c. 1997 Religion News Service

Unusual alliance of non-profits protests subpoenas

(RNS) An unusual alliance of seven non-profit groups, including the Christian Coalition and the Teamsters, objected Wednesday (Sept. 3) to the scope of subpoenas they have received from a U.S. Senate committee investigating campaign finance abuses.

Laura W. Murphy and Arthur B. Spitzer of the American Civil Liberties Union said the subpoenas”constitute harassment and interference of a particularly invidious kind, for (they) effectively require the subpoenaed groups to share with the political adversaries … documents that will reveal their strategic and tactical plans, their budget deliberations and fund-raising techniques.” The seven groups include _ along with the Teamsters and the Christian Coalition _ the National Right to Life Committee, the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, Citizen Action, the National Council of Senior Citizens and Citizens Against Government Waste, the Washington Post reported.

The advocacy groups often are at opposite poles on some issues but came together to object to the subpoenas. They say they will go to court to defend their position, if necessary.

Paul Clark, spokesman for the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, disagreed with the groups’ protests. He said the committee was not seeking membership or donor lists protected by the First Amendment but, rather, information involving improper or illegal cooperation with political campaigns or parties, use of union funds for political purposes or use of political action committees to circumvent donation limits.

The Christian Coalition joined the ACLU-sponsored effort because of its concerns about freedom of speech.”We intend to cooperate with the committee and provide them information that they can lawfully request, but we do have some constitutional concerns,”Arne Owens, spokesman for the Christian Coalition told RNS.

The coalition was one of 26 non-profit advocacy groups that received the subpoenas in late July.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State was also subpoenaed by the committee, but officials there were uncomfortable adding their voice to the seven-group alliance.”We agree with the organizations that the subpoena is overly broad but our problem is that we also believe that the Christian Coalition is guilty of violating federal law relating to its involvement in partisan political campaigns,”said Robert Boston, a spokesman for Americans United.”We could not in good conscience stand next to the Christian Coalition and pretend that that group had done nothing wrong.” Owens, in response, said the coalition has provided tens of thousands of documents to the Federal Election Commission, which has investigated the coalition for several years.”Our lawyers have reviewed all of this and there’s just nothing there,”he said.

Illinois Baptists object to proposal to promote women

(RNS) Several Illinois Southern Baptist leaders have voiced concerns about a proposal to reorganize the staff of the state organization because they believe it would place two women in positions of authority over male ministers.

Bob Wiley, executive director of the Illinois Baptist State Association, has announced plans to make one woman an associate executive director and another the facilitator for the service/ministry team. Both women are currently working in other capacities for the organization.

But nine ministers from the Franklin Baptist Association in southern Illinois wrote a letter to the editor of the Illinois Baptist newsjournal citing Bible verses that state women should not be in authority over men, reported Baptist Press, the official news service of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Two of the letter signers, Jim Endsley and Jim Kerley, explained their positions in an interview with the Illinois Baptist.”We need to remain people of the book,”said Endsley, pastor of North Benton Baptist Church, referring to the Bible,”and the book says in many places that women are not to be in authority. I don’t know that I like that, but I can’t do anything about it. I can’t change the Scripture.” Wiley said the women who would take on new positions would not have authority over men.”The whole purpose of the restructure is to take away positional authority,”he said.

The two critical ministers said their opposition to the proposed changes has nothing to do with the particular individuals involved”because the people who are appointed are both well-qualified in what they do, and no one is questioning that at all.” Still, Kerley, director of missions for the Franklin Baptist Association, said he hopes Wiley will change his mind about the proposed changes.”If this issue is going to create a great deal of conflict, then I am sure Brother Wiley would want to re-examine what he is doing and make different appointments,”Kerley said.

Wiley said he would be sensitive to the stated concerns, but doesn’t view the proposed positions as placing women over men.”I do not see that in what we are doing,”he said.”I can see where it could become that if you’re not cautious and careful, but we’re going to work at it.” In a separate, but related matter, the Muhlenberg County Baptist Association in Kentucky voted Aug. 28 to remove a woman’s name from its official list of ministers and give the church where she is a member one year to agree with the association’s stand against women’s ordination or be ousted from the group.

Vatican approves full-burial rites for cremations

(RNS) The Vatican has given its final approval for U.S. Roman Catholic bishops to allow for the full celebration of the church’s funeral rites in the presence of cremated remains, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops announced Thursday (Sept. 4).

The notification, approving the liturgical texts to be used in such funerals, ends a process that began more than a year ago.

Historically, the church has opposed cremation. In 1963, it granted permission for cremation if it was not a sign of the denial of Christian teaching, especially the concept of the resurrection of the dead and the immortality of the soul.

In 1983, that permission was codified in church law although the church continued to recommend”that the pious custom of burying the bodies of the dead be observed.” Even with that permission, however, the church continued to deny allowing the cremated remains to be present during the full funeral and the church continues to prefer that a body not be cremated until after the funeral Mass is celebrated.

According to the Cremation Association of America, approximately 30 percent of Catholic funerals in the United States today include cremation of the body _ a figure that in part prompted the U.S. bishops to seek approval for celebration of the funeral Mass in the presence of the cremated remains.

In the two step process, the Vatican, in March, approved the actual practice of allowing the cremated remains to be present, and now, approved the language of texts used in the rite.

Muslim Jordan to allow classes on Christianity

(RNS) Predominantly Muslim Jordan will provide Christian religious instruction to Christian students in the nation’s public schools, the government announced Thursday (Sept. 4).

Until now, Jordanian public schools have offered religious instruction about Islam only. Private schools have provided instruction about Christianity.

Jordan’s King Hussein said public school classes about Christianity are important to improving religious freedom in his nation, which has a population of 3.8 million, about 5 percent of whom are Christian.

Monsignor Raouf Najjar, a Roman Catholic official in Jordan, said the move”will allow the Christian citizen to practice his religious rights freely and equal to others,”the Associated Press reported.

Newfoundland voters back ending church control of public schools

(RNS) Voters in Newfoundland, Canada, have voted overwhelmingly to end more than a century of church control over their public school system.

With virtually all votes counted, 73 percent of the voters who cast ballots in the non-binding referendum supported government efforts to abandon the present church-run education system in favor of a non-denominational system that still makes room for religious instruction and observance, the Associated Press reported Wednesday (Sept. 3).”This is a clear and strong mandate, almost without precedent in the history of referendums in Canada,”said Newfoundland’s president, Brian Tobin.

The proposal was opposed by the Roman Catholic Church and Pentecostal organizations and supported by the Anglican Church and four other denominations.

Tobin said he will call a special session of the legislature to deal with the issue and said he hopes a new school system will be in place by 1998.

Quote of the Day: psychiatrist Viktor E. Frankl

(RNS) Viktor E. Frankl, the renowned Austrian psychiatrist who died Tuesday (Sept. 4), was best known for his book”Man’s Search for Meaning,”which grew out of his experience in four Nazi death camps during the Holocaust. In his book, Frankl wrote that humans are, above all else, motivated by the search for meaning in life.”There is nothing in the world, I venture to say, that would so effectively help one to survive even the worst conditions as the knowledge that there is a meaning in one’s life.”

MJP END RNS