c. 2008 Religion News Service
Hagee vows never to endorse another candidate
WASHINGTON (RNS) Speaking to more than 3,000 followers gathered here, Texas megachurch pastor John Hagee said the “vicious national media firestorm” over his inflammatory remarks about Jews and Catholics has not weakened his vocal support for Israel.
“We’re stronger than we’ve ever been,” he said Tuesday (July 22) at the annual convention of Christians United for Israel, a group started by Hagee in 2006. “We’re here to stay, and we’re not going away.”
Sen. John McCain rejected Hagee’s earlier endorsement after comments surfaced where the Christian-Zionist pastor denigrated the Catholic Church and suggested the Holocaust was God’s plan to push Jews back to Israel.
Hagee has said those comments were taken out of context, and at his group’s Night to Honor Israel banquet, said the political slight from McCain’s campaign has not gone unnoticed.
“What will I say the next time I am asked to endorse a presidential candidate?” he asked the crowd. “Never again!”
Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., who spoke at the event despite his support for McCain and criticism from Jewish groups, got a standing ovation before declaring: “I am your brother, Joseph.”
“As you know, there has been an organized and aggressive campaign to convince me to cancel my speech this evening,” he said. “But the bond I feel with Pastor John Hagee and each of you is much stronger than that, and so I am proud to stand with you here tonight.”
_ Mallika Rao
EEOC issues new workplace manual on religion
WASHINGTON (RNS) Citing changing demographics and a steady increase in complaints from people of faith, a federal agency on Tuesday (July 22) released an updated compliance manual on religious discrimination in the workplace.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued the guidance after consultation with religious groups, employers, and labor organizations. The number of religious-discrimination charges reported to the agency has more than doubled over the last 15 years.
“The goal here is to promote voluntary compliance, to get everyone on the same page, to let them know what the law is,” said David Grinberg, a spokesman for the agency. “We want to stop discrimination before it starts.”
The new manual provides safeguards for workers who request time off for religious observances, and protects workers whose faith requires they wear specific religious garments, such as a hijab, a head covering worn by some Muslim women.
Muslims have faced the sharpest increase in workplace discrimination of any major religious in recent years. Between 1997 and 2007, the number of discrimination charges filed by Muslims more than doubled, from 398 to 907. That figure peaked at 1,155 in 2002, in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.
Although religious-discrimination charges increased 13 percent nationally in 2007, Jews and Seventh-Day Adventists have both seen their total number of complaints decline in the past decade, while Catholics and Protestants have reported only a gradual increase.
The manual, which applies to any business with 15 or more employees, consolidated the results of recent litigation and policy pronouncements by the agency.
Allegations of religious discrimination still make a small fraction of the total number of complaints reported each year. Last year, just 3.5 percent of cases handled by the agency were religious in nature.
_ Tim Murphy
Heisman winner declines spot in Playboy lineup
(RNS) One year after winning college football’s highest honor, University of Florida star Tim Tebow was pulled from consideration for Playboy’s pre-season All-American team because the magazine conflicts with his Christian beliefs, a school official confirmed.
Tebow, who last year became the first sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy, comes from a family of missionaries and is a devout Baptist. Assistant Sports Information Director Zack Higbee said he chose not to nominate his quarterback for the Playboy spread based on what he knew about Tebow’s spirituality.
“I’ve been working with Tim since his first day here and I know his priorities and his family,” Higbee said. “He has that trust in me to make the decision.“
As a teenager, the home-schooled Tebow made annual trips to the Philippines, where his father, a minister, runs an orphanage. This year, he went on separate missions to the Philippines, Croatia, and Thailand.
Higbee said Tebow supported the move when told of it this month. Playboy Sports Editor Gary Cole downplayed the university’s decision, however, and said that Tebow would not have made the team anyway.
Tebow, 20, is not the first high-profile college athlete to reject Playboy for religious reasons. Danny Wuerffel, another Heisman-winning Gator and a childhood idol of Tebow’s, turned down a spot on the team in 1996. Georgia Tech senior Andrew Gardner made the cut for this year’s team but declined the award.
“Every two or three years, we might get someone who says `I don’t want to be on there’ or `my wife doesn’t want me to go’ or `my girlfriend doesn’t want me to go,’ or `because it doesn’t it fit with my personal religious viewpoints,”’ said Cole, who has selected the team for the last 22 years. “And that’s fine with us. We understand.”
_ Tim Murphy
Reid proposes federal anti-polygamy task force
WASHINGTON (RNS) Law enforcement officials from three Western states urged the creation of a federal task force to combat polygamy on Thursday (July 24) as members of a polygamous sect called it an attack on religious freedom.
