c. 2007 Religion News Service
R.I. College Settles With Students Over Abortion-Rights Signs
(RNS) Rhode Island College and a campus group have reached a settlement after the college ordered the removal of signs with messages such as “Keep your rosaries off our ovaries.”
The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island announced Tuesday (Sept. 25) the college will pay the Women’s Studies Organization $5,000.
In December 2005, members of the group placed abortion-rights signs near the entrance road to the college in Providence, R.I. A priest visiting the campus saw the signs and mentioned them to security guards, who alerted college President John Nazarian. The president ordered the signs removed. The students filed suit, claiming their free speech rights had been violated.
The settlement agreement notes that the public college, which has not admitted liability, has clarified its policy about sign placement.
“College is a place for the free exchange of ideas and I can now be proud to say I attend a school which allows the free speech rights that are essential to a learning community,” said Jennifer Magaw, president of the Women’s Studies Organization, in a statement released by the ACLU.
The settlement also called for the college to pay $6,350 in attorney’s fees.
College spokeswoman Jane Fusco said the school has always supported First Amendment rights.
“The signs did not come down because of the message,” she said. “The signs were removed because they were erected inappropriately. They were erected in an area of the campus that typically was not used for signage.”
_ Adelle M. Banks
Phil Keaggy, The Winans, Among GMA Gospel Hall of Fame Inductees
(RNS) Christian musicians Phil Keaggy and The Winans are among this year’s inductees to the Gospel Music Association’s Gospel Music Hall of Fame.
They will be joined by the Statler Brothers, Larnelle Harris and association board member and author Joe Moscheo at an Oct. 29 induction ceremony in Nashville, Tenn.
Phil Keaggy, who has recorded more than 45 albums, began his musical career in the late ’60s when he and a friend founded Glass Harp. Keaggy recorded his first solo album, “What a Day,” in 1973, followed by his first instrumental album, “The Master and the Musician,” in 1978. He is known for his songwriting and guitar-playing abilities.
The Statler Brothers _ Harold Reid, Phil Balsley, Jimmy Fortune and Don Reid _ released their first record, “Flowers on the Wall,” in 1975. The prominent country music group won Grammy Awards, Country Music Association awards, and earned gold and platinum records. After retiring, they recorded “Amen,” a gospel album.
The Winans _ brothers Marvin, Carvin, Ronald and Michael _ released “Introducing The Winans,” their first record, in 1981. They then recorded two R&B albums before returning to gospel music with “Heart & Soul.” In 2002, they released “The Very Best of the Winans” with their siblings, BeBe and CeCe.
Over his four-decade career, Joe Moscheo has gained recognition as a singer, musician, manager and executive and has won Grammy and Dove Awards. He is a permanent board member of the GMA. This year he published a book, “The Gospel Side of Elvis.”
Larnelle Harris, a tenor who has received five Grammys and 11 Dove Awards, has recorded modern classics like “How Excellent is Thy Name” and “Amen.” After the fall of the Soviet Union, Harris performed in the Kremlin. Currently he performs 75 to 100 concerts for churches and Christian organizations every year.
_ Heather Donckels
Arkansas Nuns Excommunicated for `Army of Mary’ Ties
VATICAN CITY (RNS) The Roman Catholic Diocese of Little Rock, Ark., has excommunicated six nuns for their membership in a Canadian movement whose founder claims to have been inspired by the Virgin Mary.
Earlier this month, the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the church’s highest doctrinal authority, ruled that the Quebec-based Army of Mary promoted heretical teachings, and that its members faced automatic excommunication.
The group was founded in 1971 by Marie-Paule Giguere, 86, who claims to have experienced visions of the Virgin Mary. According to Canada’s National Post newspaper, the group once claimed as many as 20,000 members in Europe and the Americas.
The Army of Mary was an officially recognized Catholic organization for more than 20 years, but lost that status in 1987 after the Congregation’s head at the time, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI), denounced its “erroneous doctrines.”
Members have disputed press reports that Giguere claims to be the reincarnation of the Virgin.
