c. 2005 Religion News Service
Knights of Columbus, Students Want to Intervene in Pledge Case
(RNS) The Knights of Columbus and almost a dozen California public school students have asked a federal court to allow them to intervene in the renewed lawsuit by an atheist who seeks to have “under God” removed from the Pledge of Allegiance.
The Washington-based Becket Fund for Religious Liberty filed the motion in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, saying a decision in the case will directly affect its clients.
The 11 students and their parents disagree with Dr. Michael Newdow that the words “under God” in the pledge are unconstitutional. The Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal organization, successfully pushed Congress to add the words to the pledge in 1954.
“These students and parents are not willing to stand idly by while Mr. Newdow seeks to rewrite history and this nation’s understanding of itself,” said Derek Gaubatz, director of litigation for the Becket Fund, in a statement Monday (May 9).
“If saying this nation is `under God’ is unconstitutional, then so is reciting the Declaration of Independence, which refers to the Creator as the source of rights.”
His organization argued in its motion that the Knights of Columbus also should be able to intervene in the case to be “afforded the full and fair opportunity to defend the constitutionality of the pledge.”
The U.S. Supreme Court dismissed Newdow’s first pledge case on a technicality last year. Newdow is now seeking to refile his case.
In an e-mailed response to a request for comment on his second case, Newdow said he expects the Becket Fund will “strike out on procedural grounds” with their motion because they lack standing in the case.
“I welcome the participation by religious organizations who shoot holes in the bogus claims of those who argue that `under God’ is not religious,” said Newdow, an emergency physician in Sacramento, Calif.
_ Adelle M. Banks
Vatican Says Dialogue With Anglicans Back on Track
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Actions by the Anglican Communion to distance itself from U.S. and Canadian church endorsements of homosexuality will permit Anglican-Catholic dialogue to go forward, the Vatican said.
The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity made the statement Thursday (May 12), as part of an announcement of a new joint document on the role of the Virgin May “in the doctrine and life of the church.”
“Mary: Grace and Hope in Christ” will be issued Monday (May 16) in Seattle by the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC).
The council said it had been “concerned” over the ordination of openly gay Episcopal Bishop V. Gene Robinson in New Hampshire, as well as the introduction of same-sex blessing rites in the Anglican diocese of New Westminster, Canada. Both happened in 2003.
Under pressure for his support of Robinson, the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, Frank Griswold, resigned as co-chairman of the Anglican-Catholic panel and was replaced by an Australian archbishop.
The Vatican said Catholic officials were encouraged by a high-level Anglican report last October that chastized the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada. In addition, Anglican bishops urged both churches to withdraw members from a council that sets policy for the communion and explain their actions.
Those actions have “offered new hope that our dialogue can continue to make progress towards the full communion which has been its aim,” the Vatican said. The council noted that Anglican leaders also endorsed the “traditional Christian understanding of marriage and human sexuality” that was first approved by worldwide Anglican leaders in 1998.
“These developments affirm the general thrust and conclusions of the understanding of the nature of the church put forward in the ARCIC dialogue to this point, and this provides a foundation for continued dialogue and ecumenical cooperation,” it said.
The document on Mary will conclude the second phase of Anglican-Roman Catholic dialogue, which opened in 1966. “It is hoped that the way may be open to initiate a third phase of work for ARCIC in due course,” the Vatican said. Neither side has approved agreements reached in the second phase on such key issues as the nature of the Eucharist and the exercise of authority.
_ Peggy Polk
Hog Farmer Granted License to Slaughter Halal Lambs, Goats
(RNS) A North Carolina hog farmer who slaughtered lambs and goats for local Muslims has been granted a license to build a $200,000 slaughterhouse that will follow the dictates of Muslim law.
Kenneth Rowe and his son, Eddie, were nearly shut down earlier this year after state agriculture officials learned he had leased his farm to Muslims who slaughtered lambs for the holiday of Eid al-Adha. The holiday commemorates Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac.
Rowe had provided lambs to local Muslims for at least five years but was never licensed to operate as a slaughterhouse.
According to the Associated Press, Muslim leaders persuaded officials not to shut down the facility on Eid al-Adha. Officials cited Rowe but allowed him to apply for a license as they continue to monitor him.
