c. 2005 Religion News Service
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Vatican May Have Chosen Levada With Eye Toward Sex Abuse Cases
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI’s choice of an American archbishop to head the Vatican’s doctrinal office may have been based on the archbishop’s experience at handling sex abuse cases.
Archbishop William Levada, Benedict’s successor as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, told Vatican Radio on Monday (Oct. 31) that his experience with “the explosion of (sex abuse) on the American scene over the past few years” might have influenced Benedict’s decision.
“My experience with that,” Levada said, “may have said to (Benedict) it wouldn’t be bad to have someone also who has this experience.”
Levada became the highest ranking American in Vatican history when Benedict named him to head the congregation on May 13.
As prefect of the Vatican’s doctrinal office, Levada reviews cases of sex abuse by clergy worldwide. Levada can refer cases back to local bishops or take disciplinary action, including the removal of an accused priest from his ministry.
As the former archbishop of San Francisco, Levada served on an eight-member joint Vatican-U.S. commission that revised the Catholic Church’s “zero tolerance” policy on sexually abusive priests in 2002.
The revisions aimed to give accused priests greater legal protection, including the right to an ecclesiastical trial before final punishment is imposed.
Critics of the revisions say the new norms diluted the obligation of bishops to report priests suspected of abuse to civil authorities.
Levada is slated in early 2006 to give sworn testimony in the federal bankruptcy trial of the Portland, Ore., archdiocese, which he headed from 1986 to 1995. Portland became the first U.S. archdiocese in church history to seek bankruptcy protection in 2004 after being hit with $155 million in sex abuse-related lawsuits.
_ Stacy Meichtry
Vatican to Give Award to American Rabbi for Service to Catholic Church
(RNS) Rabbi David Rosen, the interreligious affairs director for the American Jewish Committee (AJC), will be named a papal knight commander in a ceremony in Jerusalem on Thursday (Nov. 3).
The knight commander rank dates back to 1831, when Pope Gregory XVI established the order to recognize those who had provided meritorious service to the Catholic Church.
Rosen, who is based in Jerusalem, has worked for decades to improve Jewish-Catholic relations. He was particularly instrumental in negotiations that established diplomatic relations between the Holy See and Israel in 1993.
In addition to leading several interfaith organizations, Rosen was recently elected president of the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations, an international umbrella organization.
The award coincides with the 40th anniversary of “Nostra Aetate,” a papal document published during the Second Vatican Council. The declaration, which concerns relations between the Catholic Church and non-Christian religions, is considered a seminal document that paved the way for improved ecumenical relations, particularly between Catholics and Jews.
Rosen is the eighth Jew to be awarded the rank of knight commander. In addition to being the first Israeli to receive the award, Rosen is the first Orthodox rabbi to be named knight commander.
Rosen’s colleagues praised him on the eve of the award, which will be presented to him by Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Holy See’s Commission for Religious Relations With Jewry.
“Rabbi Rosen has devoted himself tirelessly to the historic undertaking of fostering close and collaborative ties between leaders of the Catholic and Jewish communities, as well as between Israel and the Holy See, and has achieved concrete results that were previously unimaginable,” said AJC Executive Director David A. Harris.
_ Holly Lebowitz Rossi
Churches in India Call Deadly New Delhi Bombings `Inhuman Act’
(RNS) Protestant and Roman Catholic church leaders in India have condemned the three bombings that killed 59 people in New Delhi as Indians prepared to celebrate the Hindu festival of Diwali and the Muslim Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of Ramadan.
“This is a most inhuman act targeting innocent people,” Bishop D.K. Sahu, general secretary of the National Council of Churches in India, said in a statement Monday (Oct. 31).
The NCCI is composed of 29 Protestant and Orthodox churches.
The bombs exploded Saturday at two New Delhi markets and near a bus on one of the biggest shopping weekends of the year as Indians began to prepare for the celebration of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, which began Tuesday. Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim holiday at the end of Ramadan, also falls this week, its timing dependent on a moon sighting.
Church of North India Bishop Karam Masih told Ecumenical News International, the Geneva-based religious news agency, that the bombs were “an attempt to create disharmony and confusion” between religious communities.
India and Pakistan have long been at odds _ and sometimes at war _ over the disputed Kashmir, and Islamic separatists in Indian Kashmir have waged a 16-year insurgency.
But Indian nationalists said they believed the bombings were the work of Pakistan-based Islamic militants, and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Monday there was a “foreign link” to the attacks _ a not-so-veiled reference to Pakistan.
New Delhi’s Roman Catholic Archbishop Vincent M. Concessao said the bombings “must be condemned by all.”
In the United States, Hindu and Muslim organizations also condemned the bombings.
“Terrorism focusing on Hindus, even as they celebrate their most joyous festival extolling the victory of good over evil, adds a horrific dimension to this tragedy,” said Dr. Assem Shukla, a member of the Hindu American Foundation board of directors.