“You may believe a person can be possessed by the devil,” Chantal Buse, one of Giguere’s secretaries, told the Arkansas Democrat Gazette. “We believe a person can be completely possessed by the spirit of Mary.”
_ Francis X. Rocca
Bureau of Prisons Changes Course On Banning Religious Texts
WASHINGTON (RNS) After receiving criticism from religious leaders and Capitol Hill, the Federal Bureau of Prisons says it will scale back its effort to ban religious texts from prison libraries.
The New York Times reported that the bureau sent an e-mail message Wednesday (Sept. 26) about its change in plans concerning its Standardized Chapel Library Project. The newspaper previously reported that chaplains were directed to remove books and other materials from prison shelves that were not on a list of approved resources.
“In response to concerns expressed by members of several religious communities, the Bureau of Prisons has decided to alter its planned course of action with respect to the Chapel Library Project,” the bureau’s message said. “The bureau will begin immediately to return to chapel libraries materials that were removed in June 2007, with the exception of any publications that have been found to be inappropriate, such as material that would be radicalizing or incite violence. The review of all materials in chapel libraries will be completed by the end of January 2008.”
Mark Earley, the president of Prison Fellowship, a Christian prison ministry, was among the leaders who contacted the bureau in hopes that it would change course. He applauded its response to concerned faith leaders.
“We appreciate the bureau’s commitment to keeping the small number of materials that incite violence out of prison chapel libraries,” Earley said. “By returning to the common-sense approach of getting rid of only those materials that incite violence, they ensure that prisoners have access to a wide range of quality religious materials that will help them become productive members of society when they are released back to our communities.”
_ Adelle M. Banks
South African Anglicans Elect New Primate
(RNS) Bishop Thabo Makgoba was elected Archbishop of Cape Town and leader of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa on Tuesday (Sept. 25), succeeding a stalwart ally of the embattled Episcopal Church in the U.S.
Makgoba, the current bishop of the Diocese of Grahamstown, will take over as primate, or top bishop, on Jan. 1, 2008, succeeding the retiring Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane.
The youngest bishop ever elected primate, Makgoba, 47, will inherit the office once held by anti-Apartheid leader Desmond Tutu. Episcopal News Service reported Makgoba saying he has “very big shoes and miters” to fill.
The Anglican Church of South Africa _ which has emerged as a progressive voice in the deeply conservative African church _ has 25 dioceses covering 3 million to 4 million members in about 1,000 parishes.
Ndungane has been a solid ally to the Episcopal Church as it faces pressure from other Anglican churches to pull back on its support for gay rights. Ndungane has said the issue distracts from more pressing issues, including AIDS and global poverty.
_ Heather Donckels
Baptists Must Seek Consensus, BWA Chief Says
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (RNS) The new general secretary of the Baptist World Alliance has little patience for theological disputes between moderate and conservative Baptists.
“What’s centrally important is our concern for missions and evangelism, relief and development, human rights and theological reflection,” said the Rev. Neville Callam of Jamaica, who took over the post on Sept. 1.
The Baptist World Alliance, which represents about 37 million Baptists in various countries, got caught in the middle of feuding factions a few years ago when the Southern Baptist Convention cut its annual funding to BWA from $425,000 in 2003 to zero in 2005.
In 2003, the Baptist World Alliance admitted as a member body the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, a moderate group that had split off from Southern Baptists, saying Southern Baptists had become too fundamental.
Southern Baptist leaders then began accusing the World Alliance of drifting toward liberalism.
“We are very grateful to the many churches, including Southern Baptist Convention churches, that continue to support our work,” Callam, 56, said during a visit here to Samford University’s Beeson Divinity School as part of an 18-city tour of the U.S. and Canada.
“People on both sides have simplified the beliefs of people on the other side and those caricatures are not helpful,” he said.
Differences over the role of women in ministry, homosexuality and other issues are serious but don’t preclude larger cooperation, he said.
“If the issues were clear-cut, you wouldn’t have the difference,” Callam said. “We need to seek out core ideas around which we have consensus.”