Rowe is building the slaughterhouse with the intention of operating it according to Muslim legal guidelines regarding slaughtering, known as halal. Halal animals must be slaughtered with a sharp knife that cuts through both carotid arteries, which Muslims believe is the most humane way of quickly anesthetizing and killing an animal.
Halal animals must be slaughtered by a Muslim, and additionally a Muslim must be present to recite a prayer over the animal. Rowe has said that he will hire a Muslim to recite the prayer, which is translated as “In the name of God, the God is great.” Rowe said he will also allow Muslims to slaughter the animals themselves after purchasing them from the farm.
Muslim officials welcomed the action as a service to the Muslim community, but stressed that Rowe must keep his hogs _ which are not halal _ away from animals that will be consumed by Muslims.
“As long as the sheep and goats are raised without any feed-sharing with hogs, I don’t see a problem,” said Muhammad Chaudry, president of the Chicago-based Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America.
“We are living in a world where different cultures and ethnicities are mingling. Each group has to find their way of doing things. Raising animals is a business,” Chaudry said.
_ Holly Lebowitz Rossi
Rice Says U.S. Will Defend Sanctity of Quran
(RNS) Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the United States will not condone incivility to the Quran or any other sacred religious book after reports that the Muslim holy book was placed on toilets at a U.S. military base in Cuba.
“Disrespect for the Holy Quran is not now, nor has it ever been, nor will it ever be, tolerated by the United States,” Rice said before a Senate subcommittee Thursday (May 12).
According to a Newsweek article on abuse investigation at the Guantanamo Bay prison, the Muslim holy book was placed on toilets _ and one was flushed down the toilet _ by interrogators.
However, conflicting reports have surfaced about whether the acts were carried out by prisoners or interrogators.
According to the Associated Press, Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staffs, said prison logs indicate an inmate tearing out pages of the Quran and stuffing them down a toilet in an act of defiance.
Reports of the abuse have sparked outrage and violence in Muslim nations around the world. Anti-American protests in Afghanistan have left seven dead, according to the AP.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations called for a public investigation of the allegations.
“We urge President Bush to initiate an open probe of the incident, make public its findings and punish those responsible,” CAIR said in a statement released Wednesday (May 11).
Rice reassured the Islamic community in the United States and around the world of the government’s commitment to address the claims of abuse. “Our military authorities are investigating these allegations fully. If they are proven true, we will take appropriate action,” she said.
_ Yogita Patel
Conservatives Say Nebraska Ruling Shows Need for Marriage Amendment
(RNS) Conservative groups denounced a federal judge’s ruling on Thursday (May 12) that struck down a Nebraska constitutional amendment that defined marriage as between one man and one woman.
The amendment was overwhelmingly approved by Nebraska voters in 2000, but Judge Joseph Bataillon found the measure too broad, and ruled it unconstitutional.
“The democratic voice of the people of Nebraska was muted today by a federal judge,” Matt Daniels, president of Alliance for Marriage, said in a statement.
The gay rights organization Human Rights Campaign lauded the judge’s decision to strike down the amendment.
“Section 29 banned the state legislature and elected officials from ever considering even the most basic protections for same-sex couples,” HRC President Joseph Solomese said in a statement.
The conservative groups said the ruling shows the need for a federal constitutional amendment that would make gay marriage and civil unions illegal.
“Since some of our judges do not understand common sense, it’s time for the people to spell it out in our United States Constitution,” said Mathew Staver, president and general counsel of Liberty Counsel.
_ Yogita Patel
Quote of the Day: FDA adviser Dr. W. David Hager
(RNS) “I argued from a scientific perspective, and God took that information, and he used it through this minority report to influence the decision. Once again, what Satan meant for evil, God turned into good.”
_ Dr. W. David Hager, a controversial adviser to the Food and Drug Administration, who said he wrote a memo to the federal agency that helped discourage it from approving over-the-counter sales of the contraceptive known as Plan B. Hager, who spoke in a videotaped sermon in October at Asbury College in Wilmore, Ky., was quoted by The Washington Post.
KRE/PH END RNS
