c. 2008 Religion News Service
Presbyterian high court bars noncelibate gay clergy
(RNS) The high court of the Presbyterian Church (USA) has issued a landmark decision that unequivocally bars noncelibate gay and lesbian clergy and halts recent attempts to compromise on ordination standards.
Ministerial candidates in the PCUSA are required to be in faithful heterosexual marriages or remain celibate, though a compromise reached in 2006 was thought to potentially loosen those standards.
No such loosening is allowed, ruled the General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission, the 16-member high court of the PCUSA, on Feb. 11. The “fidelity and chastity” requirement is “a mandatory standard that cannot be waived,” the court ruled.
While candidates for ordination may disagree with those standards, they are still required to obey them, the court said. The standards themselves can only be changed through a constitutional amendment at a biennial General Assembly, according to the court.
In 2006, Presbyterians passed an “authoritative interpretation” of the constitution that many saw as a compromise, which would allow gay and lesbian candidates to declare a conscientious objection, or “scruple,” to the ordination standard. The local presbytery, or governing body, could then decide whether the candidate’s scruple touched on an “essential” of the faith.
In January, Lisa Larges, a lesbian, used the “scruple” policy to pursue a path to ministry in the San Francisco Presbytery. Later that month, Minnesota Presbyterians approved the re-ordination of a gay man, Paul Capetz, who left ministry eight years ago because he would not take the celibacy vow.
“The San Francisco case does get stopped in its tracks,” said Jack Haberer, editor-in-chief of The Presbyterian Outlook and a member of the task force that brokered the ordination compromise. But since Capetz has already been re-ordained, someone would have to seek to defrock him, Haberer said.
Capetz said the ruling left him “baffled.” He said he would not relinquish his ordination and that he had been certain the new “scruple” policy opened the door to gay and lesbian clergy.
“Everyone I talked to saw it that way. We thought a new way had opened up,” Capetz said Tuesday (Feb. 19).
Conservative Presbyterians, however, were pleased by the ruling.
“We can now rest assured that our standards for ordination in the PCUSA continue to reflect the clear teaching of Scripture and the plain meaning of our constitution,” the Louisville, Ky.-based Presbyterians for Renewal said in a statement.
Daniel Burke
Wheaton officials withdraw from letter to Muslims
(RNS) The president of Wheaton College, a flagship evangelical institution in Illinois, and two other school officials have removed their names from a letter that called for cooperation with Muslims.
The open letter, drafted by Yale Divinity School’s Center for Faith and Culture, was originally published with 130 signatories in The New York Times in November in response to a letter from more than 100 Muslim leaders.
“I signed the statement because I am committed to the business of peacemaking and neighbor-love,” said Wheaton President Duane Litfin in a Feb. 8 open letter to readers of The Wheaton Record, the student newspaper.
But after prompting from some evangelical critics, he restudied the document and decided that he did not agree with its language seeking forgiveness for Christian sins against Muslims. He also thought discussions of “our common love for God” might be misunderstood.
“The statement was not carefully enough crafted to avoid encouraging that basic premise of civil religion; i.e., that we are all worshipping the same God,” said Litfin. “As a matter of principle over the years, I have made it a point to avoid becoming complicit in this cultural premise, denying as it does the unique claims of Christ.”
Litfin’s colleagues, Provost Stanton Jones and Chaplain Stephen Kellough, also had their names removed from the statement.
Andrew Saperstein, the associate director of the Yale center’s Reconciliation Program, said the three are the only ones who have asked for removal of their names from the document, which has grown to about 600 total supporters.
“While I’m disappointed that he (Litfin) chose to withdraw his name, I have great respect for the way in which he did so,” Saperstein said.
Saperstein, a drafter of the document and an evangelical Christian himself, said he didn’t think the response specifically stated that Christians and Muslims worship the same God, but said that determining ways to communicate “theological truths” can cause concern among conservative Christians.
“This is territory that a lot of Christian leaders in the West just haven’t tried before and so I think it’s raising some challenges,” he said. “It’s stirring up very important dialogue within the conservative evangelical community.”
_ Adelle M. Banks
William & Mary president resigns after cross controversy
(RNS) Following public criticism over the removal of a chapel cross and a racy campus show, the president of the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va., resigned on Tuesday (Feb. 12).
The resignation of Gene R. Nichol, who had led the public university since 2005, comes after he was told on Sunday that his contract would not be renewed in July.
Nichol said in a statement that he and his family were victimized by “a committed, relentless, frequently untruthful and vicious campaign _ on the Internet and in the press.”
In 2006, William & Mary removed a cross from permanent display in the campus chapel, a move criticized by some alumni and conservative activists. One donor threatened to withhold a multimillion-dollar pledge.
Under a compromise, the cross was later kept in a display case and was to be placed on the altar by request.