The task force proposal is included as part of The Victims of Polygamy Assistance Act of 2008, which was introduced Wednesday by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., a Mormon and outspoken critic of polygamous groups.
The bill, currently before the Senate Judiciary Committee, aims to strengthen federal-state partnerships through sharing information and tracking criminal behavior of polygamist groups. The bill would also provide $2 million grants to both victims of polygamy and state investigation teams.
The proposal comes after a highly publicized raid at a polygamous compound in Texas in which more than 400 children were seized by state officials amid allegations of abuse. Most children have since been returned to their parents.
On Wednesday, Warren Jeffs, the imprisoned leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS), and four followers were indicted in Texas on charges of sexual assault of a child.
Reid and others have accused the insular polygamous groups of “organized crime” involving child abuse, welfare fraud and tax evasion. Reid said states _ which typically handle such cases _ do not have adequate resources to fully address the issue.
“The lawless conduct of polygamous communities in the United States deserves national attention and federal action,” Reid told the Judiciary Committee, later comparing polygamous leaders to mob bosses.
The proposal has support from the attorneys general of Texas and Arizona, as well as U.S. Attorney Gregory Brower of Nevada. U.S. Attorney Brett Tolman of Salt Lake City testified that a federal task force might be “too blunt an instrument” and suggested “subtler, more convert methods.”
FLDS representatives attended the hearing but were not permitted to speak despite prior requests, their lawyer said.
“If they were to create a task force for any other group _ Catholics, Jews _ there would be outrage,” said Jim Bradshaw, a Salt Lake City attorney and FLDS spokesman. “Do you demonize an entire group for the allegations of a few?”
_ Ashly McGlone
Catholic university withdraws invite to feminist theologian
(RNS) The University of San Diego last week rescinded an invitation to a controversial feminist theologian who had been planning to spend a semester teaching and lecturing on the Roman Catholic campus.
Rosemary Radford Ruether, a longtime advocate for Catholic women’s ordination and for less centralized authority in the Catholic Church, had received an invitation to occupy an endowed chair at USD in the fall of 2009. But upon further review, the school revoked Ruether’s invitation on July 18 and announced plans to search for a replacement.
Ruether, 71, has for decades challenged Catholic social teachings on abortion, contraception and other issues on the grounds that they derive unjustly from male-dominated theology. She has called Pope Benedict XVI “homophobic” and “an extreme reactionary in relation to sexual issues.”
“Given what the donor has described and the intent of the donor’s gift, she would not have been the most appropriate person for that particular donor, for that particular (lecture) series or chair,” said USD spokeswoman Pamela Gray Payton.
Payton declined to say which of Ruether’s credentials may have disqualified her.
According to a USD Web site description of the position, “chairholders are to be distinguished theologians who think from within the Roman Catholic tradition while exploring and expressing the tradition in contemporary contexts.”
The revoked invitation drew swift protest from the Women’s Ordination Conference, a group committed to opening the Catholic priesthood to women. The group, which includes Ruether on its national advisory committee, on Tuesday (July 22) demanded an apology to Ruether.
“This recent action only exacerbates the mounting oppression experienced by Catholic women,” said Aisha Taylor, executive director of the Women’s Ordination Conference, in a written statement.
Ruether did not respond to requests for comment.
_ G. Jeffrey MacDonald
Orthodox church destroyed on 9/11 signs deal to rebuild
(RNS) A New York City Greek Orthodox church destroyed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks will be rebuilt down the street from Ground Zero, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced on Thursday (July 24).
St. Nicholas Church will receive $20 million to rebuild less than a block away from the site where it stood for 85 years. The tentative agreement was the result of negotiations between representatives from St. Nicholas and the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, the Port Authority, and city and state agencies.
“(The move) represents the Port Authority’s firm resolve to do what is necessary to advance the rebuilding process as quickly as possible,” Port Authority chairman Anthony R. Coscia said in a statement.
Founded by Greek immigrants in 1916, St. Nicholas housed a collection of icons donated by Czar Nicholas II of Russia, and contained relics from three Greek Orthodox saints. All but a few items from the church’s collection were destroyed when the World Trade Center towers collapsed.
A spokesman for the Port Authority said that talks, which have been ongoing since 2001, picked up after the World Trade Center Assessment Report was released three weeks ago. The report, commissioned by New York Gov. David A. Paterson, listed St. Nicholas as one of 15 key issues to be resolved in the rebuilding effort.