_ Greg Garrison
MIT Installs First Campus Chaplain
BOSTON (RNS) An iconic temple of scientific inquiry embraced a new relationship with organized religion Sunday (Sept. 30) when the Massachusetts Institute of Technology installed its first chaplain in the school’s 146-year history.
The Rev. Robert M. Randolph, an ordained Church of Christ minister, accepted the mantle of Chaplain to the Institute at a late afternoon ceremony. Randolph has worked at MIT for 28 years, most recently in the role of Senior Associate Dean.
The new job “marks a change at MIT,” Randolph wrote recently in his blog. “Attention is being paid here to the role of religion in the human experience. I will be Chaplain to the whole Institute, believers, non-believers, the uncertain.”
Administrators also hailed the creation of the new post as an important step for an institution that aims to prepare graduates for accomplishments both in and beyond the laboratory.
“In this new century, it’s critical that universities address issues of social justice as a community, and equip students to thrive in a diverse global community,” said Larry Benedict, dean for student life, in an e-mail. “Establishing the position of Chaplain to the Institute now will help usâÂ?¦ graduate students even more fully prepared for leadership.”
MIT has long relied on a board of chaplains from the greater Boston area to minister to MIT students. That model currently includes 19 board members representing faith groups that range from the Assemblies of God to Vedanta. The board will remain in tact even as Randolph fulfills his new duties.
_ G. Jeffrey MacDonald
Religion Writers Receive Top Honors
SAN ANTONIO (RNS) Religion reporters were awarded top honors Saturday (Sept. 29) for their work at The San Diego Union-Tribune, The Denver Post and The Philadelphia Inquirer by the Religion Newswriters Association. The awards ceremony was held during the RNA’s annual meeting here.
Sandi Dolbee of the The San Diego Union-Tribune won the first-place award for the Templeton Religion Reporter of the Year, which recognizes versatility and excellence in enterprise reporting. Cathleen Falsani of the Chicago Sun-Times came in second, followed in third place by Eric Gorski for his work at The Denver Post. (He now writes for the Associated Press.)
Gorski’s work for the Denver paper earned him a first-place honor for Supple Religion Writer of the Year, which particularly recognizes a reporter’s writing skill. The second-place winner in that category was John Chadwick of The Record in Bergen County, N.J., and the third-place winner was Jeff Weiss of The Dallas Morning News.
David O’Reilly of the Philadelphia Inquirer was recognized with a first-place win in the Templeton Story of the Year contest, which showcases a series or single story on religion in print media. Gorski came in second for his work for the Denver paper, followed by Neil Munro of National Journal in third place.
Winners in other categories included:
_ The Cassels Award, for newspapers with circulations of 50,000 or less: Larissa Theodore-Dudkiewicz of the Beaver County (Pa.) Times, first place; Terri Jo Ryan of the Waco Tribune-Herald, second place; Terry Rombeck of the Lawrence (Kan.) Journal World, third place.
_ The Cornell Award, for mid-sized newspapers: G. Jeffrey MacDonald, writing for The Christian Science Monitor, first place; Bill Sherman of Tulsa World, second place; John Chadwick of The Record of Bergen County, N.J.
_ The Schachern Award for best religion pages or sections, small paper category: Press-Register in Mobile, Ala., first place; Deseret Morning News, second place; The Huntsville Times, third place.
_ The Schachern Award for best religion pages or sections, large paper category: The Salt Lake Tribune, first place; Star Tribune in Minneapolis, second place; The Grand Rapids Press, third place.
_ Television Awards: Maria Arita of CBS II in Dallas/Fort Worth, short form; PBS’s “NewsHour with Jim Lehrer,” long form.
_ Radio Award: Rachael Martin of NPR.
_ The Chandler Award for student journalists: Tina Shah of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, first place; Shari Rabin, Boston University, second place; Mrinalini Reddy, Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, third place.
In addition to reporting awards presented at the ceremony, Russell Chandler, a former RNA president, was honored with the 2007 William A. Reed/Religion News Service Lifetime Achievement Award. Chandler was a religion writer at the Los Angeles Times.
