c. 1996 Religion News Service

Methodists reaffirm homosexuality is”incompatible”with Christianity

(RNS)-An effort to soften the United Methodist Church’s 24-year-old stance declaring that homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching was soundly defeated Wednesday (April 24) by delegates attending the denomination’s General Conference.

The proposal, brought by the 8.6 million-member church’s Board of Church and Society, was defeated 577-378.

Since 1972, the church’s Book of Discipline, its rule book, has included the statement:”Although we do not condone the practice of homosexuality and consider this practice incompatible with Christian teaching, we affirm that God’s grace is available to all.” The defeated proposal would have dropped that language and substituted an acknowledgment that United Methodists are”unable to arrive at a common mind”on the subject.”Some of us think that homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching; others think it is acceptable in covenantal relationship. This is who we are,”said the Rev. Merlin Ackerson of Mason City, Iowa, arguing on behalf of the defeated resolution.

He said acceptance of the amendment would”prevent discrimination and violence against homosexuals.” But the Rev. David Seamands, a retired seminary professor from Nokomis, Fla., urged retention of the”incompatibility”clause. He argued changing the language would be a rejection of”a basic, bottom-line biblical stance.”The biblical standard (condemning homosexual practice) is objective and unambiguous,”Seamands said.”It defines intercourse as acceptable only in heterosexual, monogamous relationships.” The vote culminated a week of debate between the two sides on the issue that has dominated the 10-day General Conference, the top decision-making body of the nation’s second largest Protestant body. The meeting is set to end Friday.

As the meeting began April 16, a group of 15 bishops released a statement urging the denomination to change its stance on the gay issue and allow for the ordination of homosexuals. Bishops cannot vote at General Conference.

But on April 23, the denomination’s full Council of Bishops issued a statement affirming their support of the church’s position.”Once the church has spoken, as bishops, it is our responsibility to teach and uphold what the church has spoken,”said Bishop Woodie White, president of the council.

Japan’s”Trial of the Century”begins

(RNS)-The opening session of Japan’s”Trial of the Century”began Wednesday (April 24) with the reading of the names of 3,789 victims of the March 20, 1995, nerve gas attack on Tokyo’s subway system.

Shoko Asahara, leader of the now-disbanded Aum Shinri Kyo (Supreme Truth Sect) and alleged mastermind of the gas attack that killed 11, did not enter a plea in response to the murder charges.

Asahara, 41, is also being tried for the murder of a follower and of illegally manufacturing drugs. He has been indicted on 14 other charges, including a 1994 nerve gas attack, the kidnapping and murder of an anti-cult lawyer and his family, and illegal production of firearms, news services said.

Prosecutors contend that Asahara launched the rush-hour gas attack on the subway system”to set off massive confusion in the Tokyo area”because he feared police were about to raid facilities of the religious sect.

The sect practices a blend of Buddhist and Hindu meditation with apocalyptic millenarian teachings as interpreted by Asahara.

Asahara, whose given name is Chizuo Matsumoto, has studied Buddhism and Hinduism. He claims to be a follower of the Dalai Lama, Reuters reported, but the Tibetan leader denounced him last year and said the cult’s fanaticism and stress on supernatural powers did not represent true Buddhism.

The opening sessions of the trial have captured the attention of the Japanese public. On its first day, some 12,000 would-be spectators showed up, seeking one of the 48 seats being allocated through a lottery.

The trial is expected to continue for at least a year. A month-long break will occur after the second session Thursday (April 25).

If convicted, Asahara could face death by hanging.

Bitter United House of Prayer debate ends with jury decision about car

(RNS)-A bitter debate between supporters of current and past leaders of the United House of Prayer for All People has boiled down to a jury decision about the rightful owner of a car.

The Washington, D.C.-based black church organization, which spans 23 states, has been embroiled in controversy since the death of its former leader, Bishop Walter”Sweet Daddy”McCollough, in 1991. McCollough’s widow, Clara, accused his successor and three others affiliated with the church of cheating her husband by taking some of his possessions, The Washington Post reported.

A Washington judge threw out most of the widow’s claims, but a jury determined Wednesday (April 24) that an 11-year-old Subaru should be returned to Clara McCollough. Delores Madison, wife of Bishop McCollough’s successor, S.C. Madison, gave the $2,000 car to McCollough’s personal maid just before the church leader died.

McCollough’s supporters viewed the verdict as evidence of cheating on the part of his successor. But allies of Madison disagreed.”We are pleased that these proceedings have vindicated the honesty, integrity and good reputation of the Honorable S.C. Madison, leader and prophet of the United House of Prayer,”Apostle R.C. Lattisaw, a minister of the church, said in a statement.

U.S. church groups ask probe of Brazilian peasants deaths

(RNS)-In separate actions, two major U.S. religious groups-the Roman Catholic bishops and the United Methodist Church-have asked for an official investigation of an incident in Brazil in which police reportedly killed 23 landless peasants, including a 3-year-old girl.

Bishop Daniel Reilly of Worcester, Mass., chairman of the U.S. Catholic Conference’s Committee on International Policy, expressed the American church’s support for the Brazilian bishops’ call for a probe of the April 17 incident in a letter to the National Conference of the Bishops of Brazil.

According to news reports, Brazilian military police”lost control”and fired into a crowd of 2,500 workers and landless peasants who were blocking a highway as part of their demand for comprehensive land reform in Brazil.

Reilly’s letter said the U.S. bishops have”profound admiration”for the Brazilian bishops in their struggle for justice.

The Brazilian bishops have been urging the government to adopt a land reform program that would aid Brazil’s rural poor and landless.

On Monday (April 22), the General Conference of the United Methodist Church, meeting in Denver, adopted a resolution asking Brazilian authorities for”government verification of the facts and timely prosecution of those responsible for the `massacre'”and urging a ban on”the use of arms … by the government against the landless people of Brazil.” The resolution was adopted after Bishop Adriel de Souza Maia of the Methodist Church in Brazil urged the top decision-making body of the U.S. Methodist Church to stand with Brazilian Methodists and the landless peasants.

Quote of the day: Thom Shellabarger, urban and economic policy adviser to the U.S. Catholic Conference, the Roman Catholic bishops’ social policy agency, on the minimum wage:”Decent work at decent wages is the foundation of economic social justice, and it all starts with the minimum wage. … An increase in the basic wage offered American workers-$4.25 an hour-is overdue. It’s a hot topic in this election year, but it is not a political or ideological issue, it’s a human one. In our soup kitchens, in our parishes and schools, we see working families who can’t make ends meet because they work at minimum wage jobs. … The minimum wage has to be raised. It is a matter of simple justice for a decent society.”

MJP END RNS