c. 2008 Religion News Service

New York governor sued over same-sex marriage directive

(RNS) A conservative Christian legal group filed suit against New York Gov. David Paterson after he issued a directive permitting the recognition of same-sex marriages from other states.

The Alliance Defense Fund filed the complaint Tuesday (June 3) on behalf of New York taxpayers and lawmakers who seek a halt to the directive’s action.

“The future of marriage should be decided by the legislature, not executives who take matters into their own hands,” said Brian Raum, a senior legal counsel with the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based legal alliance.

“New Yorkers have a fundamental right to set marriage policy through the legislative process, but the governor has ordered a radical redefinition of marriage without the consent of the governed.”

In late May, Paterson said his May 14 directive follows other situations where New York has recognized out-of-state marriages.

“We would extend to people who were married in other states, whether of opposite sex or of the same sex, the same equal opportunities in New York as we have granted those marriages traditionally that existed in other states by law,” he said.

His directive took on added importance on Wednesday after the California Supreme Court rejected petitions to stay its ruling until after the November elections, when a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage will be on the ballot.

That means same-sex couples can start getting married in California on June 17. Because California has no residency requirement for marriage, out-of-state gay couples could marry in California and then ask for those marriages to be recognized in their home states.

A new USA Today/Gallup Poll shows that 63 percent of adults surveyed view marriages between two people of the same sex as solely “a private decision.” While 33 percent of adults overall said the government has the right “to prohibit or allow” such marriages, 56 percent of those attending religious services weekly said the government should have such a role.

_ Adelle M. Banks

De Santis named head of Episcopal Life Media

(RNS) The Episcopal Church has chosen a veteran newswoman with experience in the secular and religious press to be the new editor of Episcopal Life Media.

Solange De Santis, a native New Yorker who has reported for Reuters, the Wall Street Journal, and the Anglican Journal of Canada, will begin her new position July 1, the church announced.

Since 2000, De Santis had been a staff writer at the Anglican Journal, the the national newspaper of the Anglican Church of Canada.

As editor, De Santis will supervise content for ELM’s online and print editions and help guide Episcopal Life, a monthly newspaper with a circulation of 225,000, the church said.

She will also work to synergize the church’s multi-media communications, including Episcopal News Service, parish bulletin inserts, e-mail releases, and videos, according to an ENS release.

“The Episcopal Church’s communications platforms continue to break new ground in reaching out to all the church’s constituents,” De Santis said. “I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to contribute to this work.”

De Santis succeeds Jerry Hames, who retired in 2007 after 17 years

with Episcopal Life Media.

De Santis was unanimously recommended by a five-member advisory panel that included Kevin Eckstrom, editor of Religion News Service.

_ Daniel Burke

Birmingham program tries to keep young Jews in the city

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (RNS) For more than 125 years, the Jewish community here has been at the core of the city’s social and business scene.

Keeping it that way as the younger generation typically moves away after college requires an organized effort. That’s where Caren Seligman steps in.

“My goal is to have one child from every family to settle here,” said Seligman, coordinator of the Birmingham Jewish Federation’s “You Belong in Birmingham” project.

Seligman plays the role of youth recruiter, job finder, social director and even matchmaker. She wants Jewish children who grow up in Birmingham to return after college, get married, settle down and raise their children here.

She also works to attract to Birmingham young Jewish professionals who grew up elsewhere. “I feel like all these people are my children,” she said.

Seligman quit a 17-year career in promotional advertising to take the job promoting Birmingham as an attractive outpost for Jewish young people. Her own daughter and mother have recently moved to Birmingham. She helps young Jewish people look for jobs and meet others their age.

“When they move away, I take it personally,” Seligman said. “When they don’t get the jobs, I get upset.”

Sometimes, for young singles, it boils down to whether someone can find a potential husband or wife in the city’s small Jewish dating pool. “I wanted my spouse to be someone who is Jewish,” said Jessica Smith, 23, who grew up in Birmingham but moved to Atlanta for a while.

Evan Rhodes, 27, moved to Birmingham from Cleveland for a sales job. Seligman helped introduce him to Smith. They are now engaged and planning to settle here.

“Birmingham was just going to be a step in my career; it wasn’t going to be a permanent stop,” Rhodes said.

Now he roots for Seligman’s efforts. “We want to have a strong Jewish community for our children,” Rhodes said.

The “You Belong” program started two years ago as a recruitment and social networking effort, part of an overall plan called “Our Next 100 Years.” This fall, the federation plans events for Jewish students at college campuses in Alabama.

_ Greg Garrison

Quote of the Day: Retired Catholic Bishop Joseph Sullivan of Brooklyn

(RNS) “There has to be a consistency in what we say and what we do. People point out that (the church has) all the documents to show that we think about these (labor issues), but when we come to doing, there’s a slip between the cup and the lip.”

_ Retired Catholic Bishop Joseph Sullivan of Brooklyn, speaking to the Catholic Healthcare Administrative Personnel program in New York about the church’s support for labor rights within Catholic institutions. He was quoted by Catholic News Service.

KRE/RB END RNS