c. 2006 Religion News Service

Sex Abuse Victims Group Urges Southern Baptist Attention

(RNS) A group that has drawn attention to the issue of sexual abuse by Catholic priests has asked leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention to “make Southern Baptist churches safer.”

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) wrote a Sept. 26 letter to Southern Baptist Convention President Frank Page and other leaders in an effort to “continue a dialogue” about how they can work together to address reports of abuse that may occur in Southern Baptist congregations.

SNAP National Director David Clohessy and three other signatories noted that the denomination’s autonomous churches have worked cooperatively on programs related to international missions and clergy financial investment services.

“Given that congregational autonomy does not preclude a cooperative denomination-wide effort for these other endeavors, why should it preclude a denomination-wide effort at protecting kids against clergy predators?” they asked.

The letter requested that the SBC Executive Committee create an independent review board to investigate reports of clergy abuse and set up a procedure to notify congregants if a minister who worked in their church is accused of abuse.

The letter followed a previous letter, to which Page responded in August.

“We fully agree that there should be a heightened scrutiny of all persons involved in ministry to children and youth, and had come to that conclusion long before having been approached by SNAP,” Kenyn Cureton, a spokesman for the Southern Baptists’ executive committee, said in a statement.

Cureton said the denomination’s leaders will continue to encourage background checks and other safeguards, but cautioned there may be an “apparent misunderstanding” about Southern Baptists’ structure.

“While we are sympathetic with SNAP’s efforts to stop sexual abuse in churches, we need time to vet the specific requests being made of the Convention by their group even as we continue our dialogue with them,” he said.

In June, SNAP also wrote an open letter to the incoming presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, urging improvement of child abuse prevention in that denomination.

_ Adelle M. Banks

Panel Says Episcopal Bishop Did Not Abandon Church

(RNS) Conservative Episcopal Bishop John-David Schofield of the Diocese of San Joaquin in California has not abandoned the national church, an internal review committee has ruled.

Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold notified Schofield on Thursday (Sept. 28) that the committee unanimously decided his actions “do not constitute abandonment,” according to the Episcopal New Service.

“We did have a lengthy discussion but it was unanimous,” said Upper South Carolina Bishop Dorsey Henderson, who headed the committee.

The charges against Schofield were brought by four California bishops, who argued that the conservative prelate was paving the way for his diocese to leave the Episcopal Church.

A year ago, San Joaquin amended its diocesan constitution to say that it takes precedence over national church policies. And in March, the diocese changed its bylaws to prevent the national church from having a say in its choice of bishop.

Those actions could create “chaos” for the Episcopal Church and constituted abandonment, the four California bishops charged.

The Rev. Van McCalister, a spokesman for the Fresno, Calif.-based diocese, said Schofield was pleased by the decision.

“Not only did the committee determine that the charges were unnecessary, they also determined that the wrong canon laws were used,” McCalister said.

Griswold told Schofield the charges against him represented an “inappropriate use of the canons,” or church laws, according to McCalister.

The review committee, whose members are appointed by Griswold, acts as the church equivalent of a grand jury. Had Schofield been found “guilty,” he faced possible removal from office.

San Joaquin is one of 10 Episcopal dioceses in the Anglican Communion Network, a conservative splinter group that seeks to distance itself from the more liberal Episcopal Church. The 2.2 million-member Episcopal Church has 110 dioceses.

_ Daniel Burke

Poll: Most Americans Say Pope’s Apology Is Sufficient

(RNS) Two-thirds of Americans believe Pope Benedict XVI has apologized enough for his remarks about Islam’s Prophet Muhammad that have angered many Muslims, according to a Gallup Poll. Just 22 percent say he should do more to apologize to Muslims.

The pope’s controversial speech at Regensburg University in Germany included a reference to the term “jihad” and quoted the 14th-century Byzantine Emperor Manuel Paleologos II, who said Muhammad’s teachings were “only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.”

The pope later said he was “deeply sorry” that his use of the quote had provoked outrage and violence in the Muslim world, but never apologized for using the words themselves.

About six in 10 Catholics and Protestants supported the pope’s position. Non-Christians, including non-religious Americans, were more likely to believe he should do more to apologize.

The telephone poll was conducted Sept. 21-24 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

_ Chansin Bird

Teacher Quits After Being Accused of Being Too Catholic

LONDON (RNS) The head of a Catholic secondary school in Britain has resigned after dissident students accused her of being too religious because she forced them to attend Mass.

According to London’s Daily Mail newspaper, the rebel students at St. Luke’s Sixth Form College in Sidcup, southeast England, were also angered that Maria Williams ordered them to march around a playing field singing hymns and carrying religious icons such as a statue of the Virgin Mary.

Another item on the list of complaints from the high-school-age pupils was an address by an American evangelist, Barbara McGuigan, who told them that no unmarried couples could have a successful relationship and called homosexuality a “disorder.”

McGuigan, founder of the Catholic charity Voice of Virtue International, was a visiting lecturer at St. Luke’s at the time.

The Daily Mail quoted one student, Michael Aldis, 18, as saying that under Williams’ regime, “they used to herd us into Mass and then post teachers at the doors to stop us leaving.”

He said he and fellow students were sharply critical of McGuigan, saying she “told us that if we had an abortion we’d go to hell forever, and she showed us pictures of fetuses aborted after 12 and 20 weeks. Some of the girls were in tears, but no one was allowed to leave.”

Williams resigned in mid-September after a no-confidence vote from her staff. The Rev. Tim Finigan, chairman of the school’s governors, quickly followed with his own resignation, angrily insisting that “it is ridiculous to call a Catholic institution too Catholic.”

“It’s a Catholic college,” Finigan fumed. “That’s what it’s advertised as, and that’s what students sign up to. There will be some religious worship _ that will be part of the life of the college.”

Williams was unavailable immediately for comment on her resignation.

_ Al Webb

Quote of the Day: Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston

(RNS) “I also think it’s amusing in a way because I feel like I’m on some reality television show on MTV … lol.”

_ Archdiocese of Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley, talking to readers of his new blog and using the Internet-age abbreviation for “laughing out loud.” He was quoted by The Boston Globe (Sept. 27).

KRE/PH END RNS