republicans.
Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., was the top recipient of these funds among all presidential candidates at the end of the third quarter of 2007, with $109,850.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney was the top Republican recipient, with $39,350. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee received the third highest Republican contributions from this category of donors, with $22,900, behind Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback, who has dropped out of the race.
Massie Ritsch, a spokesman for the nonpartisan research center, said there has been a shift in giving among contributors from a range of categories, with more Democratic donations.
“That’s just the trend that you see all over,” he said. “They’ve at least become more Democratic in their giving … since the last election. The Democratic presidential candidates have raised far more money than the Republican candidates.”
_ Adelle M. Banks
Religious leaders urge peace between US, Iran
(RNS) More than 60 Jewish, Christian and Muslim leaders have issued a call for the U.S. and Iran to make peace.
The petition, titled “A Pax on Both Our Houses,” asked the U.S. government to build peace with Iran, and demanded that Tehran end threats against Israel and stop denials of the Holocaust and the country’s alleged nuclear weapons program.
Citing both the Bible and Quran, the writers argued: “It is shameful in the eyes of God for Christians, Jews and Muslims to incite hatred against each other. This hatred leads to war, and then war becomes a justification for more hatred.”
The petition, which ran in a full-page ad in The Des Moines Register, was sponsored by the Shalom Center, along with the Iowa Chapter of the Methodist Federation for Social Action.
The content of the petition changed after recent U.S. intelligence reports suggested that Iran had abandoned its nuclear weapons program.
“Until then, (the petition) had been focused on what the moral, ethical, practical and human life consequences of a war would be. After that came out, it seemed clear to us that even this administration was not likely going to go to war,” said Rabbi Arthur Waskow, director of the Shalom Center. “The real question then became: Are we going to move forward to make peace?”
_ Kat Glass
Al Gore named `Baptist of the Year’
(RNS) Former Vice President Al Gore has been named “Baptist of the Year” by EthicsDaily.com, the Web site of the Baptist Center for Ethics.
“He has pressed for the global good with a compelling message about the danger of climate change and a clear call for moral responsibility, knitting together science and faith, reason and passion,” wrote Robert Parham, the center’s executive director, in an announcement of Gore’s selection.
“He has refused to be distracted by the character-assassins, the fear-mongers, the science-deniers and the merchants of short-term gain. He has remained faithful to his mission of protecting the earth and its inhabitants.”
The Baptist Center for Ethics, based in Nashville, Tenn., was founded in 1991 and is supported by moderate Baptist groups.
Parham noted that Gore’s fellow Baptists have not always supported the vice president’s efforts.
“Regrettably no Baptist has received less applause from Baptists than Gore, a shameful but not unexpected reality from a people snarled in religious fear, suspicious of science and stuck in the rut of spiritualized reading of the Bible,” Parham wrote.
The EthicsDaily.com honor comes two months after Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize with the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for their work on global warming.
_ Adelle M. Banks
Accused killer asks to meet with father/pastor
ELYRIA, Ohio (RNS) A 16-year-old boy accused of murdering his mother and trying to kill his father has created a peculiar legal dilemma by making a seemingly ordinary request.
Daniel Petric has asked that his father, the Rev. Mark Petric, visit him at the Lorain County Jail as a minister. What makes the request unusual _ and troubling to prosecutors _ is that it could make their conversations confidential.
As a parent, Mark Petric could be forced to testify about what he and his son talked about during a jailhouse visit. But common law allows a conversation between a clergyman and an inmate to be kept private. Petric is pastor of New Life Assembly of God in Wellington.
Jack King, director of public affairs for the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, said the situation is very unusual.
“I would think it would take a lot of legal research to find a precedent,” King said.
Lorain County Common Pleas Judge James Burge will have to decide whether to allow Mark Petric to visit his son as a minister.
Prosecutor Dennis Will objected Wednesday (Dec. 26) to the request, saying the father is a key witness to the fatal shooting on Oct. 20, as well as a victim.
Will added that allowing the father to visit as a minister would give the younger Petric additional visitation privileges. Inmates can have clergy visit as often as they want but are entitled to only 30 minutes a week from other visitors.
The boy’s attorney, James Kersey, vehemently denied he had requested that the father be given minister status so as to keep the conversations with his son confidential. But Kersey would not explain why he made the request.
_ Molly Kavanaugh
Watchdog group rates best ministries
(RNS) MinistryWatch.com has released an honor roll of 30 evangelical Christian ministries cited for financial openness and Christian identity.
In its third annual study, the Matthews, N.C.-based fiscal watchdog group picked the nonprofit organizations based on financial transparency, mission, and clear self-definition as evangelical Christian ministries.
During a roughly yearlong process, MinistryWatch.com examined Internal Revenue Service documents and other specific information about each of the nonprofits’ internal dealings. The group maintains a zero-tolerance policy, excluding organizations that suggest any financial “red flags,” said Rod Pitzer, the managing director of research for MinistryWatch.com and principal author of the study.
MinistryWatch.org also requires a statement of faith to ensure that the ministries are, in fact, Christian.
“I think most people would think, `Well, of course. … But that’s not always the case,” Pitzer said. “Some organizations don’t necessarily want to give out a statement of faith or what they believe.”
Rusty Leonard, the president of MinistryWatch.com, said that 10 years ago, organizations used to balk at the request for financial documents. Now some nonprofits are voluntarily posting the information on their Web sites.