Nichol defended those decisions Tuesday, saying that it was necessary for a chapel “used regularly for secular college events _ both voluntary and mandatory _ in order to help Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and other religious minorities feel more meaningfully included as members of our broad community.”
The former president tied his actions to the legacy of William & Mary alumnus Thomas Jefferson, who, Nichol said, “argued for a `wall of separation between church and state.”’
Nichol was also criticized for allowing a theatrical show by sex workers to be performed last week. He said stopping the production would have violated the Constitution’s First Amendment and the “traditions of openness and inquiry that sustain great universities.”
William & Mary’s Board of Visitors said the decision not to extend Nichol’s contract “was not in any way based on ideology or any single public controversy.”
_ Daniel Burke
Rabbis upset over Good Friday prayers
(RNS) Conservative rabbis expressed their “dismay” this week over a traditional Good Friday prayer that calls for the conversion of Jews that Pope Benedict XVI revised but left largely intact.
In a last-minute resolution added to the agenda of the Rabbinical Assembly’s annual convention in Washington, the Conservative rabbis voted unanimously Tuesday (Feb. 12) to label the pope’s action a setback in years of improved Jewish-Catholic relations.
The Good Friday prayer _ used only in the Latin Mass that was revived by the pope last summer _ now includes a plea for God to “enlighten” the hearts of Jews, “that they may acknowledge Jesus Christ as the savior of all men.”
In response, the 1,600-member Rabbinical Assembly’s resolution states that it is “dismayed and deeply disturbed” by the revision and will “seek clarifaction from the Vatican of the meaning and status of the new text for the Latin liturgy.”
At the same time, the head of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Culture downplayed tensions with Jewish groups, saying the Good Friday prayer is more an “expression of affection” for Christianity’s roots in the Jewish faith.
“It is not … a missionary strategy of conversion” Archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi wrote in a front-page article in Friday’s (Feb. 15) edition of L’Osservatore Romano, the official Vatican newspaper. “… One wishes a reality that one holds precious and salvific for the persons whom one regards as near, dear and significant.”
Jewish groups are particularly concerned the prayer may hamper 40 years of improved Catholic-Jewish relations, ever since the church acknowledged an existing Jewish covenant with God and largely dropped calls for Jewish conversions.
“Our relationship with the church is really very good,” said Rabbi Joel Meyers, executive vice president of the Rabbinical Assembly. “So it is rather disappointing to find there is a theological issue that comes back in to play at this particular time when so much progress has been made, and although various church authorities are saying, well, it is just a minor matter, it really raises certain theological issues again.”
_ Rachel Pomerance and Francis X. Rocca
Billy Graham recovering from surgical procedure
(RNS) Evangelist Billy Graham has “rested well” after undergoing an elective procedure on Wednesday (Feb. 13) to relieve pressure in his brain.
Graham, 89, underwent the procedure at Mission Hospitals in Asheville, N.C., near his home in Montreat.
“He rested well overnight and … has been up walking this morning,” said A. Larry Ross, Graham’s spokesman, on Thursday.
The evangelist has hydrocephalus, or a buildup of fluid on the brain that can cause symptoms similar to Parkinson’s disease. In recent days, he had experienced more of those symptoms. Doctors determined that a valve for a shunt implanted in 2000 needed to be replaced to continue regulation of the pressure on Graham’s brain.
“He was bright and alert and conscious immediately after surgery and called me by name,” said neurosurgeon Ralph C. Loomis in a statement after the 28-minute procedure.
Graham, who was in fair condition Thursday after the “minimally invasive procedure,” received a call from President Bush wishing him well, Ross said.
He said Graham, who is considering a new book project, is expected to remain in the hospital for several days.
_ Adelle M. Banks
IRS probes Huckabee endorsement by Calif. pastor
WASHINGTON (RNS) The Internal Revenue Service is questioning a Southern Baptist pastor in California who endorsed Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, his lawyer said.
Pastor Wiley Drake of First Southern Baptist Church of Buena Park received a Feb. 5 letter expressing concerns about an Aug. 11 press release issued on his church’s letterhead about the endorsement. The IRS letter notes that churches are prohibited from participating in political campaigns by supporting or opposing candidates.
Erik Stanley, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, is representing Drake and said the endorsement was a personal one. Drake, a former second vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention, later issued a second statement clarifying that his was a personal endorsement.
“This is not a church endorsement,” Stanley said.
Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which sought the IRS inquiry on Aug. 14, welcomed the agency’s action.
“This is a clear signal to clergy that the IRS is serious about enforcing federal tax law,” said the Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of the Washington-based watchdog group.