Under the new plan, St. Nicholas will be rebuilt atop the Vehicle Security Center, the entrance point to a new underground parking garage.
“We’re excited about where we are at this point, recognizing that there’s still a long road ahead of us before the day that St. Nicholas opens it’s doors again,” said Peter Drakoulias, a board member of the church.
Since 2001, the church’s congregation has scattered across the city. The Rev. John Romas, who served at St. Nicholas, now serves at Sts. Constantine & Helen Cathedral in Brooklyn, where many of his roughly 100 parishioners have found a temporary home.
_ Tim Murphy
New prayers at Mass OK’d by Vatican
(RNS) The Vatican has approved a new English translation of the Order of Mass, clearing the way for significant changes to the familiar prayers spoken by a generation of American Catholics.
Cardinal Francis Arinze, prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, said he does not expect the changes to be “put into use immediately.”
The Vatican wants to allow time for priests and deacons to prepare lay Catholics and musicians for the changes, which are binding on all U.S. parishes, Arinze said.
Earlier this month, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops rejected a different section of newly translated Mass prayers, saying they were difficult to understand and pronounce. A number of bishops had also criticized the section just approved by the Vatican, to little avail.
Catholic officials say it will likely be several years before the new translations reach churches in the U.S., as 10 more sections of the Roman Missal _ the text that guides the Mass _ have yet to be approved.
The Order of Mass comprises the largest, and perhaps most familiar chunk of the missal, including prayers and responses spoken by U.S. Catholics for more than 30 years.
For example, the people’s prayer “Lord, I am not worthy to receive you,” will change to “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof.”
Pope John Paul II ordered the new translations to encourage greater fidelity to the original Latin of the Roman Missal. Translations into local languages after the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s were too hastily and sloppily produced, according to the late pope.
_ Daniel Burke
Colo. college wins fight over state scholarships
(RNS) A Christian college in Colorado that requires students to attend chapel, and staff to affirm that the Bible is “infallible,” should be allowed to receive state scholarship funds, a federal appeals courts has ruled.
The ruling by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver overturns a 2007 lower court decision that found Colorado Christian University “pervasively sectarian,” and thus ineligible for public money.
Staff at the college, based near Denver, are required to sign a statement professing that the Bible is authoritative and infallible; students are expected to attend chapel and lead ministries.
But Colorado policies barring some religious colleges from receiving state funds violates the Constitution, the 10th circuit ruled. Colorado allows students at Catholic and Methodist colleges to receive public scholarships.
“The First Amendment does not permit government officials to sit as judges of the indoctrination quotient of theology classes,” wrote circuit Judge Michael McConnell.
_ Daniel Burke
Student apologizes for swiping Obama’s prayer
JERUSALEM (RNS) An Israeli yeshiva student has apologized for removing a personal prayer that Sen. Barack Obama inserted into the Western Wall during a visit to Israel last week.
“I’m sorry. It was a kind of prank,” the student, identified only by the Hebrew initial “Aleph,” told reporters Sunday (July 27). “I hope (Obama) wasn’t hurt. We all believe he will take the presidency.”
The daily newspaper Ma’ariv faces legal sanctions after it published the contents of the note, written on King David Hotel stationery.
Obama reportedly wrote, “Lord _ protect my family and me. Forgive me my sins and help me guard against pride and despair. Give me the wisdom to do what is right and just. And make me an instrument of your will.”
The note has since been handed over to the Western Wall Heritage Foundation that manages the holy site, which reinserted it into one of the wall’s crevices.
The removal of the note, known as a “kvitel,” deeply upset religious Jews around the world, who consider the Western Wall, and the prayers placed between its ancient stones, sacrosanct.
Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, the religious leader in charge of the Western Wall complex, said the removal of Obama’s prayer was a “sacrilegious action” that “deserves sharp condemnation and represents a desecration of the holy site.”
The rabbi said that notes placed in the wall are removed twice a year, on the eve of the Rosh Hashana and Passover holidays, and placed “in a special repository for religious items, under supervision to keep them hidden from human eyes.”
Prayers placed in the Western Wall “are between the person and his Maker. Heaven forbid that one should read them or use them in any way,” Rabinowitz said.
_ Michele Chabin
Church hosts drive-through prayer ministry
MT. MORRIS TOWNSHIP, Mich. (RNS) Hold the pickles, mustard, ketchup, tomatoes, buns, burgers and french fries.
The only item on the menu in the Cathedral of Faith Church of God in Christ parking lot is prayers.
