c. 2008 Religion News Service

Bill would protect mezuzahs in housing laws

WASHINGTON (RNS) Ten weeks after a federal appeals court ruled that fair-housing laws do not protect the rights of a Jewish resident to nail a mezuzah to a door frame, legislators have proposed changing the law.

The Freedom of Religious Expression in the Home Act, introduced in the House on Wednesday (Sept. 17), would amend the Fair Housing Act to protect the freedom to display religious symbols or objects on the exterior of homes.

The news was applauded by the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, which was outraged when the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in July that federal laws did not prevent condominium or homeowners associations from banning exterior displays, including those required by a person’s religious beliefs.

Mezuzahs are small encased biblical scrolls nailed to door frames. Observant Jews touch the case with their fingers, then kiss their fingers, as they pass through a doorway.

The court ruling stemmed from the Bloch family’s lawsuit against the Shoreline Towers condominium association in Chicago, which repeatedly removed the family’s mezuzah to comply with a 2004 policy that banned doormats, shoes, signs and other materials in the hallways.

Shoreline Towers has since adopted a religious exception to the rule; Chicago and Illinois have also adopted laws guaranteeing tenants’ rights to affix religious symbols to their doors.

But in light of the appeals court ruling, federal protections are needed to prevent similar bans in other parts of the country, Orthodox officials said.

“We are encouraged that these members of Congress, and other friends of religious freedom, have responded so rapidly to our request to correct the court decision,” said Nathan J. Diament, Orthodox Union spokesman. “We thought, like all Americans, that a person’s right to practice their faith … in and on their home is clearly within their constitutional rights.”

The amendment was introduced by two Republicans and two Democrats in the House; a companion bill is expected to be introduced in the Senate, Diament said.

_ Nicole Neroulias

Orthodox church seeks new leader after financial scandal

NEW YORK (RNS) Reeling from an internal investigation that revealed financial misconduct at its highest levels, the Orthodox Church in America has vowed to work on “building a culture within the church which fosters communication, transparency and personal responsibility.”

The church’s top official, Metropolitan Herman, retired Sept. 4, a day after a special investigative commission recommended “discipline” against him, former Metropolitan Theodosius, former chancellor Robert S. Kondratick, two former treasurers and a former comptroller.

The 32-page report confirmed accusations that church leaders had either personally “squandered” millions of dollars or participated in covering up the diversion of the funds for personal expenses and to cover shortfalls.

Church leaders have begun implementing some of the committee’s 19 recommendations, said the Rev. Andrew Jarmus, an OCA spokesman.

“Both the Holy Synod and the Metropolitan Council have been working very hard and with due diligence to address the issues and to come up with solutions, and certainly a plan to ensure that this kind of thing doesn’t happen again,” he said.

“There will be an increased level of accountability and transparency in the work of the church and the central administration, and making sure that we have qualified individuals doing the work of the church.”

Herman, 75, announced his retirement after being denied a medical leave of absence. He was elected to lead the church in 2002, succeeding Metropolitan Theodosius, who had retired after 25 years in the position.

Kondratick was defrocked last year, and the OCA is involved in a legal actions over his alleged embezzlement of church funds.

The OCA’s next metropolitan will be selected during a gathering of more than 1,000 clergy and lay representatives at its All-American Council on Nov. 11 in Pittsburgh. Archbishop Dmitri of Dallas and the South and Archbishop Seraphim of Ottawa and Canada are overseeing the OCA in the interim.

The OCA has appointed a management team in its central administrative office, which “allows for better peer supervision and a greater degree of checks and balances,” Jarmus said. To ensure church finances are properly handled, the church’s treasurer since Nov. 2007, the Rev. Michael Tassos, is a certified public accountant, he added.

The 27,000-member church, which was granted independent status from the Russian Orthodox Church in 1970, is based in Syosset, N.Y. Church leaders commissioned the special investigative committee in 2007, composed of a bishop, two priests, two lay members, an attorney and a retired police chief.

_ Nicole Neroulias

McCain, Obama to attend Catholic dinner in New York

WASHINGTON (RNS) Presidential nominees Barack Obama and John McCain will both attend a high-profile political dinner hosted by the Archdiocese of New York next month.

The annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation dinner, scheduled for Oct. 16, is a must-attend event for politicians and New York society. Master of Ceremonies Alfred E. Smith VI called it an “evening of camaraderie and good-natured political parrying.”

Obama’s invitation comes four years after the last Democratic nominee for the White House, Sen. John Kerry, was not invited because of his support for abortion rights. In 1996, then-President Bill Clinton was not invited after he vetoed a ban on so-called “partial-birth” abortions.

This year, despite Obama’s support for abortion rights, New York Cardinal Edward Egan said he is “delighted” to have the two presidential candidates speak at the white-tie event.

The 63rd annual dinner honors former New York Gov. Al Smith, who in 1928 became the first Catholic nominated for president by a major political party. Although he lost the election, he is said to have paved the way for John F. Kennedy to become the nation’s first, and so far only, Catholic president.

“It is my fervent hope that his (Smith’s) example will continue to inspire those who hold elected office to provide compassionate care for our less fortunate brothers and sisters in the Lord,” Egan said.

McCain said he was honored to be a part of the event. “The most important lesson I have learned is that, to sustain my self-respect for a lifetime, it would be necessary for me to have the honor of serving something greater than my own self-interest,” he said.

Obama said he was looking forward to addressing an organization “with such a remarkable history of compassion and commitment to helping those in need.”

_ Ashley Gipson

Quote of the Day: Lake County (Ohio) Common Pleas Judge Vincent Culotta

(RNS) “You stole thousands of dollars from the pockets of people who supported the church and faith and, instead of going to missionaries, it went to you and your family.”

_ Lake County (Ohio) Common Pleas Judge Vincent Culotta, addressing defendant Melissa Brown, who was sentenced to seven years in prison for stealing more than $150,000 from First Church of God in Painesville, Ohio. He was quoted by The Plain Dealer of Cleveland.

KRE/LF END RNS