c. 2008 Religion News Service
Archbishop tells Kansas governor not to take Communion
(RNS) Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius should not receive Communion until she publicly repudiates her support for abortion rights and confesses her error, said Roman Catholic Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, Kan.
Naumann said he asked the governor to stop receiving Communion in a letter last August, but learned recently that Sebelius took the sacrament at a Kansas parish.
“The spiritually lethal message, communicated by our governor, as well as many other high profile Catholics in public life, has been in effect: `The church’s teaching on abortion is optional!”’ Naumann writes.
The archbishop said Sebelius should not take Communion until she has “acknowledged the error of her past positions, made a worthy sacramental confession and taken the necessary steps for amendment of her life,” including “a public repudiation of her … support of laws and policies sanctioning abortion.”
Governor since 2003, Sebelius has vetoed several legislative efforts to restrict abortions in Kansas, most recently on April 21. A Democrat, she is often floated as a possible running mate for presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.
A spokeswoman for Sebelius said the governor will reply to Naumann in a letter but declined to say when the letter would be made public.
The Communion debate has simmered since 2004, when several bishops said they would deny the sacrament to then-presidential candidate John Kerry, D-Mass., because he supports abortion rights.
The issue resurfaced last month, when several Catholic lawmakers who support abortion rights took Communion at Masses celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI in Washington and New York City.
Cardinal Edward Egan of New York said former Mayor Rudy Giuliani broke their “understanding” by taking Communion at a papal Mass Apri 19. Earlier that week, Kerry, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., took Communion at a papal Mass at a baseball stadium.
In response to the controversy, Washington’s Archbishop Donald Wuerl said the decision to refuse Communion to an individual “should be made only after clear efforts to persuade and convince the person that their actions are wrong and bear moral consequences.”
“Presumably, this is one in the home diocese (of of the politician) where the bishops and priests, the pastors of souls, engage the members of their flock in this type of discussion,” Wuerl wrote in the archdiocesan newspaper.
_ Daniel Burke
Pope asks Israel to resolve stalled tax issue
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Asserting that “all peoples have a right to be given equal opportunities to flourish,” Pope Benedict XVI on Monday (May 12) voiced concern for Israel’s dwindling Christian minority, and called for a relaxation of travel restrictions on the country’s Palestinians.
The pope made his remarks on in a meeting with Mordechay Lewy, the new Israeli ambassador to the Holy See.
Benedict also called for a “positive and expeditious resolution” of longstanding tax and legal disputes between Israel and the Vatican.
The two states established diplomatic relations in 1993, at which time Israel promised to regularize the legal status of church activities within its borders.
Two major issues remain unresolved, however: the Vatican’s property claims, and its right to tax exemption in the Holy Land.
In recent years, local and regional governments have begun pressing for back taxes on Catholic hospitals and other properties that are not traditional houses of worship, which are generally tax-exempt.
Negotiations also aim to establish the Holy See’s official status as a major landowner in Israel. At issue is whether Israel will cede jurisdiction over religious properties from the executive branch to the courts.
Yet another issue, which Benedict mentioned specifically on Monday, is the Vatican’s difficulty in obtaining Israeli visas for church personnel, especially those hailing from Arab countries.
Representatives of Israel and the Vatican last met in December in Jerusalem, and adjourned without reporting significant progress in the talks. Negotiators are scheduled to meet again in Rome on May 28.
_ Francis X. Rocca
New pastor of Yale University’s congregation announced
(RNS) Yale University has announced the appointment of a new pastor to its University Church, which is the oldest college-affiliated church in the country.
The Rev. Ian Oliver will serve as pastor of the University Church and senior associate chaplain for Protestant life at the New Haven, Conn., university. The church was founded in 1757 and is the ecumenical congregation that meets within Battell Chapel on Yale’s campus.
Oliver begins in July, succeeding the Rev. Martha Highsmith, who has held the position on an interim basis and will continue her role as deputy secretary of the university.
Oliver, who has served as chaplain of Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pa., will support the Protestant campus ministries on Yale’s campus.
“At Bucknell, I have had the privilege of serving as pastor to the interdenominational Protestant church on campus,” said Oliver, who is an ordained minister of the United Church of Christ. “I believe that working effectively with a full range of Protestant/Evangelical/Pentecostal Christian groups is, in many ways, the key to opening up campus religious diversity in its fullness.”
A native of El Paso, Texas, Oliver was an associate chaplain of a multicultural, international school in South India before beginning his work at Bucknell.
Yale University dropped its connection with the United Church of Christ in 2005 and on its Web site describes the University Church as an “ecumenical, worshipping community.”
_ Adelle M. Banks
Quote of the Day: Seminary student Tyler Braun
(RNS) “I just keep thinking, if Jesus were alive now, he wouldn’t necessarily be voting Republican.”
_ Tyler Braun, a seminary student in Portland, Ore., talking to the Seattle Times about why he plans (and other evangelicals) plan to vote for Sen. Barack Obama in November.
KRE/LF END RNS