“Once they realized that organizations like ours were going to treat that information with respect _ not twist it or turn it _ they realized this is a good thing,” Leonard said.
But there’s still work to be done.
“There’s always a handful out there who will come up with every excuse under the sun why they shouldn’t give information out,” Pitzer said.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, is currently investigating the finances of six prominent evangelical ministries. Grassley, the top-ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, has emphasized a need to ensure church ministries are following tax law.
MinistryWatch.com’s 2007-2008 list of 30 “Shining Light” ministries includes: Ameritribes; AnGeL Ministries; Answers in Genesis; Awana Clubs International; Bethany Christian Services; Bridges for Peace; Care Net; Child Evangelism Fellowship; Children’s Hunger Fund; Christian Legal Society; Compassion International; Crown Financial Ministries; EvanTell; Fellowship International Mission; International Aid; JAARS; Medical Teams International; Military Community Youth Ministry; Moms in Touch International; New Tribes Mission; Prison Fellowship Ministries; Ravi Zacharias International Ministries; Ron Hutchcraft Ministries; Scripture Union USA; Stand to Reason; Truth for Life; Turkish World Outreach; The Voice of the Martyrs; Wycliffe Bible Translators; and Young Life.
_ Kat Glass
Judge halts Oregon civil-unions law
PORTLAND, Ore. (RNS) A federal judge blocked Oregon’s domestic partnership law for gays and lesbians from taking effect Tuesday (Jan. 1), saying opponents should have a chance to make their case for a statewide election on civil unions.
The surprise ruling came just days before gay couples would be eligible for most of the same legal benefits of marriage. Couples across Oregon had planned to show up at county offices to register as partners.
But U.S. District Judge Michael Mosman ruled that they will have to wait.
Mosman set a Feb. 1 hearing to hear a lawsuit by gay-rights opponents challenging the state’s methods for verifying voter signatures. Opponents gathered signatures last summer to try to overturn civil unions on the November 2008 ballot but were rejected by state officials.
Elections officials determined that they fell 96 signatures short of the 55,179 needed for a referendum on a law passed by the Legislature.
Mosman said attorneys for opponents showed that the rights of voters may have been violated if their signatures were wrongly rejected.
The ruling doesn’t affect a companion state law that will take effect next week to ban discrimination against gays in work, housing and public places.
Supporters of the new law were stunned by the judge’s decision.
“It’s unfortunate that families are once again bearing the brunt of this ongoing struggle,” said Jeana Frazzini, executive director of Basic Rights Oregon. “This is a long-term movement for equality in Oregon. … In this case, I still believe we will prevail.”
_ Suzanne Pardington
Secular Coalition of America Joins Civil Rights Group
WASHINGTON (RNS) The Secular Coalition for America has been accepted as a new member of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, the coalition announced.
“This decision says as much about the LCCR and its willingness to acknowledge and include nontheists as it does about the Secular Coalition and its recognition of our theistic allies who support our rights,” said Lori Lipman Brown, director of the Washington-based coalition.
Her group is one of eight that joined the conference in 2007, and aims to work with it on issues of equal justice, mutual respect and equal opportunity.
Brown said the move marks the first time the civil rights organization has included a nontheist advocacy group whose members include atheists, humanists or others who do not believe in God.
Several religious groups have already been aligned with the Washington-based conference, including the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Unitarian Universalist Association and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.
_ Adelle M. Banks
Alumnus sues to put Bible verse on brick
WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (RNS) James Pursley says he is a “proud alumnus of Penn State University” and a “devout Christian” who wants to memorialize pride in his alma mater by buying a brick on the Alumni Walk.
Pursley, of Chicago, wants his name, year of graduation and “Joshua 24:15” (not the full verse) inscribed on the brick he has tried since April to buy for $250.
Pursley says the university rejected the inscription as offensive and offered a refund or the opportunity to change the message.
The 2001 graduate in management services and information systems rejected the offers and filed a civil rights suit in U.S. Middle District Court, calling the university’s action “a blatant case of content viewpoint discrimination against religious speech in a public forum.”
Pursley, a life member of the alumni association, is suing the university and three officials of the alumni association. A Penn State representative could not be reached for comment on Monday (Dec. 31).
Pursley said he felt there was nothing “offensive” or “inappropriate” about his desired message, and in his lawsuit quoted several inscriptions that have been allowed on the walk, including: “May God Bless/Penn State”; “Merry Christmas”; and “For The Glory/& The Girlies”.
The alumni association tells those who want to buy bricks on the walk that it has the right to deny any application. Purchasers are told inscriptions may not contain commercial messages or company names.
“Discriminatory or inappropriate” references to “age, ancestry, color, disability or handicap, national origin, race, religious creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or veteran status” are also barred.
Pursley states in the lawsuit he was told in August or early September his inscription was rejected because policy prevented religious messages.
_ John Beauge
Quote of the Week: Bishop Thomas W. Weeks III of Duluth, Ga.
(RNS) “I would like for us to be friends in the future. I don’t think there is an absolute possibility that we will never reconcile.”
_ Bishop Thomas W. Weeks III, senior pastor of Global Destiny Church in Duluth, Ga., speaking to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution about a pending divorce from his wife, evangelist Juanita Bynum. He has been charged with assaulting his wife, but told the newspaper that he is the one who has been physically abused.
KRE/LF END RNS