_ Adelle M. Banks
Conservatives Launch Alternative to Episcopal Church
(RNS) As many as six Episcopal bishops and more than 200 Episcopal congregations have taken a first step toward forming a new alternative to the Episcopal Church that will unite conservatives irked by the church’s liberal drift.
Meeting in Pittsburgh last week (Sept. 25-28), the Common Cause Council of Bishops brought together nine North American splinter groups to lay the groundwork for a conservative counterpart to the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada.
The nine North American groups claim to represent 600 congregations; the Episcopal Church has 2.3 million members and more than 7,000 congregations.
Conservative Episcopalians, a minority in the church, have decried the church’s increasing progressive stance on gay rights and biblical interpretation, especially the 2003 election of an openly gay bishop in New Hampshire.
Between 40 and 50 bishops _ including five of the seven Episcopal bishops present in Pittsburgh _ agreed to take part in a new “College of Bishops.”
Another Episcopal Bishop, John-David Schofield of San Joaquin, Calif., was represented but not present and is expected to join the new college, according to Peter Frank, a spokesman for Bishop Robert Duncan of Pittsburgh, the convener of the council.
Other Common Cause bishops are from groups such as the Reformed Episcopal Church, which has about 13,000 members and split from the Episcopal Church in 1873. Others are conservatives aligned with one of the 37 other regional provinces in the worldwide Anglican Communion.
The bishops’ college will oversee the “formation of the separate ecclesiastical structure in North America,” according to a statement by Common Cause.
“This is really an attempt to build an American structure that will have support from a large group of Anglicans overseas and can stand on its own two feet,” Frank said.
It remains to be seen whether other Anglicans _ including Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams _ will recognize the new federation. Frank says Common Cause is using an “if we build it, they will come” strategy.
The new organization plans to share clergy and invite bishops to “share episcopal acts and our sacramental life.”
However, issues such as the ordination of women _ some of the groups ordain women, some do not _ remain to be decided, according to Common Cause.
_ Daniel Burke
Clergy, Democrats Vow Fight Over Insurance Veto
WASHINGTON (RNS) Praying for a presidential conversion but vowing a crusade if they don’t get one, Democrats joined religious leaders Tuesday (Oct. 2) to protest President Bush’s anticipated veto of a popular health insurance plan for low-income children.
It was the latest in a flurry of recent activity orchestrated by faith-based groups intent on pressuring Bush not to veto the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, approved by Congress last month. Knowing that a veto is likely, the group urged Congress to override it.
Describing it as an “11th-hour moment,” Democratic members of Congress and clergy alike appealed to the “very conscience of our nation” in urging Bush to sign the legislation.
“Followers of Jesus Christ do not oppose health care to children of low-income families,” said the Rev. Glenn Palmberg, president of the Evangelical Covenant Church.
No one thought they would change Bush’s mind, however. Doing so would take a “Saul to Paul conversion,” said Rep. James E. Clyburn, D-S.C., who has urged his party to frame issues like health care in moral terms.
SCHIP currently covers 6.6 million children whose families earn too much to qualify for Medicaid services for the poor, but who may not earn enough to buy private health insurance. The bill before Bush would expand coverage to an additional 4 million children, with an additional $35 billion in costs over the next five years.
Bush wants an increase of only $5 billion over the next five years. He argues that the SCHIP expansion would encourage families who have private insurance to switch to SCHIP.
The Rev. Jim Wallis, the head of the social justice group Sojourners/Call to Renewal, said it seemed Bush’s focus on “compassionate conservatism” has all but disappeared. If Bush vetoes the bill, Wallis said he’ll take further action to ensure that millions of children are covered.
“If the president vetoes the bill, overriding the veto will become our new faith-based initiative,” Wallis said.
_ Sarah McCann
McCain Under Fire for `Christian Nation’ Remarks
WASHINGTON (RNS) Presidential hopeful John McCain has come under fire for calling the United States “a Christian nation” that was “founded primarily on Christian principles.”
The Arizona Republican made his remarks in an interview with Dan Gilgoff, the political editor for Beliefnet.
The Rev. C. Welton Gaddy, president of the Washington-based Interfaith Alliance, called McCain’s remarks “appalling” and said “a Christian is a person who is a follower of Jesus. This whole nation is not a follower of Jesus.”
