c. 2008 Religion News ServiceVatican calls for homosexuality to be decriminalizedVATICAN CITY (RNS) The Vatican on Friday (Dec. 19) called for the decriminalization of homosexuality, but said a proposed United Nations declaration on gay rights is vague and excessively far-reaching.The statement by the Holy See’s UN delegation was a response to the “Declaration on Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity,” presented to the UN General Assembly on Thursday.“The Holy See appreciates the attempts made in [the declaration] to condemn all forms of violence against homosexual persons as well as urge states to take necessary measures to put an end to all criminal penalties against them,” the statement said.But the Vatican said that the UN declaration “goes beyond this goal and instead gives rise to uncertainty in the law and challenges existing human rights norms.”The Vatican specifically objected to the declaration’s use of the terms “sexual orientation” and “gender identity,” which it said had no established meaning in international law.According to an editorial in the official Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, these terms “imply that sexual identity is defined only by culture,” and their use in the declaration are part of an attempt to “equate same-sex unions with marriage and to give homosexual couples the chance to adopt or `procreate’ children.”The paper argued the declaration would endanger “other human rights,” such as “liberty of expression … thought, conscience and religion,” since it might limit religions in their freedom to teach that homosexual behavior is morally wrong.The non-binding declaration, which was sponsored by France and backed by the 27-member European Union, received 66 votes in the 192-member UN General Assembly on Thursday. Aside from the Holy See, opponents included China, Russia, the United States, and the 56-member Organization of the Islamic Conference.Homosexual behavior is against the law in dozens of countries, and punishable by death in several.According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, homosexual acts are sinful and “contrary to the natural law,” but persons with “deep-seated homosexual tendencies … must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity” and “every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should avoided.”_ Francis X. RoccaJewish women’s group cancels convention, citing recession(RNS) The recession has forced Hadassah, the national Jewish women’s organization, to cancel its 2009 convention in New Orleans, a local Hadassah officer said.The organization’s national convention, once scheduled for mid-July 2009 typically would have attracted 1,500 to 1,800 women, said national Vice President Roselle Ungar. But the group has canceled the meeting. “We’ve been going through a process very aggressively to adjust domestic spending,” Ungar said. “It was felt that during these times holding a big convention was not an appropriate use of our funds.”Instead, the group hopes to bring to New Orleans its smaller national business meeting, which likely will bring at least 250 women, and perhaps several hundred more, she said.However, a final decision to hold the smaller meeting here hasn’t been made yet, she said.The group supports various health and educational projects in Israel, among other goals.Hadassah announced the belt-tightening move around Dec. 1, about two weeks before the group came to fear it may have lost $90 million it invested with Wall Street investor Bernard Madoff, who allegedly has confessed to running a giant Ponzi scheme._ Bruce NolanVirginia judge hands conservatives big legal victory(RNS) A Virginia judge ruled on Friday (Dec. 19) that three parcels of land belong to parishes that have broken away from the Episcopal Church, handing conservatives an important, if tentative, legal win.An 1867 state law, passed as Virginia congregations separated over slavery, allows a parish to disaffiliate from a denomination where a division has occurred while maintaining legal control over parish property.Judge Randy Bellows of Fairfax Circuit Court ruled Friday the three parcels of land in Northern Virginia, which include church buildings, are covered by the “division statute,” as it is commonly known. In April, Bellows ruled that a “division of the first magnitude” has arisen in the worldwide Anglican Communion and its U.S. branch, the Episcopal Church, over homosexuality.Friday’s ruling ends the first chapter of an expensive legal battle. The Diocese of Virginia, which is challenging the breakaway churches’ ownership claims, has spent $2 million on legal fees thus far, and has pledged to appeal Bellows’ decision to the Supreme Court of Virginia. “One Virginia judge has looked at this case,” said Henry D.W. Burt, secretary of the Diocese of Virginia, “now seven Virginia justices need to.”In 2007, 11 congregations in Northern Virginia voted to secede from the Episcopal Church because of the denomination’s support for gay rights and other liberal developments. The congregations have reorganized as the Anglican District of Virginia. “We hope that the Episcopal Church and the Diocese of Virginia will realize that it is time to stop this legal battle,” said Jim Oakes, vice-chairman of the Anglican District of Virginia. “In these economic times, we should be focused on helping our communities and spreading the gospel, not spending millions of dollars on ongoing legal battles.”But the Episcopal Church and Diocese of Virginia maintain that parish property is held in trust for the diocese and the denomination. People may leave the church, they maintain, but the steeples stay.Moreover, they believe that Virginia’s “division statute” is unconstitutional because it infringes on a church’s right to have its own rules.“Within the Episcopal Church,” Virginia Bishop Peter Lee said in a statement, “we may have theological disagreements, but those disagreements are ours to resolve according to the rules of our own governance.”The Rev. Charles Robertson, canon to Episcopal Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, said “We are not surprised _ or discouraged _ by the adverse aspects of today’s decision. We shall now seek review of this case by the Supreme Court of Virginia and are optimistic that that court will reverse the trial court’s interpretation.”_ Daniel BurkeQuote of the Day: Ted Haggard(RNS) “At this stage in my life, I am a loser.”_ Former evangelical leader Ted Haggard talking about his new life as an unsuccessful insurance salesman in a forthcoming documentary. Haggard’s remarks were quoted by The Associated Press.DSB/DEA END RNS