On Saturday (July 26), the church held its second drive-through prayer service, and dozens of people lined up for a few minutes of soul-searching. Volunteers held up signs that said, “Pull over for Prayer!”
Customers didn’t even have to get out of their cars. Those who pulled in filled out a form saying what they wanted to pray about and drove over to the other side of the church. Patrons rolled down their windows, and the Rev. Chris Martin or another minister held their hands and prayed while the cars idled.
Gail Liddell of Flint said she saw the signs and made a snap decision to pull in and pray for her 21-year-old daughter.
“She’s in boot camp in the (U.S.) Army. She’s stationed in South Carolina, where it’s, like, 100 degrees,” Liddell said. “She fainted three times from heat exhaustion, but this is something she really wanted to do.”
Martin said jobs, personal finances and health were the most frequent topics people asked to pray about.
“Taking the church to the people, to the streets, is what this is all about,” Martin said. “Praying inside the church and having services is nice, but the real problems are out here.”
_ Joe Lawlor
Unitarians search for healing after deadly church shooting
(RNS) Unitarian Universalist leaders say they will not allow a fatal shooting at a Tennessee church to deter their proud progressive teachings, even as police say those beliefs appear to be what prompted the deadly rampage.
On Monday (July 28), one day after the shooting at a church musical that left two parishioners dead, church members began the process of healing with a candlelight vigil.
“We’re here tonight to make sense of the senseless,” said the Rev. William Sinkford, president of the Unitarian Universalist Association, according to the Associated Press.
A children’s choir ended the rain-soaked vigil by singing “The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow,” a popular song from the production of “Annie” that was interrupted by gunfire on Sunday morning.
According to Knoxville police, Jim D. Adkisson, 58, opened fire at a the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church. Police believe Adkisson, who is in police custody, acted alone.
In a four-page letter found in Adkisson’s car, the alleged shooter wrote that the attack was motivated in part by the church’s liberal beliefs.
“Basically it indicated that he was upset because of his unemployment situation. It also indicated that he was not happy with the liberalism of that movement, and also felt that that was partly the reason he was still unemployed,” said Officer Darrell DeBusk, a police spokesperson.
Adkisson’s ex-wife was a former member of the church, the Associated Press reported.
According to Janet Hayes, a spokesperson for UUA headquarters in Boston, the Knoxville church had been active in pushing for racial justice, and recently began holding an event for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender teens.
The attack, the first of its kind on a Unitarian church, has prompted an investigation by the FBI and local police. Under federal statutes, the attacks could be prosecuted as a hate crime if a religious motive can be proved.
The church, which has a membership of 460, will hold services next Sunday as scheduled. Although Hayes said some congregations nationally have become more alert in the wake of the shootings, Sinkford said Tuesday that they remain committed to their causes.
“Let me assure you that we will not change our beliefs or compromise our demands for social justice,” he said in a statement. “Fear will not prevent us from standing on the side of love, and we will continue to open our doors and our hearts to all people.“
_ Tom Murphy
Catholics tally cost of Katrina damage
NEW ORLEANS (RNS) The Archdiocese of New Orleans has released its first comprehensive report on the economic damage caused by Hurricane Katrina: $288 million in damage to its vast array of schools, churches, housing and nursing homes.
Its insurance coverage provided just 35 cents on each dollar of damage, the church said.
Yet a combination of nationwide generosity, continuing FEMA reimbursements, insurance and a radical downsizing of the archdiocese appears to have left the regional church in position to rebuild on a smaller footprint, said Sarah Comiskey, the archdiocese’s spokeswoman.
“We are working with what we have, and confident we can work with FEMA to continue to meet our capital needs,” she said.
On paper, the church faces a loss of about $105 million if it tried to restore all its property, said Jeffrey Entwisle, the archdiocese’s chief operating officer. Archbishop Alfred Hughes’ down-sizing plan foresees the closure of about 30 churches, significantly reducing the repair burden.
The day before the storm hit three years ago, the archdiocese counted about 491,000 Catholics; now about a fifth of those people are gone. About 8,000 fewer students now study in 21 fewer Catholic schools, the report said.
_ Bruce Nolan
Quote of the Week: Unitarian Universalist President Rev. William Sinkford
(RNS) “When I was asked if the shooter would go to hell, I replied that he must have been living in his own private hell for years.”
_ The Rev. William Sinkford, president of the Unitarian Universalist Association, in a statement Tuesday (July 29) after visiting the Unitarian church in Knoxville, Tenn., that was the site of a shooting rampage on Sunday that killed two and wounded eight others.
KRE/RNS END RNS