McCain did, however, draw some support from the Christian Coalition, which was founded by religious broadcaster Pat Robertson. During the 2000 campaign, McCain called Robertson and the late Jerry Falwell “agents of intolerance.”
“We believe this took a lot of courage,” said spokeswoman Michelle Combs, saying the group was “very proud” of the senator.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, meanwhile, asked McCain to clarify what he meant.
“Senator McCain should know that our nation was founded on universal moral principles common to many religions and philosophies,” said Corey Saylor, the national legislative director for CAIR.
The National Jewish Democratic Council expressed similar feelings.
“Someone running for president ought to understand the Constitution a little better,” Ira N. Forman, executive director of the NJDC, said. “Nowhere does it say the United States is a `Christian’ nation.”
_ Heather Donckels
Indian Priest Claims Miracle Due to Mother Teresa
VATICAN CITY (RNS) In an event that could qualify Mother Teresa for sainthood, an Indian priest claims he was miraculously cured of a large kidney stone after praying to Teresa on the 10th anniversary of her death.
According to the Catholic Church’s UCA News agency, the Rev. V.M. Thomas of Guwahati, in northeastern India, was scheduled for surgery to remove a half-inch kidney stone on Sept. 6.
On Sept. 5, the 10th anniversary of Mother Teresa’s death, Thomas celebrated Mass at a home for abandoned children founded by the late nun.
The next day, X-rays and an ultrasound revealed that the kidney stone had disappeared. The surgeon in charge reportedly described the disappearance of the stone as “beyond medical explanation.”
In documents shown to UCA News by Archbishop Thomas Menamparampil of Guwahati, Thomas stated his belief that the stone miraculously disappeared while he celebrated Mass and prayed to Mother Teresa for his surgery to be successful.
Pope John Paul II beatified Mother Teresa, founder of the Missionaries of Charity, in 2003, bringing her one step short of sainthood. To qualify her for canonization, the Vatican must officially attribute a miracle occurring since that time to her intervention.
_ Francis X. Rocca
N.Y. Bishops Ponder Strategy on Contraceptives Law
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (RNS) New York’s Roman Catholic bishops could drop prescription drug benefits from employee health plans to circumvent a state law that mandates prescription coverage for contraceptives.
Dennis Poust, director of communications for the New York State Catholic Conference, discussed the possibility Monday (Oct. 1) after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to consider a challenge to the law from church groups.
“The state has put us in an untenable position,” Poust said. “We teach contraception is sinful, but we teach that everyone has a right to health care. It is a Catch-22.”
Dioceses could cancel prescription coverage and provide a stipend to pay for prescriptions, he said. Or dioceses could opt for self-insurance, which is not subject to state mandates.
“From a moral theology perspective, it’s one step removed from the sinful act,” Poust said.
Last October, the New York State Court of Appeals upheld an earlier ruling by the Appellate Division of state Supreme Court, rejecting religious groups’ arguments that the 2002 Women’s Health and Wellness Act violates religious freedom.
Ten religious organizations in New York sued the state in December 2002, claiming the law _ which requires health insurers to provide coverage for obstetric and gynecologic care _ should include a religious exemption for organizations that do not support birth control.
In 2004, the Supreme Court declined to review a similar case argued by the California Catholic Conference.
If bishops decide to eliminate prescription coverage, they would again discriminate against women, said Betty DeFazio, a spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood in the Rochester/Syracuse region.
“For women, reproductive care is routine health care,” she said. “To deny that for women who are trying to be responsible just doesn’t make sense.”
_ Renee K. Gadoua
Quote of the Week: Author Shalom Auslander
(RNS) “The people who raised me will say I am not religious. They are mistaken. I am painfully, cripplingly, incurably, miserably religious, and I have watched lately, dumbfounded and distraught, as around the world more people seem to be finding Gods, each more hateful and bloody than the next, as I’m doing my best to lose Him. I’m failing miserably.”
_ Shalom Auslander, in his new book, “Foreskin’s Lament,” as quoted by The New York Times.
END RNS