_ Adelle M. Banks
Catholic religious orders in midst of `spiritual weariness,’ says Pope
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI deplored a “crisis” in the Catholic Church’s traditional religious orders, which he said suffered from aging membership and a lack of spiritual vigor. But the pontiff celebrated the “enthusiasm, generosity and joy” exemplified by newer groups.
Benedict made his comments at a meeting of Vatican officials and heads of religious orders on Tuesday (Feb. 19).
Older religious orders are passing through “a difficult crisis owing to the aging of their members, a more or less accentuated diminution of vocations,and also at times a spiritual and charismatic weariness,” the pope said.
Linking the problem to the faithlessness of “modern globalized society,” Benedict said that the “process of secularization advancing in contemporary culture unfortunately does not in fact spare religious communities.”
The pope’s statement echoed recent remarks by the top Vatican official in charge of religious orders.
Cardinal Franc Rode told an Italian newspaper last week that the fact that many clergy, nuns and brothers do not wear traditional habits reflects a “climate of secularization” that endangers religious life.
Among other signs of secularization, the cardinal noted “devaluation of prayer, an insufficient community life, and a scarce sense of obedience.”
Last month, Rode told a gathering of Jesuits, the church’s largest order, that he felt “sorrow and anxiety” over the failure of “some members of religious families” to “think with the church” and obey the hierarchy.
Francis X. Rocca
Alaska diocese to declare bankruptcy
(RNS) The Catholic Diocese of Fairbanks, Alaska, plans to file for bankruptcy after failed talks with an insurer and mounting legal expenses from clergy sex-abuse claims, becoming the sixth U.S. diocese to seek Chapter 11 protection.
Fairbanks Bishop Donald J. Kettler said, “I am legally and morally bound to both fulfill our mission and to pursue healing for those injured.” The Chapter 11 filing could come within five weeks, Kettler said.
More than 140 people have filed some 150 claims against the diocese in Alaska state court, according to the diocese. Those cases are “decades old, stretching from the 1950s through the early 1980s,” the diocese said in a statement.
Settlement talks with attorneys for the victims began last summer, the diocese said, but were scuttled by “the reluctance of a key insurance carrier to participate meaningfully in the process.” Costly legal expenses also drove the decision to file for bankruptcy, according to Kettler.
The Catholic dioceses of Spokane, Wash., Portland, Ore., Tucson, Ariz., Davenport, Iowa, and San Diego have also filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy because of sex-abuse lawsuits. All but Davenport have emerged with judge-approved settlements. A judge is scheduled to hold hearings on Davenport’s settlement and plan for reorganization March 5, according to the diocese.
The Fairbanks diocese, which encompasses Northern Alaska, is the nation’s largest geographically and is the only U.S. diocese under the Vatican’s missionary wing. Only eight of the diocese’s 46 parishes are financially self-sustaining, said Kettler.
_ Daniel Burke
WCC head decides against second term
(RNS) The Rev. Samuel Kobia, general secretary of the World Council of Churches, announced Monday (Feb. 18) that he will not seek a second term as head of the Geneva-based ecumenical body, citing personal reasons.
WCC moderator the Rev. Walter Altmann said he would not speculate as to why Kobia, a Kenyan Methodist and the first African to lead the WCC, decided not to seek another term. Kobia’s current term ends in December.
The WCC’s main governing body, the central committee, “received this news with regret but accepts the decision of the general secretary,” Altmann said in a statement.
The announcement comes less than a week after the WCC said a Louisiana-based institution that granted Kobia a doctorate in 2004 had lost it accreditation to grant degrees while Kobia was enrolled.
Kobia’s decision also came after a prominent member of the WCC central committee, Bishop Martin Hein of the Evangelical Church in Germany, told a reporter that Kobia was traveling too much outside of Geneva.
Hein said that the WCC had not been able to develop “visions and perspectives that are able to be communicated,” reported Ecumenical News International (ENI), a Geneva-based news agency with ties to the WCC.
Altmann said Kobia “has our full support to carry on his duties until the end of his term.” He said the WCC’s executive committee would meet in September to appoint an acting general secretary who would begin work in 2009, ENI reported.
Kobia informed the committee of his decision just prior to deliberations on whether to re-appoint him to a second term. Kobia was appointed to head the WCC in 2003. Among Kobia’s priorities as general secretary has been dialogue with Pentecostals, a faith group with little formal affiliation with the WCC, a body of 349-member denominations.
Chris Herlinger
Quote of the Week: Evangelical leader Richard Cizik
(RNS) “In spite of their best efforts to steer people to another candidate … they failed. Why? Because the people said, `I don’t care who you think I should vote for. I’m going to vote for who I want to vote for.”’
_ The Rev. Richard Cizik, vice president for governmental affairs of the National Association of Evangelicals, speaking about religious right leaders at a Brookings Institution forum on “Religion and the Swing Vote” in Washington.
END RNS