“The timing of this blast, as India and Pakistan move to peace and as Hindus and Muslims help each other after the massive earthquake earlier this month, shows the utter inhumanity of those terrorists.”
The Council on American-Islamic Relations also condemned the bombings, saying the cruelty and timing are “beyond comprehension. … No political cause can ever be served by such acts.”
“These actions will never bring relief to any grievance and will only serve to foster discord and misunderstandings between people of different faiths.”
_ David E. Anderson
Hindus in India and U.S. Celebrate Diwali, Festival of Lights
(RNS) Light and all it symbolizes _ hope, warmth, goodness, knowledge and the ability to see and be seen _ shine through the autumn celebration of Diwali.
From two Sanskrit words, “deepa” meaning “light” and “avali” meaning “row,” Diwali means “row of lights” and is often translated as the festival of lights. In India, where many religions, languages and landscapes converge, the festival falls at slightly different times of the year and may be associated with different beliefs and customs. In many regions, it coincides with the Indian New Year.
Generally, Diwali falls sometime in October or November and often involves five days of celebration. This year, Hindus began celebrating the festival Tuesday (Nov. 1) in India with a somewhat somber tone, remembering the 59 people killed in bombings in New Delhi on Saturday. Homes and temples were ablaze with clay diyas, or oil lamps, and strings of electric lights.
In some parts of the country, Diwali marks the marriage of Vishnu, the god of preservation, and Lakshmi, the goddess of fortune. In others, it celebrates the victory of Rama, an incarnation of God, over the demon king Ravana. And in some places, it commemorates Krishna, another divine incarnation, who conquered the wicked spirit Narakaasur.
In the United States, Indians are a fast-growing subgroup of Asian-Americans. Diwali is an important link with India, to relatives who may still live there and a culture that may be hard to come by in the Indian diaspora.
The focus of Diwali differs, but often the first day is devoted to the goddess Lakshmi. The second day focuses on the triumph of good over evil; the third day is a tribute to Kali, the goddess of strength. The fourth day is a celebration of power, and the fifth, a festival of love.
Diwali is a time of family, friends, new clothing and spotless homes, sweet foods and fireworks, all of which bring good luck for the coming year.
_ Nancy Haught
As Ramadan Ends, Muslims Give to the Poor
(RNS) With the holy month of Ramadan ending this week, Muslims are digging deep into their pockets in order to give “zakat,” or charity, to the poor.
Due to recent natural disasters close to home and around the world, Muslims have many places to offer their charity _ either to those who lost their homes because of hurricanes Katrina, Rita or Wilma, or to the millions of people left homeless because of the earthquakes in Pakistan.
“In Ramadan, Muslims place greater importance on helping others and sharing. This is the month where Muslims try and grab last-minute rewards from God by giving charity,” says Alla Ahmed, an imam from Egypt who is visiting the Masjid Al Noor mosque in Concord, N.Y., to give lectures about Islam.
Zakat is one of the five pillars of the Islamic faith, the others being fasting (Sawm), belief in one God (the Shahada), daily prayers (the Salah), and performing pilgrimage to Mecca (the Hajj).
According to Tahir Kukiqi, imam of the Albanian Islamic Cultural Center in New York City, there are three different forms of charity.
Zakat Al Fitr is an obligatory charity that must be given during Ramadan.
Zakat Al Mehr is also an obligatory charity that can be given any time during the year.
“This is 2.5 percent of one’s savings that have matured over the past 12 months,” explained Kukiqi. “It can be given during any time of the year but Muslims choose to pay it during Ramadan because the rewards from God are doubled.”
Muslims also offer Sadaqah, a voluntary charity that, depending on one’s income, can be as simple as a meal or given as gifts to other people or charities.
“Zakat is a personal religious obligation. Muslims believe that every poor person has a right in our wealth, therefore we must give zakat,” said Tarek Moustafa, a New Springville, N.Y., resident who visits Masjid Al-Noor for his daily prayers. “If we do not, we are denying the poor their wealth.”
During the month of Ramadan, Muslims fast during the daylight hours and refrain from any form of food, liquids, tobacco, gum and sexual relations.
Eid al-Fitr _ the holiday marking the end of Ramadan _ is expected to begin Thursday or Friday, its timing dependent on a moon sighting.
_ Hafsa Amin
Quote of the Day: Pop Singer Madonna
(RNS) “I woke up one day and thought, `My God, I’m about to have a baby; how am I going to teach my child what the meaning of life is when I don’t know myself?’ If she asks why she’s here and who is God or why are people suffering, I want to have answers. And I want to ask those questions, too.”
_ Pop singer Madonna in an interview with USA Today about how the birth of her daughter affected her thinking about spiritual matters.
MO/PH END RNS
